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This year my goal was to finish series I had started, but I focused on series I had recently started, forgetting that there were older ones like Pern that I hadn't kept up with for a few years no.

The idea of reading the entire Pern series next year gave me the idea of maybe having an entire dragon themed reading year. I doubt I'll hold myself to it, too many other good things to read, but I do own a lot of dragon books that I haven't read yet and should get around to. Problem is, I own more dragon books than I can read in a year, so was interested to hear your suggestions to help me narrow down (or even add to) my possible list.

What are your favorite dragon books? Other than dragons being a core theme I have no restrictions. Can be SF, Fantasy, Urban Fantasy, short stories, graphic novels, series, standalones, indie, or even non-fiction (i.e. the history of the mythology of dragons)

Andrea wrote: "Problem is, I own more dragon books than I can read in a year..."
Far from helping, I am going to worsen your problem!
"The Ways of Dragons" is very light reading, but it is the first of a series by Paul Trembling. They won't take long to read, and are not intellectually demanding but if you want something easy and fun, go for it!

I liked the early Pern books, but didn't bother reading much past the original trilogy.

I think my favorite dragon book is The Dragon and the George since it doesn't take itself or dragons too seriously.

Dragon Champion was good, but for some reason I never continued on with the series. Temeraire was good, too.

Right, Temeraire was the other series I started but haven't finished yet, got three or four more books in that series to go.

Been meaning to read The Dragon and The George, for years I've been collecting it from used bookstores (I give myself some "quests" for series to buy only used, this is one). Haven't gotten them all yet though.

Heard good things about Dragon Champion.

Never heard of The Ways of Dragons, will have to check it out. Will need some quick, light reads to mix in with the rest.

A Song of Ice and Fire's prequels, i.e. during the Targaryen's civil war, Dance of the Dragons. There are two novellas, but the best is The Princess and the Queen. It is part of an anthology titled Dangerous Women.

Another novella set in another world by Martin is titled the Ice Dragon. It is in his anthology Dreamsongs vol 1. More like coming of age story.

I also really enjoyed the Farseer series by Robin Hobb. Dragons = magic ships.

If you want something lighter, The Last Dragonslayer by Jasper Fforde is quite nice. I don't know however if the rest of the series always has dragons in each book.

I think the "Dragon & the George" books went downhill pretty fast after the first one, but I also abandoned the Temeraire series on the 3d or 4th. Sometimes I really like the first book of the series, but think or find out the series doesn't have the legs for sequels, at least not for me.

Silvana wrote: "A Song of Ice and Fire's prequels, i.e. during the Targaryen's civil war, Dance of the Dragons. There are two novellas, but the best is The Princess and the Queen. It is part of an anthology titled..."

Didn't know about those novellas, though I have read the Ice Dragon which was short and sweet (loved the concept of the ice dragon, not that it's unique or new, but still), it's also a standalone illustrated book usually found in the YA/Children's section.

Definitely heard lots of good stuff about Robin Hobb.

Loved Jasper Fforde's The Eyre Affair (ooh, another series I started but haven't finished, but no dragons there) so I know I enjoy that author.


Jim wrote: "I think the "Dragon & the George" books went downhill pretty fast after the first one, but I also abandoned the Temeraire series on the 3d or 4th. Sometimes I really like the first book of the seri..."

Agreed Temeraire went downhill, it did sort of pick up again in the last couple I read but the middle ones were just Temeraire complaining. Figured I got this far I'll finish it, just trying to decide if I reread the whole series since I've already started forgetting stuff or just wrap up the ones I haven't read yet. The series had so much potential but nothing worse than a whiny main character.

I loved the 'Dragonsbane' book, it's by Barbra Hambly. It's the first book in the 'Winterlands' serie with 4 book (actually 5 I just discovered there was a new one in 2010). I'll say that not all books are equals. My favorite was Dragonsbane but the second, even if heartbreaking, and the last were good too.
You're giving me idea by having a dragon theme reading year, thanks!

