Dragonlance has been the best fantasy series I have ever read. The core 7-book story written by Margaret Weis and Tracy Hickman explores the lives of a couple of erstwhile adventurers trying to survive in a world suffering from war and the return of the flying terrors known as dragons. These adventurers would be drawn into a conflict between the long-forgotten gods, and only through a combination of courage, sacrifice, loyalty, love, and faith would they be able to fight evil and become the Heroes of the Lance.
In addition to the overall plot, Weis and Hickman explore each individual Hero and his/her personal issues. The character development in Dragonlance is practically unparalleled in the fantasy genre. In addition to the Heroes are villains, such as the Dragon Highlords. The Highlords are all great warriors and each commands a formidable army. Each "dragonarmy" has dragons of a certain color (white, black, green, blue, and red); there are five dragonarmies and a Highlord to command each. Then there are individual characters who twist the plot even further. Good and evil, and how people accept one or the other is wonderfully explored in the series.
The first trilogy, called the "Chronicles" tells the story of the War of the Lance. It shows how the Heroes assemble and first encounter the growing evil in their own hometown. Here they meet a pair of strangers who bear an icon of hope. The Heroes travel through the continent of Ansalon, and halfway through the story they are divided, only to be reunited at the end of the trilogy. They battle the evil Dragon Highlords and their armies which are attempting to conquer Ansalon, and in the end they have to prevent the Queen of Darkness herself from entering their world.
The second trilogy, the "Legends" deals primarily with two characters: the twins Caramon and Raistlin Majere. Both originally Heroes of the Lance, one chooses a path of darkness while the other attempts to redeem his twin. They travel through time and struggle with their differences. Ultimately, the twins conquer the evils within themselves to achieve greatness and become legends. In the meantime, their sister in Ansalon makes her own attempt to win glory and power, and in the end she must confront the result of her past deeds.
The last book, "The Dragons of Summer Flame" introduces some new unlikely heroes- a dark knight, a white-robed mage, and an innocent girl who was raised in isolation from humans. A terrible power is unleashed by an arrogant people fearing destruction. This foe threatens existence itself, and even the gods themselves are helpless before him. The people of the world of Krynn learn that when all is lost and everything is hopeless, what they have left is each other.
Click here to see the Heroes of the Lance
Click here for some of the villains of Krynn
SSI made a trilogy of video games based on the series. Here are the walkthrus:
Champions of Krynn: Help expose and stop an evil plot to renew the War of the Lance!
Death Knights of Krynn: Rid Krynn of its longest-resident evil that cannot die, Lord Soth!