This October will be Dragon Month to honor the lovely Azuranna who has opened her library to visitors for the first time in centuries. Just starting the party a bit early. Don't mind the leprechauns doing jigs in the rafters. Dragonhunters, remember that Azuranna is off limits. You really don't want to set off the fire lizard alarm.
To commemorate the occasion, a tidbit about dragons themselves. Depending on the world or culture they originate, they may take on different forms and sizes. They don't even all breathe fire or have wings. Some are even shapeshifters. The one thing held in common is that they are reptilian in nature, most often referenced as serpentine.
Dragons are a common fixture in fantasy stories. However, their presence is not limited to children's fairy tales or even just to fantasy. They appear in mythologies around our world, in science fiction, adult fantasy, and more. Dragons range in intelligence, sentience, and alignment. That's right; they aren't all evil. In some stories, dragons have their own societies filled with an assortment of good, bad, and misunderstood members.
I will try to go into more detail later this month, once I find where the pixies hid the dragon scrolls.
A sampling of books featuring dragons in some form:
Another Fine Myth (and other Myth books) by Robert Asprin
Dealing With Dragons (and the other Enchanted Forest Chronicles) by Patricia Wrede
Dragon on a Pedestal (and other Xanth books) by Piers Anthony
Dragon Slippers (and the rest of the trilogy) by Jessica Day George
Dragonflight (and other Pern books) by Anne McCaffrey
Dragonlance novels by Margaret Weis and Tracy Hickman
The Dragons Are Singing Tonight by Jack Prelutsky
Dragon's Blood (and the other Pit Dragon books) by Jane Yolen
Elvenbane (and the other Half-Blood Chronicles) by Andre Norton
The Hero and the Crown by Robin McKinley
The Hobbit by JRR Tolkien
Flight of the Dragonn Kyn by Susan Fletcher
Jeremy Thatcher, Dragon Hatcher by Bruce Coville
Joust (and the other Dragon Jouster books) by Mercedes Lackey
Monster's Legacy by Andre Norton
Song In the Silence by Elizabeth Kerner
Split Heirs by Lawrence Watt-Evans
Some of these books and any new additions to my have-read list will be given a closer look throughout this month. My review on Dragon Slippers will be featured on The Sharp Angle Monday. My first guest appearance. How exciting! I hope to see you there.
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4 comments:
Nice list! The only one I've read is Dragonflight and, though I didn't care for McCaffrey's writing style, her portrayal of the human/dragon relationship is truly unique and intriguing.
I think our fascination with dragons is a bit like our fascination with vampires...it's not going away anytime soon.
Very cool! I love dragons. Their origins in mythology is quite fascinating.
@Lydia: I started reading Anne McCaffrey's Pern series with Dragonsdawn, which was the prequel she wrote in 1988. I enjoyed that book so much more than the Dragonriders of Pern series. Just thought I'd mention it. It's a sci-fi rather than a fantasy and tells the story of how the original colonists settled on Pern.
If anyone likes romantic dragons, I would highly recommend the Aisling Grey, Guardian series and the related dragons series by Katie MacAlister and not-quite-as-highly the Dragonfire novels by Deborah Cooke. Both feature shapeshifting dragons-as-men. I have to say I enjoyed the Katie MacAlister books much more than the Deborah Cooke ones.
I might check that one out, Jenn.
I actually never finished Dragonflight because when McCaffrey got into the part about flying between times instead of between places, it totally put me off. I hate time travel stories. The story was very good up to that point, but then...just...augh!
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