Jim wrote: "I think my favorite dragon book is The Dragon and the George since it doesn't take itself or dragons too seriously..."

I'll second that recommendation. Really fun read. And a singleton.

I liked the Pern books that had dragons: the original trilogy (Dragonflight) and Harper Hall juvie trilogy (Dragonsong), and Moreta & Nerilka's Story. After that McCaffrey went off on prequels to the founding of Pern, which brings in the scifi aspect, but I thought less interesting.

I don't know how many Temeraire books I read, they became a blur of the same old thing after the first one or two. I really enjoyed the first one and found the next couple mildly entertaining, but there was absolutely no need to keep going. Many stories are like that.

I'm a sucker for world-building so I did enjoy more of the Pern books that had to do with its founding like Dragonsdawn but yes, that series also got tired after a while.

I'll have to check out the Dragon and the George from all the praise it's getting on here it must be good. :)

"Dragons Can Only Rust" and it's sequel "Dragon Reforged" by Chris Cymri is an interesting short series. The main character is a sentient robot dragon named Gonard (yes, the fact that his name is just "dragon" spelled backwards is brought up in the book) who journeys with a group of companions through a strange post-apocalyptic future world. It was originally released by TSR (the original creators of D&D) as part of a brief line of original fantasy and science fiction novels.

The Ultimate Dragon Saga by Graham Edwards is pretty good. All the characters are dragons inhabiting a world (hinted to be prehistoric Earth) that is undergoing a change from being governed by magic to a world of natural forces.
The books in the series are "Dragoncharm" , "Dragonstorm" and "Dragonflame"

"The Flight of Dragons" by Peter Dickinson is a really neat attempt to explain how dragons could actually function as real animals. The book tries to provide a scientific explanation for how such large animals could have gotten airborne, how they could realistically breathe fire and why they would hoard gold. On an interesting side note, the ideas from this book were combined with the plot of The Dragon and the George for the animated 80s movie Flight of Dragons.

Andrea wrote: "Silvana wrote: "A Song of Ice and Fire's prequels, i.e. during the Targaryen's civil war, Dance of the Dragons. There are two novellas, but the best is The Princess and the Queen. It is part of an ..."

Now with the link: The Princess and The Queen, or, The Blacks and The Greens - it has some great dragon duels and battles in it. If you're an ASOIAF geek and like that world's history (especially on how dragons became extinct years before A Game of Thrones starts) then you should not miss this.

Andrea wrote: "This year my goal was to finish series I had started, but I focused on series I had recently started, forgetting that there were older ones like Pern that I hadn't kept up with for a few years no.
..."

I'm just finishing Lawrence Watts-Evans Obsidian trilogy. I'm on the third book and still enjoying the story. The first book is Dragon Weather.

I also recently read several of E. E. Knight's Age of Fire books. Someone above mentioned the first one, Dragon Champion These are a little different since they're told from the dragons' perspective, and they're not linear. The time lines overlap and are told from different characters' viewpoints. I enjoyed the first three, but stalled there. I'm not sure how many more there are.

I suppose Uprooted doesn't qualify?

"Our Dragon doesn’t eat the girls he takes, no matter what stories they tell outside our valley. We hear them sometimes, from travelers passing through. They talk as though we were doing human sacrifice,..."

Emmanuelle wrote: "I loved the 'Dragonsbane' book"

Oh! I have that series, or most of it, now just need to figure out where I put them...

G33z3r wrote: "I liked the Pern books that had dragons..."

I enjoyed the prequels too, I think I stopped just before Masterharper, definitely before any of the books written with her son which I heard weren't so great but I'll give them a try. I'm a bit obsessive of completing things I start (even if there are years gaps in doing so) so unless they are utter rubbish will probably read them all.

John wrote: "...."

Will have to check out Dragons Will Only Rust. I've read the The Iron Dragon's Daughter by Michael Swanwick so won't be my first mechanical dragon read and would be interesting to compare :) Also need to read the sequel to Iron Dragon...

