# WotC cancel publication of Dragonlance: Dragons of an Hourglass Mage



## Big Mac (Mar 4, 2008)

Dragons of an Hourglass Mage, which is believed to be the last Dragonlance novel to be written by Margaret Weis and Tracy Hickman was due out in a few months, but has now been cancelled.

Different accounts have been made by the authors and Wizards of the Coast. Tracy Hickman had this to say on the Dragonlance Forums:



			
				Tracy Hickman said:
			
		

> Well, we wish truth were happier...
> 
> Margaret and I have talked about this and are both deeply hurt and concerned. We don’t want our fans or book buyers to be mislead. To be clear, the book has not been turned in as yet by us.
> 
> ...




Margaret Weis posted, to make sure that people knew she agreed with this:



			
				Margaret Weis said:
			
		

> I want to emphasize that Tracy speaks for both us.
> 
> Margaret




Needless to say there is a lot of speculation about this among Dragonlance fans. A representative of Wizards of the Coast responded on their own forums:



			
				Mike Lescault said:
			
		

> Hi All. I received the following information to pass along. I apologize for not posting it earlier, but I am still out of the office from D&D Experience:
> 
> Wizards of the Coast planned to release Dragons of the Hourglass Mage in July 2008, as published in our catalog and posted on Amazon and other sites for pre-order. Despite our efforts, a manuscript was not forthcoming. Plans for the book are on hold; we have not recommissioned it. Today, we communicated this news to our distributor, and we expect that within the coming week retailers taking pre-orders for this book will cancel those orders.
> 
> ...




So Tracy Hickman (and Margaret Weis) seem to be saying that they have been prevented from turning in the manuscript, while Wizards of the Coast seem to be saying that it wasn't given to them.

Either way, anyone waiting for this book is going to be disapointed, and anyone who has ordered the book on Amazon isn't going to get it.


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## Steel_Wind (Mar 4, 2008)

Clearly an indication that sales have been very poor from WotC's perspective.


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## TwinBahamut (Mar 4, 2008)

Based on those two statements, the only thing which I can think of in which both sides are telling the truth is that the authors did not complete the manuscript in time for an important publication deadline, and at that point WotC decided it would be more economical to scrap the project rather than accept the manuscript late and publish behind schedule.


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## Eosin the Red (Mar 4, 2008)

My rather speculative appraisal is creative differences. The book advertised by WOTC is obviously not the book being written by MW & TH in whatever stage it happens to be in at the moment. In my internal simulation the events unfold thusly.....


WOTC - We want a book featuring Y with characters 1, 2, & 3. It should end with a big #% and be sure to include lots of *&.

MW & TH - Here is the draft/outline for the finale book.

WOTC - It doesn't have Y and it sure doesn't have lots of  #% and *&.

MW & TH - This is where we see things logically heading. Character 1 & 2 really aren't the #% type characters nor is the story.

WOTC - Fine. Your contract is canceled. 

MW & TH - Hey, take a look at what we have done. It'll work.

WOTC - Nope. Keep your draft. We don't want to read it in case future authors explore the same issues. 


_Something_ in that vein seems more likely given the scant amount of information that is available here.


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## Ranger REG (Mar 4, 2008)

TwinBahamut said:
			
		

> Based on those two statements, the only thing which I can think of in which both sides are telling the truth is that the authors did not complete the manuscript in time for an important publication deadline, and at that point WotC decided it would be more economical to scrap the project rather than accept the manuscript late and publish behind schedule.



So, what does that mean? They don't want to deal with the _Dragonlance_ novel line? Heaven and Hell forbid they're shelving it to devote company resources (money and man) toward the _Eberron_ novel line.  :\


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## Banshee16 (Mar 5, 2008)

Well, definitely not something I'm happy to hear.  I was curious as to what the next book would be.....but overall, the decisions being made are....curious...I would have thought Weis and Hickman were the top-selling Dragonlance authors, but maybe I'm wrong.  Or maybe they're killing the line.

They don't seem very hesitant lately to go "out with the old, in with the new".

Banshee


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## Ranger REG (Mar 5, 2008)

Banshee16 said:
			
		

> They don't seem very hesitant lately to go "out with the old, in with the new".



If they want to kick us old-timers out of the RPG hobby, all they have to do is say so right on their product. "No One Over 35 Is Allowed To Use This Product."


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## Mouseferatu (Mar 5, 2008)

> They don't seem very hesitant lately to go "out with the old, in with the new".




