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Shadow Raiders

The Dragon Brigade #1 / 3
by Margaret Weis, Robert Krammes
Shadow Raiders (The Dragon Brigade #1) by Margaret Weis, Robert Krammes
Unrated

Lord Captain Stephano de Guichen, formerly of the Dragon Brigade, and his disparate group of friends who call themselves the Cadre of the Lost, are hired by the powerful Countess de Marjolaine, to find a Royal Armory journeyman who has mysteriously vanished, along with an invention that could revolutionize warfare. The Countess fears the invention may fall into the hands of their enemies. Always in need of money, Stephano and his friends undertake what they think is an easy job, only to discover they are being dogged by spies and targeted by assassins.

Meanwhile, Father Jacob Northrop, a priest of the feared Arcanum, and his Knight Protector, Sir Ander Martel, are dispatched to investigate the massacre of a hundred nuns at the Abbey of Saint Agnes. A lone survivor claims the nuns were attacked by demons from Hell.

Stephano and his friends take to the skies in their airship, the Cloud Hopper, still on the trail of the journeyman. Their route takes them near the Abbey of Saint Agnes. As they draw near, the Cloud Hopper comes under attack by what appear to be demons riding giant bats. Stephano teams with Father Jacob and Sir Ander and a dragon from his old brigade to fight the hellish forces.

After the battle, one question is on everyone's mind: Are these truly demons sent by the Evil One? Is this the Apocalypse?

As Father Jacob searches the Abbey to find the answer, he uncovers a startling secret that nearly gets him and Sir Ander killed. Stephano's search for the journeyman almost ends in disaster, as he and his friends encounter the deadly Freyan assassin, Sir Henry Wallace.

Schemes and tricks, lies and intrigues culminate in an exciting chase through the skies that comes to a shocking end, when friends and foes alike are caught up in the unexpected and terrifying conclusion.

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FantasyEpic FantasyHigh Fantasy
Release date: May 3, 2011

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Margaret Weis

Margaret Weis

In the sprawling worlds of epic fantasy, few names echo with the same resonance as Margaret Weis. Her stories aren't merely told—they are lived, breathed, and carried in the imaginations of readers who first wandered through the war-torn lands of Dragonlance and never truly left. Weis didn’t just write fantasy—she helped shape it during a time when the genre itself was still defining its voice.

Born in Missouri in 1948, Margaret Weis was a quiet but voracious reader, drawn not to fairy tales or whimsical fables, but to myths that roared with dragons, gods, and fate-bound heroes. She graduated from the University of Missouri in 1970 with a degree in creative writing and literature—training that sharpened her instinct for compelling narratives long before her stories found a stage.

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It was at TSR, the company behind Dungeons & Dragons, where her path shifted from editor to architect of worlds. Paired with fellow writer Tracy Hickman, Weis co-created Dragonlance, a series that broke new ground by infusing role-playing lore with literary depth. With characters like Raistlin Majere and Tanis Half-Elven, Dragonlance Chronicles became more than a tie-in—it became canon for a generation of fantasy readers and gamers alike.

What sets Weis apart is not just her gift for building vast, believable worlds, but her ability to explore moral complexity within them. Her characters often wrestle with loyalty, ambition, sacrifice, and destiny—timeless themes made intimate. Whether charting the rise and fall of nations or the inner battle of a mage tempted by power, she brings a balance of mythic scale and human fragility to her prose.

Beyond Dragonlance, Weis has written across subgenres—from science fiction in The Star of the Guardians to dark fantasy in The Death Gate Cycle. Her voice adapts, but her core remains: a commitment to stories that challenge, inspire, and endure.

Despite decades of success and millions of books sold, Weis remains grounded in the love of storytelling. In interviews, she’s spoken of writing as “a form of escape—but also a way to understand the world.” It's this duality—escapism laced with introspection—that gives her novels their staying power.

Today, Margaret Weis continues to write, create, and inspire, not just as a bestselling author, but as a quiet revolutionary who helped prove that fantasy could be as rich, nuanced, and emotionally resonant as any other literary tradition. And for readers still journeying through Krynn or discovering it for the first time, her legacy grows with every page turned.

The Dragon Brigade

In this swashbuckling epic fantasy series from New York Times best selling authors Margaret Weis and Robert Krammes, daring dragon-riders fight to save a uniquely magical world from destruction by vengeful outcasts.

In a magical world, two enemy kingdoms have long sought a weapon that will win lasting dominance. But then both are attacked by the Bottom-Dwellers, bitter people whose own land was destroyed. Using contramagic strengthened by blood sacrifice, they threaten to bring down whole cities. Freya and Rosia must put aside their age-old conflict to defend themselves.


The Dragon Brigade consists of three books. The current recommended reading order for the series is provided below.

Related series The Dragon Corsairs

Shadow Raiders (The Dragon Brigade #1)
Unrated
Storm Riders (The Dragon Brigade #2)
Unrated
The Seventh Sigil (The Dragon Brigade #3)
Unrated


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