The Ultimate Dragon Saga were three (six if you include the another related trilogy) that I dug out of my shelves the other day, glad it got a recommendation! Didn't expect that one to show up as it seemed rather obscure.

And you have no idea how badly I want to get my hands on Flight of Dragons, I loved the movie, I could even sing the theme song for you right now :) But the darn thing is hard to find.

Kivrin wrote: "I'm just finishing Lawrence Watts-Evans Obsidian trilogy..."

I saw you post that in the other thread, didn't think anyone else had heard of it and is already on my planned list to read since I have them and you seemed to enjoy them. Was part of my motivation for going mostly dragon next year.

G33z3r wrote: "I suppose Uprooted doesn't qualify?..."

That quote sounds like something from Dealing with Dragons by Patricia Wrede. I'll probably end up reading Uprooted at some point just because Novik wrote it and I'm curious to see her non-Temeraire work.


Hope no one minds if I nominate some of those next year. We have been lacking in dragons lately, so hopefully will succeed in getting a few in as the group reads.

Andrea wrote: "G33z3r wrote: "I suppose Uprooted doesn't qualify?..."
I'll probably end up reading Uprooted at some point just because Novik wrote it and I'm curious to see her non-Temeraire work......."

Just so I don't lead you astray, there are no actual dragons in Uprooted. That opening paragraph I quoted continues...

"Our Dragon doesn’t eat the girls he takes, no matter what stories they tell outside our valley. We hear them sometimes, from travelers passing through. They talk as though we were doing human sacrifice, and he were a real dragon. Of course that’s not true: he may be a wizard and immortal, but he’s still a man...."

Uprooted is a very enjoyable read, but Dragon is just a title for the local wizard. (Hence "doesn't qualify" :)

The Hobbit, The Dragon and the George and the Pernod books are the first that come to mind

That was Perrin books, not Pernod. Darn autocorrect. :(

G33z3r wrote: "Uprooted is a very enjoyable read, but Dragon is just a title for the local wizard. (Hence "doesn't qualify""

I figured it would be a trick suggestion :) Though my guess was that maybe the Dragon would just be over in that cave over there and wouldn't actually appear in the story.

A couple of other unusual dragons:

There's Tea with the Black Dragon by R.A. MacAvoy where the main character is a dragon but he spends the entire time in human form.

Chasing the Dragon by Nicholas Kaufmann where the heroine is on heroin and is actually chasing a literal dragon. I believe it is a free download if anyone wants to try it out.

Hmm, that made me think, what about oriental dragons? Any suggestions there?

Funny that The Iron Dragon's Daughter was mentioned. I interpreted that more to be a (view spoiler)[sentient fighter jet (hide spoiler)] than a dragon.

Andrea wrote: "G33z3r wrote: "Uprooted is a very enjoyable read, but Dragon is just a title for the local wizard. (Hence "doesn't qualify""

I figured it would be a trick suggestion :) Though my guess was that ma..."

A couple of series with oriental dragons that I enjoyed: The Dark Heavens books by Kylie Chan has dragon deities

Dragon Keeper by Carole Wilkinson and the rest of the series was fantastic and very well researched

Forgot to mention Anthony Ryan's new series The Draconis Memoria, starting from The Waking Fire. Steampunk, naval adventures and dragons!

Andrea wrote: "There's Tea with the Black Dragon by R.A. MacAvoy where the main character is a dragon but he spends the entire time in human form...."
And its sequel, the name of which I will no doubt remember as soon as I have posted this. It is very different from most 'dragon' stories - but that is because the character is a Chinese dragon - a completely different beastie from the western traditions!

Alan wrote: "Andrea wrote: "There's Tea with the Black Dragon by R.A. MacAvoy where the main character is a dragon but he spends the entire time in human form...."
And its sequel, the name of which I will no do..."

Twisting the Rope is the sequel

I absolutely love Tea with the Black Dragon! I hadn't thought of that book in years... thanks for the reminder Andrea.

I think my favorite treatment of dragons in literature is byNaomi Novik. The wholeHis Majesty's Dragon series is delightfully fun.