Guys, I don't know anymore about what's going on than you do, but I do have a bit of experience with WotC's fiction department. I've never known them to do anything without pretty solid reasoning.

Not making accusations, not casting stones, not saying which side is at fault. I'm just saying that there's definitely more to this than them just suddenly deciding they don't feel like publishing the book anymore.


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## Khuxan (Mar 5, 2008)

TwinBahamut said:
			
		

> Based on those two statements, the only thing which I can think of in which both sides are telling the truth is that the authors did not complete the manuscript in time for an important publication deadline, and at that point WotC decided it would be more economical to scrap the project rather than accept the manuscript late and publish behind schedule.




Agreed. It sounds like two different (understandable) spins on the same story:

MW and TH fail to produce a manuscript in time. Wizards cancels the product. MW and TH offer to send it later, but by then it's too late.

I don't know that for a fact, but it fits both stories.


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## Mouseferatu (Mar 5, 2008)

Khuxan said:
			
		

> Agreed. It sounds like two different (understandable) spins on the same story:
> 
> MW and TH fail to produce a manuscript in time. Wizards cancels the product. MW and TH offer to send it later, but by then it's too late.
> 
> I don't know that for a fact, but it fits both stories.




I'd guess that's the most likely scenario as well.


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## Banshee16 (Mar 5, 2008)

Mouseferatu said:
			
		

> Guys, I don't know anymore about what's going on than you do, but I do have a bit of experience with WotC's fiction department. I've never known them to do anything without pretty solid reasoning.
> 
> Not making accusations, not casting stones, not saying which side is at fault. I'm just saying that there's definitely more to this than them just suddenly deciding they don't feel like publishing the book anymore.




Hopefully you're right.  I'm not familiar with the publishing industry, but as I understand it, if the authors don't provide a manuscript that is accepted/published, WotC doesn't have to pay them.

There's also possibly something else going on.  What if this has something to do with the failure to allow the Dragonlance license to be renewed by Margaret Weis Press?  Maybe during those proceedings something was said, somebody took offense or something, and now Weis and Hickman are being excised from the novel line as well?

Just seems kind of odd....kinda like R.A. Salvatore's next Drizzt novel getting cancelled.  I think if we see the book eventually come out from authors other than Weis and Hickman, it'll be clear evidence that something is going on.

At this point, I'm glad I've picked up all the Dragonlance books I wanted.....and I'm thinking again of picking up fresh copies of the 3.5 rulebooks.  I'm still leery about 4E, particularly with some of the reports I've heard coming out.  There's lots of gushing stuff out there, but I'm also hearing troubling indicators that some of my concerns may be justified, like with the IGN review, among others.

Banshee


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## TwinBahamut (Mar 5, 2008)

Ranger REG said:
			
		

> So, what does that mean? They don't want to deal with the _Dragonlance_ novel line? Heaven and Hell forbid they're shelving it to devote company resources (money and man) toward the _Eberron_ novel line.  :\



I don't think you need to take my statement as saying WotC has something against the Dragonlance line.

I am willing to bet that, for some reason or another (I am not involved in book publishing so I don't know for certain), it would be very expensive for WotC to delay the publishing of the book. Probably things like extending the marketing campaign, rescheduling shipping, reallocating staff who were already scheduled to work on other projects at that time (which messes up and possibly delays other projects), etc. This is probably a decision based entirely on the economics of a business and varying needs to balance cost and revenue, rather than something like personal animosity or a desire to kill Dragonlance. I am willing to bet that, if WotC failed to get a manuscript in time, this could happen (or even has happened) to a book from any of its novel or RPG lines.


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## Eosin the Red (Mar 5, 2008)

Khuxan said:
			
		

> Agreed. It sounds like two different (understandable) spins on the same story:
> 
> MW and TH fail to produce a manuscript in time. Wizards cancels the product. MW and TH offer to send it later, but by then it's too late.
> 
> I don't know that for a fact, but it fits both stories.




Not quite... The tell is the comment that the book was solicited with a back page splash that was not the story being told by Marg & Tracy. It seems to me that the inclusion of this in the statement is somehow relevant at least to their side of the story. I don't read a mountain into it but it does indicate that there is more than a time issue.


