Book Recs: Dragons!

Here’s another prompt for #WyrdandWonder, a month-long celebration of all things fantasy. Click here to see the other prompts.

ten books featuring dragons

The prompt is actually “top ten dragons,” but I haven’t read that many fantasy books to do a decent post listing my top ten dragons. Instead, in this post I’ll list five books I’ve read that feature dragons I like and five books I’d like to read that feature dragons.

Five books about dragons I like

In Search of Lost Dragons by Elian Black’mor (illus.) and Carine-M (illus.)

This is one of my favorite books about dragons. It’s a graphic novel about a reporter travelling through Europe and Asia to document the existence of dragons. There isn’t much plot to it. Instead, In Search of Lost Dragons is structured and presented as the reporter’s journal, so it contains his notes, illustrations, maps, newspaper cuttings, and travel tickets. I love the book for its breathtaking illustrations and for the variety of dragons it features. I highly recommend it.

Eon by Alison Goodman

This is the first novel in a duology about a girl who poses as a boy so that she can become Dragoneye, a respected position in her society, and use dragon magic. I’ve only read the first of the two books, but I enjoyed the story and love how dragons are presented in it. When I read Eon, it was a new experience to see dragons presented as spiritual beings that work with humans to cause change in the world. I was so used to dragons being flesh and blood and very physically present. Though the story progresses slowly in some parts, I do recommend it. It was entertaining and the dragons are interesting, especially the Dragon Dragon, which the protagonist bonds with (the dragon names are associated with the Chinese zodiac, e.g. Rat Dragon).

Eragon by Christopher Paolini

Eragon is the first novel in Paolini’s Inheritance Cycle series, a YA fantasy series about a farm boy who learns he’s the last dragon rider destined to save the world. I enjoyed reading these books and am currently rereading them. It’s the adventure and the protagonist’s bond with his dragon that made me keep returning to the story. Unlike Eon, these dragons are physically present and resemble dragons I often hear of in fantasy stories: huge, impressive, can be beast-like but is quite intelligent, wise, strong, ferocious, etc.

The Ice Dragon by George R.R. Martin, illus. by Luis Royo

This is actually an illustrated children’s book by A Game of Thrones author, George R.R. Martin. It’s about a girl who befriends an ice dragon and, now that I’m familiar with the Snow Child/Queen fairytale, I realize that it is similar to the Russian fairytale. The dragon in this story is impressive. It appears only in winter and is made entirely of ice. It’s beautiful, and Royo did a great job illustrating it, though I’m not a fan of his style. I recommend the story if you’d like to try something different by Martin.

Rain Wild Chronicles by Robin Hobb

The Rain Wild Chronicles is a four-book series within Hobb’s larger Realm of the Elderlings series, but it can be read by itself. Blood of Dragons is the fourth book. In this series, dragons are reintroduced to a fantasy world that is unprepared for them. Because the world has drastically changed since dragons once ruled the skies, there are no hatching grounds prepared for the new breeds and not enough dragons to help prepare the cocoons. Thus, the dragons are born malformed and lacking necessary memories to ensure their survival. I enjoyed this story because we follow the dragons as they grow and regain their strength and memories while searching for a place to live with the assistance of certain human outcasts. The dragons start out diminutive (by dragon standards) but later regain their elegance, strength, and beauty. It’s a fascinating, exciting, heart-wrenching story that had me hooked all the way to its end.

Five books about dragons I’d like to read

A Natural History of Dragons by Marie Brennan

Here, There be Dragons by James A. Owen

His Majesty’s Dragon by Naomi Novik

Heart Stone by Elle Katharine White

The Summer Dragon by Todd Lockwood

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What are your thoughts?

Have you read any of these books? What story featuring dragons do you love?

#WyrdandWonder

Wyrd and Wonder is a month-long celebration in May of all things fantasy. To celebrate, I’ll only publish fantasy-related posts, like this one! 😊 I’m also hosting a GIVEAWAY for W&W. Click here to enter.

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