Here Be Dragons

As fantasy seems to be withering beneath the ever growing pile of Urban Fantasy, here’s a trail to help you find the Dragons.

1) Dragonsong by Anne McCaffrey

Jacket:

For centuries, the world of Pern has faced a destructive force known as Thread. But the magnificent dragons who’ve protected this world and the men and women who ride them are dwindling.

As fewer dragons ride the winds and destruction falls from the sky, fifteen-year-old Menolly holds one dream only: to sing, play, and weave the music that comes to her so easily — she wishes to become a Harper. But despite her great talents, her father believes that a young girl is unworthy of such a respected position and forbids her to pursue her dreams. Menolly runs away and happens upon nine fire lizards that could possibly save her world…and change her life forever.

You can read an excerpt here.

Critics say:

Well, as this book was first published in the 70’s, I have totally failed to find any critics’ reviews online – but seeing as Anne McCaffrey won both the Hugo and the Nebula Award during her career, trust me, there were plenty of positive reviews!

Byrt says:

The Dragon Lady, they call Anne McCaffrey, and with good reason – her New York Times bestselling Dragonriders of Pern series is legendary, and her Harper Hall trilogy (Dragonsong, Dragonsinger, and Dragondrums) is an nice YA low-key entry into the voluminous series (but you must read the prologue!). This is an old time favorite of mine – it was the first book I ever read about dragons, back in 4th grade.

And if you tear through this trilogy and want to keeping going, I’d recommend Dragonflight for the next step – or Dragonsdawn, if you’d rather start chronologically instead of going in the order written.

2) Dragonhaven by Robin Mckinley

Jacket:

Dragons are extinct in the wild, but the Makepeace Institute of Integrated Dragon Studies in Smokehill National Park is home to about two hundred of the world’s remaining Draco australiensis. Humans have never seen a baby dragon . . . until Jake discovers a dying dragon that has just given birth, and one of the dragonlets is still alive.

You can read an excerpt here.

Critics say:

“A sharply incisive, wildly intelligent dragon fantasy. . . . Penetratingly insightful . . . Quietly magnificent.”

–  Kirkus (starred review)

“McKinley renders her imagined universe so potently that readers will wish they could book their next vacation in Smokehill.”

– Publishers Weekly (starred review)

Byrt says:

Speaking of YA dragons – this is a quiet, lovely story from Newberry Award winner Robin Mckinley. McKinley writes in a magical, wandering style which tends to provoke a very strong reaction in readers, of either the love or hate variety.  Obviously I’m the former.

3) Joust by Mercedes Lackey

Jacket:

Vetch was an Atlan serf. Anger was his only real sustenance—anger that the land he worked had once been his family’s farm, and anger at the kind of work he did—for the crop he helped raise gave the Jousters their ability to control the great dragons that had enabled Tia to conquer more than a third of what had once been Atlan lands. It seemed that Vetch’s entire cruel fate revolved around dragons and the Jousters who rode them. But his fate changed forever the day he first saw a dragon. From its narrow, golden, large-eyed head, to its pointed emerald ears, to the magnificent blue wings which were spread to catch the sun, the dragon was a thing of multicolored, jeweled beauty, slim and supple and quite as large as the shed it perched on. Vetch almost failed to notice the tall, muscular Jouster who stood drinking from his water bucket. And when Vetch’s master raised his whip to punish the serf who had dared to pause in his duties, the Jouster had stilled his hand. “I need a boy,” he said, and with that and a call to his mount, Vetch found himself lifted above the earth and transported like magic to a different world. If this Jouster had tamed his dragon, perhaps Vetch too could tame a dragon. And if he could, then he might be able to escape. And if he could escape, maybe he could even bring the secret of dragon-taming back to his homeland of Atlan. And maybe, just maybe, that secret might prove to be the key to Atlan’s liberation…

You can read an excerpt here.

Critics say:

“In this elegant, compelling fantasy from the prolific author of the Valdemar series (Arrows Fall, etc.), Lackey combines meticulously detailed dragon lore with emotionally intense, realistic human characters…This uplifting tale, which contains a valuable lesson or two on the virtues of hard work, is a must-read for dragon lovers in particular and for fantasy fans in general.”

– Publisher’s Weekly

Byrt says:

Mercedes Lackey is another titan of fantasy, and she particularly excels at character and emotion. Her plotting isn’t tight enough for some, but her story arcs always begin and end with character, which I love.  This is a story about the different kinds of loyalty, and how we choose between them.

4) His Majesty’s Dragon by Naomi Navik

Jacket:

Aerial combat brings a thrilling new dimension to the Napoleonic Wars as valiant warriors rise to Britain’s defense by taking to the skies…not aboard aircraft but atop the might backs of fighting dragons. When HMS Reliant captures a French frigate and seizes its precious cargo, an unhatched dragon egg, fate sweeps Capt. Will Laurence from his seafaring life into an uncertain future – and an unxpected kinship with a most extraordinary creature. Thrust into the rarefied world of the Aerial Corps as a master of the dragon Temeraire, he will face a crash course in the daring tactics of airborne battle. For as France’s own dragon-borne forces rally to breach British soil in Bonaparte’s boldest gambit, Laurence and Temeraire must soar into their own baptism of fire.

You can read an excerpt here.

Critics say:

A superbly written, character-driven series…what keeps one turning the pages is the urge to find out what happens next to Captain Laurence and Temeraire, characters who win one’s heart from the beginning. Bravos for a most promising new author!

– Booklist (Starred Review)

Byrt says:

Patrick O’Brian meets dragons – what’s not to like? I’m in the middle of the Temeraire series now and I find that as the series goes on I’m becoming somewhat less enthralled with it, but this book, the first book (which you can read as a stand alone), is excellent.

Summary:

(The jacket is awful, trust me – this is a brief overview from Mercedes Lackey’s website)

When Serina Daeth, favorite concubine of the Elf-Lord Dyran, conceives a half-blood child by him, she flees his wrath into the desert, where she quickly succumbs. But the child, born in Serina’s dying moments, is rescued by a friendly dragon and raised with her own draconic brood. As the child Shana grows, she develops prodigious sorcerous powers–so strong that it seems she might be the fabled Elvenbane, powerful enough to free the enslaved humans from their elven oppressors. But the dragons come to fear her unplumbed power and cast her out. With a renegade elf-lord and his half-blood servant, and the aid of her remaining dragon friends, Shana prepares to challenge the elfish supremacy.

You can read an excerpt here.

Critics say:

One of the season’s liveliest and most appealing fantasy epics.

– Publishers Weekly

Norton and Lackey combine their talents well in this high fantasy featuring an enterprising heroine and her dragon companion against a background of magic, treachery, and high emotion.

– Booklist

Byrt says:

Let me just say I am NOT a fan of stories about Prophecy with a capitol P, but this series turns the convention on its head in an interesting way. While the elements here are all familiar – elves, dragons, magic, the whole nine yards – you’ll know you’re in the hands of two masters of the genre.

If you’re not familiar with Andre Norton, she recieved the Nebula Grand Master Award and was inducted into the Science Fiction and Fantasy Hall of Fame.

This beloved author may be gone, but she should not be forgotten.