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## Ranger REG (Mar 5, 2008)

TwinBahamut said:
			
		

> I don't think you need to take my statement as saying WotC has something against the Dragonlance line.
> 
> I am willing to bet that, for some reason or another (I am not involved in book publishing so I don't know for certain), it would be very expensive for WotC to delay the publishing of the book. Probably things like extending the marketing campaign, rescheduling shipping, reallocating staff who were already scheduled to work on other projects at that time (which messes up and possibly delays other projects), etc.



Is that SOP? To have marketing in place (i.e., already paid for) before the material is submitted for editing? Couldn't they just do that (and pay for) AFTER the authors submitted their work?

Or is WotC paying the authors by the hours, not words?


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## Mouseferatu (Mar 6, 2008)

Ranger REG said:
			
		

> Is that SOP? To have marketing in place (i.e., already paid for) before the material is submitted for editing? Couldn't they just do that (and pay for) AFTER the authors submitted their work?




I don't know if that's "standard," but it's certainly quite common. Companies have to put their books in catalogs, and try to convince book distributors to carry them, _months_ in advance. And yes, that very frequently means doing so before they have the materials in hand, even if doing so isn't the optimal way of handling things.


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## Alzrius (Mar 6, 2008)

Tracy Hickman said:
			
		

> ...
> 
> We have seen the book being pre-sold as coming out in July with our names on it, but the plot described is not ours.
> 
> ...




What exactly does that mean? It seems like an allusion to what's being speculated, that WotC wanted certain things to happen, which didn't happen in whatever initial manuscript/draft Margaret and Tracy sent them. That doesn't rule out a time issue also happening (since the idea of creative differences doesn't entirely explain WotC not accepting a (new) manuscript), but there's certainly something to read into there.

When he mentions the "plot described," was a synopsis of the book published someplace? If so, does anyone have it and can post it here?


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## Umbran (Mar 6, 2008)

Alzrius said:
			
		

> What exactly does that mean? It seems like an allusion to what's being speculated, that WotC wanted certain things to happen, which didn't happen in whatever initial manuscript/draft Margaret and Tracy sent them.




While that is possible, it doesn't have to mean anything at all.  The advertised plotline may be akin to the marketing text you see on the back covers of books, which is usually not written by the authors, but instead by someone who hasn't read the book and is going off a quick description.  As Mouseferatu noted, sometimes these have to be dealt with far ahead of time, and they'd be apt to put in a best-guess placeholder until they have the real thing.

I don't think we currently have enough information to come to informed conclusions here.


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## Vocenoctum (Mar 6, 2008)

Alzrius said:
			
		

> When he mentions the "plot described," was a synopsis of the book published someplace? If so, does anyone have it and can post it here?



I think they just meant the Back Cover Blurb

From Amazon:
Between Chronicles and Legends, what made Raistlin aspire to godhood?

In the concluding volume of this trilogy, the reader finds out what, exactly, Raistlin did after he abandoned the Companions to their deaths in the War of the Lance. Dragons of Spring Dawning shows Raistlin concluding a deal with the mysterious Fistandantilus, and the Legends trilogy shows what he did with that alliance, but until now there has been no explanation of what came between the War of the Lance and the Dwarfgate Wars. What power made Raistlin the Master of the Past and Present and allowed him into the Tower of High Sorcery - and a place in history as he pursued a place in the cosmos as a god.


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## Azgulor (Mar 6, 2008)

Khuxan said:
			
		

> Agreed. It sounds like two different (understandable) spins on the same story:
> 
> MW and TH fail to produce a manuscript in time. Wizards cancels the product. MW and TH offer to send it later, but by then it's too late.
> 
> I don't know that for a fact, but it fits both stories.




I could swallow that if not for the fact that Weiss & Hickman weren't proven writers.  I mean, how many copies of their DragonLance stories have been sold?  We're not talking about a pair of newbies writing their second book.

For all intents and purposes, those two are viewed as the de facto "parents" (in spirit) of the DragonLance novels.  Almost everyone I know who has read DragonLance books views their books as canon.  Other authors are viewed with a more critical eye in regards to the setting.

When the WotC took back Dragon and Dungeon, accounts by both WotC and Paizo were consistent with each other.  That doesn't seem to be the case here.


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## Mouseferatu (Mar 6, 2008)

Azgulor said:
			
		

> I could swallow that if not for the fact that Weiss & Hickman weren't proven writers.




Even the most proven of writers sometimes miss deadlines and/or have personality or creative conflicts with the publisher. (Not saying that's what happened here--I don't know--but it's possible.)

