Realms of Dragons: The Worlds of Weis and Hickman [Hardcover]

Margaret Weis (Author), Tracy Hickman (Author), Denise Little (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 1999

Some authors spin stories. Some create characters. And some bring into being entire universes that were never before dreamed. . . .

In 1983 the literary world was surprised--and even shocked--when a paperback Dungeons and Dragons fantasy by an unknown author team rocketed to the top of the New York Times bestseller list and stayed there.

With more than fifteen million copies of their books in print, Margaret Weis and Tracy Hickman have appeared on bestseller lists--including twelve New York Times bestsellers--ever since that first Dragonlance success, delighting, mystifying, intriguing, and above all, entertaining millions of readers with each new series of fantasy novels. Each series or cycle of their work is unique in that it brings into being an entire new universe, complete with its own creatures, history, geography and even physical (and magical) laws.

This invaluable literary guide and companion introduces both the authors and their worlds. Extensive biographical interviews with both Weis and Hickman reveal their characters, their separate histories, their ongoing working relationship, their years at TSR and in the gaming world, and their subsequent success--including the legendary Traveling Road Show that helped establish their success.

But the heart of this lavishly illustrated book is the worlds themselves. Realms of Dragons contains five separate, comprehensive, authoritative concordances--each complete from A to Z--that detail, explicate, explain, and often illustrate ever important character, event, element, and incident in every book in every series. It's all here--from the sea-elf Apoletta (Dragons of Spring Dawning) to the loony old wizard Zafnib (Nightsword), from Death Gate to Dragonlance to Starshield.

Weis and Hickman have taken their place with J.R.R. Tolkien, Robert Jordan, David Eddings, and Anne McCaffrey in the pantheon of modern fantasy. And this unique companion and guide illuminates their journey every step of the way.

Lavishly illustrated, thoroughly annotated, and carefully documented, Realms of Dragons is an incomparable tribute to the bestselling fantasy team of all time--a beautiful keepsake fans new and old will treasure.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Margaret Weis worked in editorial positions for a number of small publishers before joining TSR and forming a writing partnership with Tracy Hickman. She has published solo novels and has also worked in other collaborative partnerships.

Tracy Hickman worked in game research & development for TSR, including work on the design of the Dragonlance role-playing game system, before he began his writing collaboration with Margaret Weis.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 218 pages
• Publisher: Harpercollins; 1 Us ed edition (October 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0061052396
• ISBN-13: 978-0061052392
• Product Dimensions: 11 x 8.5 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.5 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,794,215 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Short Sword in Long Scabbard, January 10, 2000

By 

Gino Alberto Guillen Bagsit - See all my reviews

This review is from: Realms of Dragons: The Worlds of Weis and Hickman (Hardcover)

If you want to know more about the worlds created by Margaret Weis and Tracy Hickman, this book will give you a good amount of information on the various settings. The bulk of the book is a comprehensive and considerably detailed encyclopedia separated into five different sections -- each one dedicated to a particular series (i.e. the Death Gate Cycle, the Dragonlance Novels, etc.). The book is also wonderfully supplied with beautiful full-color paintings from the novels, black and white photographs of the authors in the Interviews chapter, and a helpful book-by-book analysis of the authors' various works. The first problem, however, with this potentially great work is that the description at the back of the book misleads the reader. It promises "numerous black-and-white DRAWINGS and MAPS to each world." This is false. There are absolutely NO MAPS within the book, and the only black and white pictures are mostly photographs. It's disappointing because detailed maps would have greatly aided the encyclopedia entries. And a well-structured timeline would have likewise been invaluable and much appreciated. The encyclopedia entries also need more information. Some descriptions are only a sentence long. In addition, the book-by-book analysis in the first chapter completely left out the Dragonlance Novels (which I find particularly sinful, because it was the Dragonlance Series that catapulted Weis and Hickman to fame.) So much more could have been added visually. The writing content could have been packed with meatier annotations and previously unknown trivia. I guess I'll have to wait for another,worthier attempt at these magnificent fantasy realms.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Great reference, March 18, 2000

By 

A Guy - See all my reviews

This review is from: Realms of Dragons: The Worlds of Weis and Hickman (Hardcover)

If your looking for an autobiography, novel or a new story, you've come to the wrong place. This is a very detailed reference book FULL of information, with only a little new meterial (like about the author's lives). If you are a longtime fan of the author's, however, this can be a great book to have. After having already read the books of Weis and Hickman, reading this book can remind you what happened, clarify confusing points, or simply bring back memories of a great story.

5 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars This is a great book, December 13, 1999

By 

E. Flowers (St. George, UT USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Realms of Dragons: The Worlds of Weis and Hickman (Hardcover)

This book is really really cool. Weis and Hickman are awesome authors, and this book is great for fans of them. It has all their books, from the dragonlance to death gate to darksword, and even some of their solo works like the star of the guardians. I love it, a definite good buy.