Below is the complete list of Jean Rabe books in order. For each series, the chronological reading order is the same as the order of publication.
Publication Order of Piper Blackwell Books
Publication Order of Finest Trilogy Books
Publication Order of Standalone Books
Publication Order of Short Stories/Novellas Books
- Swamplight (1993)
Swamplight was published in 1993 and is listed as book #1 in the Short Stories/Novellas series. 
Publication Order of Non-Fiction Books
Publication Order of Short Story Collections Books
Publication Order of Dragonlance Universe Books
- The Day of the Tempest (1997)
The Day of the Tempest was first published in 1997; within the Dragonlance Universe series, it is listed as book #5. - Tales of Uncle Trapspringer (1997)
(By Dixie Lee McKeone)
Tales of Uncle Trapspringer was published in 1997 and is listed as book #6 in the Dragonlance Universe series. 
- The Best of Tales, Volume Two (2000)
(By Margaret Weis, Tracy Hickman)
The Best of Tales, Volume Two is a 2000 release and appears as book #8 in the Dragonlance Universe series. 
Publication Order of Dragonlance: Bridges of Time Books
Publication Order of Dragonlance: Dhamon Saga Books
- Redemption (2002)
Redemption is a 2002 release and appears as book #3 in the Dragonlance: Dhamon Saga series.
Publication Order of Dragonlance: Dragons of a New Age Books
- The Dawning of a New Age (1996)
The Dawning of a New Age was published in 1996 and is listed as book #1 in the Dragonlance: Dragons of a New Age series. - The Day of the Tempest (1997)
Published in 1997, The Day of the Tempest is listed as book #2 in the Dragonlance: Dragons of a New Age series. 
Publication Order of Dragonlance: The Age of Mortals Books
- Dark Thane (2003)
(By Jeff Crook)
Dark Thane is a 2003 release and appears as book #3 in the Dragonlance: The Age of Mortals series. 
Publication Order of Dragonlance: The Stonetellers Books
Publication Order of Dungeons & Dragons: Endless Quest Books
Publication Order of Five Senses Books
Publication Order of Forgotten Realms: Anthologies Books
Publication Order of Forgotten Realms: The Harpers Books
Publication Order of Goranth the Mighty Books
with Craig Martelle
Publication Order of Quag Keep Books
Publication Order of Shadowrun WizKids Novels Books
Publication Order of The Love-Haight Case Files Books
with Donald J. Bingle
Publication Order of The Magic Books
Publication Order of Blue Kingdoms Books
About Jean Rabe
Jean Rabe was an American novelist, game designer, editor, anthologist, and journalist whose career moved from tabletop role-playing games and shared-world fantasy into original fantasy and crime fiction. Born in Ottawa, Illinois, in 1957, she became particularly well known for her contributions to Dragonlance, but her work also reached into Forgotten Realms, Greyhawk, BattleTech, Shadowrun, Star Wars, and other established settings. By the end of her career, she had written roughly sixty novels and more than one hundred short stories, giving her a bibliography that crossed fantasy, science fiction, urban fantasy, mystery, and thriller fiction.
Rabe began professionally as a newspaper journalist, working for the Quincy Herald-Whig in Illinois and the Evansville Courier & Press in Indiana. Her career changed direction after she joined TSR in 1987. She became closely involved with the Role Playing Game Association, eventually heading the RPGA, while writing and editing material for games including Dungeons & Dragons and Gamma World. That combination of journalism, game design, editing, and organized gaming gave her an unusual foundation for writing fiction inside worlds governed by established histories and detailed rules.
Her first novel, Red Magic, appeared as part of the Forgotten Realms setting. Dragonlance soon became the most substantial branch of her fantasy career. Rabe was entrusted with developing Krynn after the transformative events of Dragons of Summer Flame, writing the Dragons of a New Age trilogy beginning with The Dawning of a New Age. Those books introduced the era of the Dragon Overlords and helped define the Fifth Age period before Margaret Weis and Tracy Hickman later advanced the setting again.
Rabe continued exploring Krynn through the Dhamon Saga, following a character introduced during the New Age period, and later through the Stonetellers trilogy. She also contributed individual Dragonlance novels and shorter fiction, giving her work an unusually wide chronological and geographical reach within the shared world. Her stories often concentrated on characters and peoples outside the original Heroes of the Lance, expanding areas of Krynn that could support their own conflicts rather than simply revisiting the central Chronicles cast.
Outside Dragonlance, Rabe wrote the Finest trilogy, beginning with The Finest Creation, and collaborated with other writers on several projects. She worked with Andre Norton on fiction including Return to Quag Keep and Dragon Mage, and with John Helfers on the Shadowrun novel Aftershock. Editing was equally important to her career. She assembled or co-edited numerous themed anthologies, frequently working with Martin H. Greenberg, and remained active within professional speculative-fiction and gaming communities.
Later in life, Rabe made a notable genre shift toward crime fiction. Her Piper Blackwell mysteries follow a young sheriff in southern Indiana handling murders and investigations in a rural community. Beginning with The Dead of Winter, the series allowed Rabe to draw on her earlier journalistic instincts while moving away from secondary-world fantasy. She described the books as police procedurals with touches of romance and an ever-present fondness for dogs. She also wrote mysteries and urban fantasy outside the series, including The Bone Shroud.
Rabe was recognized by the International Association of Media Tie-In Writers as a Grandmaster, reflecting a career deeply connected to licensed and shared-world storytelling. She died on January 19, 2026, at the age of 68. Her bibliography ultimately reflects two distinct but complementary strengths: an ability to expand established fictional universes without losing their identity, and a willingness later in her career to leave those worlds behind and build mysteries around characters and settings entirely her own.