And sometimes, in the publishing industry, deadline is more important even than the most proven writers. (Well, except for _truly_ powerful names like Stephen King, perhaps.) It's unfortunate, but it's sometimes the way it is.


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## Banshee16 (Mar 6, 2008)

Mouseferatu said:
			
		

> Even the most proven of writers sometimes miss deadlines and/or have personality or creative conflicts with the publisher. (Not saying that's what happened here--I don't know--but it's possible.)
> 
> And sometimes, in the publishing industry, deadline is more important even than the most proven writers. (Well, except for _truly_ powerful names like Stephen King, perhaps.) It's unfortunate, but it's sometimes the way it is.




So, there's some competing Dragonlance book which will impact the sales of Dragons of an Hourglass Mage, since the W&H book would get pushed into its "slot"?  That doesn't make a lot of sense.  After almost 25 years of history with writers who have sold millions of books for you, you don't just cancel a project like that.

Banshee


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## Cthulhudrew (Mar 6, 2008)

Ranger REG said:
			
		

> Is that SOP? To have marketing in place (i.e., already paid for) before the material is submitted for editing? Couldn't they just do that (and pay for) AFTER the authors submitted their work?




As Ari pointed out, you have to put out solicits before you have the finished product, so there are changes. Matter of fact, I recall this very thing happening in the Dragonlance line when it was under TSR- they released a solicit for one of the Meetings books that was quite different than what actually came out. It was either for _The Oath and the Measure_ or _Steel and Stone_- though I forget which (I want to say it was the first,which ended up being a rather poor retread of the Gawain and the Green Knight story).


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## Darth Shoju (Mar 6, 2008)

Cthulhudrew said:
			
		

> (I want to say it was the first,which ended up being a rather poor retread of the Gawain and the Green Knight story).




Not to derail the thread, but was that the one where Sturm was traveling with a giant spider? One that was [sblock]some polymorphed elf dude or something?[/sblock]


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## Thornir Alekeg (Mar 6, 2008)

Banshee16 said:
			
		

> After almost 25 years of history with writers who have sold millions of books for you, you don't just cancel a project like that.
> 
> Banshee



 You do if it will end up costing you more money than you expect to recover.  They have the sales information on the first two books in the trilogy.  They can make a very good estimate as to sales of the third book.


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## BadMojo (Mar 6, 2008)

Mouseferatu said:
			
		

> Even the most proven of writers sometimes miss deadlines ...




When was the last time George R R Martin released a book?    

He's missed so many self-imposed deadlines on Dance With Dragons (or whatever it's called) that I can't take anything he says about the status of the book seriously anymore.


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## Starman (Mar 6, 2008)

BadMojo said:
			
		

> When was the last time George R R Martin released a book?
> 
> He's missed so many self-imposed deadlines on Dance With Dragons (or whatever it's called) that I can't take anything he says about the status of the book seriously anymore.




With any luck the current primary elections and the upcoming general election won't hamper him in any way.


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## rowport (Mar 6, 2008)

BadMojo said:
			
		

> When was the last time George R R Martin released a book?
> 
> He's missed so many self-imposed deadlines on Dance With Dragons (or whatever it's called) that I can't take anything he says about the status of the book seriously anymore.



He just issued a new Wild Cards novel last month, Snarky Guy.


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## Umbran (Mar 6, 2008)

Banshee16 said:
			
		

> So, there's some competing Dragonlance book which will impact the sales of Dragons of an Hourglass Mage, since the W&H book would get pushed into its "slot"?




There's not necessarily a competing Dragonlance book.  When you want to proofread or edit a book, you need people ready to do it.  When you want to print a book, you have to devote presses to it.  When you want to ship a massive number of those books, you have to have resources dedicated to the task.  Having those resources sitting and _just waiting_, because the book isn't ready, costs money.  Quite possibly lots of money, if there are contracts with fines involved.


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## Ranger REG (Mar 8, 2008)

Umbran said:
			
		

> There's not necessarily a competing Dragonlance book.  When you want to proofread or edit a book, you need people ready to do it.  When you want to print a book, you have to devote presses to it.  When you want to ship a massive number of those books, you have to have resources dedicated to the task.  Having those resources sitting and _just waiting_, because the book isn't ready, costs money.  Quite possibly lots of money, if there are contracts with fines involved.



Heh. The image of people standing and waiting for them is hilarious, especially editors and spellcheckers.


