Lifelong friends, they went their separate ways. Now they are together again, though each holds secrets from the others in his heart. They speak of a world shadowed with rumors of war. They speak of tales of strange monsters, creatures of myth, creatures of legend. They do not speak of their secrets. Not then. Not until a chance encounter with a beautiful, sorrowful woman, who bears a magical crystal staff, draws the companions deeper into the shadows, forever changing their lives and shaping the fate of the world.

No one expected them to be heroes.

Least of all, them.

Think of it as A New Hope for the world of Dragonlance: Sure, maybe it's a little rough around the edges, maybe it's got one cliché too many, but this baby is pure magic. The first volume in the Dragonlance Chronicles series, this classic from Margaret Weis and Tracy Hickman started it all for Krynn, eventually spawning a bestselling 90-plus book series. (And, frankly, you'd do well to stick to the Weis-Hickman titles.) All the heroes that you've likely heard of already--the creepy, hourglass-eyed Raistlin, the noble half-elf Tanis, the comic relief Tasselhoff Burrfoot, the curmudgeonly dwarf Flint Fireforge--they're all here, starting the good fight against the Dark Queen Takhisis as the War of the Lance begins. Pick up Dragons of Winter Night when you're done. --Paul Hughes