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Here Be Dragons

Dragons are a famous symbol of fantasy. Dungeons & Dragons—the most popular fantasy RPGeven has them in its name!  And yet, to many people, dragons are the property of children’s movies and fairy tales.  Like any mythological creature, though, they can be interpreted in a million different ways, limited only by the creativity of the writer.  Here are some modern works of fantasy that would do any dragon proud, give any dragon lover a great time, and even convert skeptics to the cause of magical beasts.

 

guards pratchett green book with dragon

 

When you think of period dramas with women in corsets and men in waistcoats do you think ofdragons?  You would with The Memoirs of Lady Trent, starting with A Natural History of Dragons, prove that dragons fit perfectly into such a milieu.  In a pseudo-Victorian fantasy setting, Lady Trent has a scientific interest in the biology of dragons, and she will journey from stuffy libraries to deserts full of peril in order to study them.  Written in a style that is equal parts delicate and thrilling, her adventures bring her from a young woman with an obsessive curiosity to the foremost expert of dragons of her era- and in reading the books, you soon will be too!


Jo Walton’s Tooth and Claw also plays with the tone of Victorian novels, but from an entirely different perspective: that of dragons!  Dragon society has social, class and gender roles built into their biology, and the result is a tense drama of manners where a slip in etiquette may mean being devoured.  Following the trials and travails of a dragon family fighting an inheritance case in court, we wait eagerly to see if the daughters will secure good marriages, if the son will get what he is owed, and of course, who will survive to see the case resolved.


For a more humorous take, Terry Pratchett’s Discworld series is often said to have found its spirit with Guards! Guards!, the start of the City Watch stories and the introduction of two distinct species of dragons: Swamp and Noble.  Swamp dragons are adorably ugly little creatures whose sneezes cause fires and who are protected by nature-loving philanthropists in dedicated sanctuaries.  Noble dragons, on the other hand, are the truly dangerous beasts out of legend, and when an ill-conceived plot to put a king on the throne gets out of hand, only the overlooked and underfunded guardsmen (who normally only exist to get slaughtered by greater heroes) are ready to stop the beast from igniting the whole city.  There’s even a charge of ‘assault with a blunt object’- that blunt object being, of course, the dragon.

 

Naomi Novik Dragon

 

If dragons can go to war against humanity, humanity can also use them as weapons of war.  That is the case in His Majesty’s Dragon, the first in Naomi Novik’s Temeraire series.  Dragon riders do aerial battle against each other on specially bred mounts. After Captain Will Lawrence unexpectedly captures a clutch of dragon eggs he finds himself promoted from sea battles to sky battles- a promotion he doesn’t entirely want.  Being a dragon rider is about more than just warfare, though- there’s also bonding with your individual dragon, without whom none of this would be possible.  The dragon Temeraire will be the one to turn the tide of the war, as he and Captain Laurence work together in the service of the crown.


The dragon Tintaglia was an ancient hero in the world of The Dragon Keeper by Robin Hobb, but that was long ago.  Though the people of the Trader cities promised to care for earthbound dragons in exchange for aid, it has proven to be a difficult and time-consuming task.  The dragons are now to be escorted upriver, away from human civilization, and some unlucky humans are sent to escort them.  Thymara and Alise are among those people, hoping to reach an ancestral dragon homeland whos location is known to all dragons, if if really still exists.  The dragons and their escorts must survive in a hostile environment, and come to understand each other as best they can in a tense and desperate situation.  And what in the world will happen if and when they reach that homeland?

 

Phoenix

 

Not everyone is a fighter or a warrior in fantasy societies- some are artists, like Gyen Jebi, the protagonist of Phoenix Extravagant by Yoon Ha Lee.  Being a painter won’t keep them out of trouble for long, though, as their job painting magical sigils for the army is suddenly disrupted by the revelations of awful secrets about the government.  Angry and frightened, Jebi does one of the most dangerous things imaginable- they steal a mechanical dragon from the ministry.  Part folktale and part political thriller, this book never loses its emphasis on character, especially the character of Arazi, a dragon with a mind of its own.


The Priory of the Orange Tree by Samantha Shannon tells the story of three very different women as they face threats both magical and mortal.  Queen Sabran must produce a daughter to inherit the crown before she is assasinated, Ead Duryan uses spells to protect her queen while hiding her involvement with a secret society, and Tané just wants to ride dragons.  An epic fantasy of cold war and high intrigue, with dragons both good and wicked, this book offers readers a glimpse into a beautiful and dangerous world of forbidden magic.


Take flight with one of these books!  If you’re lucky, a dragon’s-eye view will forever change how you see the world.


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