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## Cthulhudrew (Mar 8, 2008)

Darth Shoju said:
			
		

> Not to derail the thread, but was that the one where Sturm was traveling with a giant spider?




That was the one.


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## Azgulor (Mar 8, 2008)

Umbran said:
			
		

> There's not necessarily a competing Dragonlance book.  When you want to proofread or edit a book, you need people ready to do it.  When you want to print a book, you have to devote presses to it.  When you want to ship a massive number of those books, you have to have resources dedicated to the task.  Having those resources sitting and _just waiting_, because the book isn't ready, costs money.  Quite possibly lots of money, if there are contracts with fines involved.




Sorry to threadjack, but given all of that, dontcha think WotC might have been a little more sympathetic to 3rd-party publishers and gotten the GSL out sooner?  I don't want to ascribe nastiness where there probably isn't any but I find it hard to feel sorry for WotC if these were the reasons for cancelling the book.  Given the millions of Hickman & Weiss DragonLance books sold over the years, I'm more inclined to believe them that WotC.

Now if WotC had gotten the GSL into 3rd-party hands quickly because "they understand the planning and logistics that go into publishing a product" I might be more inclined to believe them in this instance.

And while I understand that the novel division isn't the RPG division, business practices are business practices.  Whether its novel or RPG rulebooks, you're still talking about published media that has the same considerations related to getting your product to print.


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## Ranger REG (Mar 9, 2008)

Azgulor said:
			
		

> Sorry to threadjack, but given all of that, dontcha think WotC might have been a little more sympathetic to 3rd-party publishers and gotten the GSL out sooner?



Talk about going way off-topic...

Licenses like GSL are legal documents. WotC and their lawyers want to make sure that there are no loopholes for publishers to exploit outside of WotC's intention to offer this "gift." Sure, you could talk to me about the unwritten honor system, but not everyone will abide by it.

Personally, I wouldn't use GSL as evidence relating to the matter of this thread. In fact, I don't see any connection between the GSL and the now-canceled novel project.


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## Vocenoctum (Mar 9, 2008)

Azgulor said:
			
		

> Given the millions of Hickman & Weiss DragonLance books sold over the years, I'm more inclined to believe them that WotC.





The Past is not the Present, and Dragonlance doesn't sell like it used to. The new stuff just doesn't have the same energy.


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## Ranger REG (Mar 9, 2008)

Vocenoctum said:
			
		

> The Past is not the Present, and Dragonlance doesn't sell like it used to. The new stuff just doesn't have the same energy.



I dunno. The energy is still there. Maybe you're not feeling it.


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## kamicosmos (Mar 12, 2008)

Well, darn it, I just picked up Vols 1 & 2 of the Lost Chronicles at the book store yesterday....Hm....Maybe I should take them back?  I'd hate to get to the end of vol 2 and know that there is no more to come......   

ETA: I hope they don't cancel Vol 3 of Lisa Smedman's Lady Petitant (sp all around there) series, the follow up to WotSQ....I just got the first 2 of those on the same trip....


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## Vocenoctum (Mar 12, 2008)

Ranger REG said:
			
		

> I dunno. The energy is still there. Maybe you're not feeling it.




There was a thing last year or year before where they were re-evaluating whether to print in HC or SC because sales of the trilogy (Amber & Ashes & whatnot) had lagged. The Lost Chronicles seems a thinly veiled attempt to recapture some of the energy of the original trilogies.

Heck, the reprints & anthologies of Chronicles probably make as much or more as the new books.


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## Umbran (Mar 13, 2008)

Azgulor said:
			
		

> Sorry to threadjack, but given all of that, dontcha think WotC might have been a little more sympathetic to 3rd-party publishers and gotten the GSL out sooner?




No, because the situations are not analogous.

With the Dragonlance book, if Weis and Hickman were late, WotC was in the position of having started the process, and having to either extend or abandon it.  With the GSL, the 3rd party publishers were in the position of not having even started the process yet.  

If WotC wants a bit of a delay between the release of the new rules, and the time when 3rd party material hits the shelves, then the GSL timing makes sense.  That is assuming the delay in the GSL was intentional, instead of enforced by human realities.


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## Plane Sailing (Mar 13, 2008)

Eosin the Red said:
			
		

> WOTC - Nope. Keep your draft. We don't want to read it in case future authors explore the same issues.