Talking to Dragons by Patricia C. Wrede
The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien
A Book Dragon by Donn Kushner
Draw One in the Dark by Sarah A. Hoyt
Nice Dragons Finish Last by Rachel Aaron

I was thinking of including Talking to Dragons, I know my sister has all four books and can borrow from her.

Didn't think anyone would be listing A Book Dragon, I actually own it but it seemed a little obscure, glad to see it being recommended, will included it in my list.

Haven't heard of the last two, will need to check those out, thanks!

Since there's a discussion going on about how rarely we do short stories or novelettes, does anyone know of any good dragon themed ones?

I've got a free Temeraire one in my to-read list, but that's not a great candidate since its part of an established series. I've also got some dragon anthologies but sometimes it's nice to have something, well, short and won't take as much time to read.

Andrea wrote: "Since there's a discussion going on about how rarely we do short stories or novelettes, does anyone know of any good dragon themed ones?.."


I'll recommend the following dragon stories as having entertained me, been self-contained, and available free on-line at the links I've provided:

The Obsidian Trilogy by Lawrence Watt-Evans
Dragon Weather
The Dragon Society
Dragon Venom

Winterlands series by Barbara Hambly
Dragonsbane
Dragonshadow
Knight of the Demon Queen
Dragonstar

Just read Grounded: A Dragon's Tale recently and loved it so I thought I'd share on this thread!

The Outstretched Shadow; To Light a Candle; When Darkness Falls by Mercedes Lackey and The Elvenbane by Andre Norton are definitely at the top of my list. The dragon is kind of a secondary character in the Obsidian trilogy, but he's still vital so I hope that qualifies. Elvenbane is part of a series but I read it as a stand alone book because Andre Norton died before he could finish the series. I love it anyway and re-read it every now and then.

I own the Lackey ones...or was that the trilogy where I was missing one? Need to dig them up. I know there is a sequel trilogy, and I think the co-authors are even starting a third.

As for the Norton book, looks like Mercedes Lackey is planning on completing the fourth book in the series and it's supposedly due end of this year (saw that on the Å·±¦ÓéÀÖ page for the third book). One situation where I'm ok with that kind of thing, because it's unfair to leave readers hanging with an unfinished series. And in this case particularly appropriate given Lackey was co-author of the other books too.

Going to try for the Bingo reading challenge this year, and while I could complete I want to see how many of those I can achieve using dragon books. I know I can cover part of the card with what I've already picked out but need some help with some of the squares. Some of the combos are so strange they could probably only be found in short stories, if that :)

- Set in Near Future (Pern is far future)
- Based on Fairy Tale or Folklore
- Military (wasn't planning on reading Temeraire but could do that)
- Apocalyptic/Dystopian (maybe Yolen's Pit Dragon Trilogy? Dragons can only rust?)
- Featuring Robot / AI (Iron Dragon's Daughter??? It's kind of a magical robot?? Or Dragons can only Rust?)
- Steampunk or Gaslight (Draconis Memoria?)

- Time Travel -> SOLVED (Dragonflight)
- Graphic novel -> SOLVED (The Last Dragon)

Well, I guess an argument could be made for The Last Dragonslayer being near future... it's kinda more alternate reality though.

Two other books that you might find useful in your quest for dragon books - Seraphina and The Other Wind

Apocalyptic/Dystopian: Nice Dragons Finish Last by Rachel Aaron
Graphic novel: The Water Dragon's Bride, Vol. 1 by Rei Toma
Based on Fairy Tale or Folklore: I could recommend The Dragon's Cottage; then I would. So -- Mighty Jack by Ben Hatke. Be warned it's half of what's really a single book, and the fairy tale is not entirely clear until the second book. (Also, it could be a graphic novel, too.)
Steampunk/Gaslight: Agatha Heterodyne and the Hammerless Bell by Phil Foglio and Kaja Foglio (But it is volume 11.)
Military: War and XPs by Rich Burlew. Also a graphic novel, and the third book. (the earlier ones have dragons, but not war.)

