The announcement of a new Dungeons & Dragons book may be happening next week, judging by a listing that has appeared across multiple online retailers. The largely interpretive and open-ended nature of D&D has led to numerous adaptations of the property across video games, films, and literature.
There have been countless D&D novels published throughout the last 40 years, with multiple works coming out every single year since 1980. Many of those novels have been written by Tracy Hickman and Margaret Weis, taking place in the Dragonlance setting. Dragonlance has been one of the most popular D&D campaign settings for a long time, and that popularity was mostly due to the success of Hickman and Weis' books. Although there have been no recent official adventures for Dragonlance in 5th Edition, Hickman and Weis were in talks with Wizards of the Coast to write a new trilogy of novels within the setting. However, that publishing deal went south when WotC suddenly cancelled the second book, prompting the authors to file a lawsuit against the company for breach of contract. That suit was just recently dismissed without prejudice, which could actually be a very good sign for longtime fans of D&D novels.
A retail listing for a new D&D book has gone live across Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and Penguin Random House's websites. According to the product description, the next Dungeons & Dragons title will be unveiled on January 12th. The page only lists the author as the ambiguous "Wizards RPG Team" and says the book will be released on March 16. The hardcover version can be preordered for $49.95, but no other details are available.
Large parts of the D&D community immediately speculated that this new book will be connected to Dragonlance and that it will be written by Hickman and Weis once again. Indeed, Margaret Weis tweeted about the willful dismissal of their lawsuit against WotC last month and asked fans to "watch for exciting news in the weeks to come." D&D exec producer Ray Winninger has also said that multiple new books reintroducing "classic" settings would be released in 2021. Taken together, these statements make a pretty compelling case for a new Dragonlance novel in the very near future.
The possible resurgence of Dragonlance is something that both older D&D veterans and younger neophytes can be happy about. The game has certainly improved and matured in a number of ways over the years, but some beloved settings and other aspects have fallen by the wayside. Hopefully, this upcoming book will put together the best of old and new, but we won't have to wait long to find out.
Source: Amazon