I could certainly understand that kind of reason behind why they wouldn't want to look at a manuscript they weren't committed to using. Hell, I remember that JMS didn't want anyone to even post any plot *ideas* on the Compuserve forums while B5 was on, so that he couldn't be said to be "using someone else's work" in the future!


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## Dire Bare (Mar 14, 2008)

kamicosmos said:
			
		

> Well, darn it, I just picked up Vols 1 & 2 of the Lost Chronicles at the book store yesterday....Hm....Maybe I should take them back?  I'd hate to get to the end of vol 2 and know that there is no more to come......
> 
> ETA: I hope they don't cancel Vol 3 of Lisa Smedman's Lady Petitant (sp all around there) series, the follow up to WotSQ....I just got the first 2 of those on the same trip....



I wouldn't take back your two Lost Chronicles books.  The trilogy was never meant to be a continuing story arc from book 1 to book 3, each book merely fills in some of the gaps between the original trilogy books.  You won't miss a thing by never seeing the third book.

I was unimpressed with the Lost Chronicles anyway.  There were certainly some interesting bits in each book, but overall it just seemed like a lot of unnecessary filler.  A couple of short stories would have been better rather than new novels longer than the originals.

I think it's a bummer that WotC and Weis & Hickman are on the outs, but I'm not going to lose any sleep over not being able to read Dragons of an Hourglass Mage.

I hope Dragonlance gets a serious reboot with 4e.  After the Lost Chronicles and that nonflavored oatmeal animated movie we got recently, I'm starting to lose my Dragonlance faith.  And I'm sooo tired of the "history" novels.  History of the dwarves, history of the goblins, history of the ogres, history of the minotaurs . . . . blech!  Just give me some good adventures like the original trilogy!


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## Banshee16 (Mar 16, 2008)

Ranger REG said:
			
		

> I dunno. The energy is still there. Maybe you're not feeling it.




I hadn't bought the Dark Chronicles series yet...but it wasn't that I was avoiding them.  I was waiting for all three to be out, then I was going to read them, in conjunction with the regular Chronicles, all in a row.

i know a lot of people that do that...wait until the series is complete, then buy the books.

Now it appears that I won't be able to finish the series....and the time period described in Hourglass Mage definitely was one I wanted to hear more about.

Banshee


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## Banshee16 (Mar 16, 2008)

Thornir Alekeg said:
			
		

> You do if it will end up costing you more money than you expect to recover.  They have the sales information on the first two books in the trilogy.  They can make a very good estimate as to sales of the third book.




Understood....but that's part of what I was getting at.  There's obviously something going on that us, the fans aren't privy to.....whether it's sales lagging, or them being on the outs with Weis and Hickman, or whatever.

However....this, combined with things like not renewing the Dragonlance license for the RPG etc. is kind of suspicious.  One really has to wonder what they're planning.

Banshee


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## qstor (Mar 19, 2008)

who even said that Weis and Hickman were late? Maybe WOTC wanted to discontinue Dragonlance stuff? After all they got the license back?

Mike


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## Khuxan (Mar 19, 2008)

qstor said:
			
		

> who even said that Weis and Hickman were late? Maybe WOTC wanted to discontinue Dragonlance stuff? After all they got the license back?
> 
> Mike




First post: "Despite our efforts, a manuscript was not forthcoming."


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## Ranger REG (Mar 19, 2008)

qstor said:
			
		

> After all they got the license back?



By "getting it back" means WotC (the IP owner) chose not to renew the license (one that has an expiration date) for Sovereign Press/MWP to continue long-term support (at least 2 years) of the line, then yes.


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## Dragonhelm (May 10, 2008)

qstor said:
			
		

> who even said that Weis and Hickman were late?




Tracy himself said they were late.  However, this is not uncommon.  _Amber and Blood_ was turned in late, and it just came out.


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## Staffan (May 11, 2008)

Plane Sailing said:
			
		

> I could certainly understand that kind of reason behind why they wouldn't want to look at a manuscript they weren't committed to using. Hell, I remember that JMS didn't want anyone to even post any plot *ideas* on the Compuserve forums while B5 was on, so that he couldn't be said to be "using someone else's work" in the future!



And someone did anyway, and it lead to one of the best standalone episodes being delayed by about a year until the guy who posted the idea contacted JMS and said "Man, I'm so sorry. I'll sign whatever you need to make this go away."

The episode in question was Passing Through Gethsemane, where a serial killer who's been mindwiped and is now a monk is stalked by his victims' relatives and made to see his past.


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