The Sky Is Yours by Chandler Klang Smith

Now, I'm trying to avoid buying more books (part of this dragon goal was to read the huge piles of books I already have) but let's see what the library offers...

The Water Dragon's Bride - This one sounds pefect, well except that the series isn't complete yet. I was trying to decide what manga to read next. Was going for Bleach or Black Butler or Death Note since I'm familiar with those, but they were all on loan the last time I went so I came back emptyhanded.

Mighty Jack is there too, will check it out. Dragon Cottage is also very affordable as an ebook.

Hehe, and when I put the last one into the library search it came up with a book about Excel instead :)

The Sky is Yours sounds like the most perfect apocalyptic dragon tale, not published yet but I'll keep an eye on it.

And I just may need to look into Nice Dragons Finish Last since it keeps popping up in recommendations and just through GR itself!

Mary wrote: "The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien"

Thank you for mentioning that one. I think it's the best dragon book I have read.

I also really enjoyed the anthology The Dragon Quintet with 5 novellas about dragons.

And of course George R.R. Martin's Song of Ice and Fire series.

Randy wrote: "I also really enjoyed the anthology The Dragon Quintet with 5 novellas about dragons."

Good to know since I'm planning on reading that one this month! I couldn't nominate it since it's out of print and only people who were part of the SFBC book club would even have had an opportunity to buy it, figured would be too hard for people to get a copy. But glad I was lucky enough to get one, can't wait to start it.

I actually don't consider ASOIAF as a dragon series because the dragons play such a small part. They are a key aspect to the worldbuilding but in all the books so far they barely show up at all (except the Ice Dragon novella)

I suppose if you were to apply "with a dragon" exceptionally liberally, you could consider WoT as counting since Rand al'Thor is the Dragon Reborn. He even is represented by a Dragon Banner flag.

I guess what I'm looking for is "a book about dragons" not a "book with a dragon". I actually categorize my shelves by fantasy element (rather than urban fantasy, epic fantasy, etc), basically wizards, dragons, unicorns, etc. So I couldn't claim ASOIF is a "dragon" series when one would have to read about 1000 pages of the first book before the dragons even hatch, and there is another 1000+ page book where Daenarys doesn't even show up. In fact the first book has virtually no magic/fantasy element at all, it was simply set in another world from ours.

Urban fantasy tends to be hard to categorize too unless the main character is the key element. Like Butcher's Dresden Files is a "wizard" series. Though it has major story lines with vampire or fairies, they don't show up in every book so I wouldn't recommend that series to someone wanting to read more vampire stuff. While the Sookie Stackhouse series was very vampire heavy, the spinoff Midnight Texas I had to put under generic fantasy since it covers a little bit of everything but no one element is key across all books.

Andrea wrote: "I guess what I'm looking for is "a book about dragons" not a "book with a dragon""

That will make filling in your card even harder. Though some of those I recommended are unquestionably about dragons.

Discovered Smoke Eaters by Sean Grigsby while reading this . Must admit I'm intrigued by the idea of an actual firefighter writing a book about battling dragons. Will have to see if I can hunt this one down this year.

Don't
know if you've done it already but the Pern books can be for time travel!!

Also Golden Age is a fun little dragon anthology

My favourite dragon book is Farmer Giles of Ham, featuring the excellently named Chrysophylax Dives.

For serious dragonophiles I would recommend How to Raise and Keep a Dragon, which has some very nice illustrations of the various dragon subspecies.

Anyone else read the Dragon Champion by E.E. Knight? It's pretty good. First of a series.

Jim wrote: "Anyone else read the Dragon Champion by E.E. Knight? It's pretty good. First of a series."

I have. I've read the first 3 in the series. Enjoyed them all. Stalled out at that point. I have the 4th but haven't read it yet.

I really enjoyed A Book Dragon when I read it many years ago. I suppose it's something of a children's book and something of a historical fiction ... not sure how you would want to categorize it for the challenge. It's a sweet and quick read. It may be out of print but available used certainly.