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Here There Be Dragons

heretherebedragonsbanner

“But it is one thing to read about dragons, and another to meet them.” — Ursula K. LeGuin, A Wizard of Earthsea

Dragon. The mere mention of the name conjures up images of massive, serpentine, lizard-like beasts, breathing fire and soaring through the sky, terrorizing medieval villages. Dragons show up in the mythologies of many different cultures, dating back to the 1200s, and (some say) even earlier. Dragons have generally fallen into two categories of folklore: European Dragons (with ties to Greek and Middle-Eastern legends) — traditionally with legs and bearing wings, and Eastern Dragons (from the lands of Asia, including China, Japan and Korea) — traditionally more snake-like. Dragons also symbolized the dangerous, mysterious and unknown — ancient map-makers often used the image of a sea-bourne dragon and the phrase “here be dragons” to identify areas on maps that had not yet been explored. For almost as long as Dragons have featured in mythology and folklore, they’ve also appeared in the popular culture of fiction, throughout the ages.

In fact, Dragons in popular literature are more popular and multi-faceted now than they’ve ever been before. Gone are the days when Dragons were merely the “boogeyman” of stories, evil villains against which wholesome heroes could launch noble quests. Now, Dragons can actually be the heroes of stories themselves, or at least share the limelight with humanity. This list is not, by any means, a complete chronology of all known dragon-themed novels or short stories. It merely hits the highlights. But…if you’ve been wanting to sample some of the better known novels to feature dragons as major characters or plot points, this should give you a starting point.

All books in this list which are owned by Lincoln City Libraries are hotlinked to their entries in our library catalog, so that you may check on their current availability. Some titles not owned by the libraries are included in this list due to their classic nature, or their position as part of a series. If you see a title on this list that is not hotlinked to our collection, please consider ordering it through our Interlibrary Loan department.

Much of the content of this list is based on the Wikipedia page for a List of Dragons in Literature.

ANTIQUITY

Bible: The Book of Job

Noteworthy or Named Dragon(s): The Leviathan [chap 41].

book coverApollonius of Rhodes
Argonautica

Noteworthy or Named Dragon(s): The dragon guarding the golden fleece; a dragon whose teeth grow armies.

Pseudo-Apollodorus
Bibliotheca

Noteworthy or Named Dragon(s): Sea monster slain by Perseus in order to rescue Andromeda, and a dragon guarding the Apples of Hesperides.

John of Patmos
Bible: Book of Revelation

Noteworthy or Named Dragon(s): Satan appears as a dragon.

MIDDLE AGES

book cover[unattributed author] Beowulf

Noteworthy or Named Dragon(s): An unnamed dragon, which Wiglaf and Beowulf combine efforts to kill.

[unattributed author] Life of Euflamm

Noteworthy or Named Dragon(s): An unnamed dragon slain by King Arthur.

Geoffrey of Monmouth
Historia Regum Britanniae

Noteworthy or Named Dragon(s): Underground lake dragons in Arthurian mythos, as revealed by Merlin.

Jacobus de Voragine
The Golden Legend

A dragon slain by St. George.

[unattributed author] Volsungasaga

Noteworthy or Named Dragon(s): Fáfnir.

book cover[unattributed author] Sir Gawain and the Green Knight

Noteworthy or Named Dragon(s): The “worms” Sir Gawain battles.

Amadis de Gaula
Endriago

Noteworthy or Named Dragon(s): A monster Amadis battles.

Jacques du Longuyon
Les Voeux du Paon

Noteworthy or Named Dragon(s): Melusine – a beautiful human-appearing woman who refuses to take communion in church, then transforms into a dragon.

EARLY MODERN

book coverEdmund Spenser
The Faerie Queen

Noteworthy or Named Dragon(s): An unnamed dragon slain by the Redcrosse Knight.


book coverChristopher Marlowe
Doctor Faustus

Noteworthy or Named Dragon(s): The dragons that drew Faustus’s chariot.

Marie Catherine d’Aulnoy
The Green Serpent

Noteworthy or Named Dragon(s): A handsome king turned into a green dragon by enchantment.

1800s

Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm
The Two Brothers

Noteworthy or Named Dragon(s): A 7-headed dragon in one of their Fairy Tales.

book coverLewis Carroll
Through the Looking Glass

Noteworthy or Named Dragon(s): The Jabberwock, a fearsome dragon-like beast, with “jaws that bite”, “claws that catch” and “eyes of flame.”


book coverRichard Wagner
Der Ring Des Niberlungen

Noteworthy or Named Dragon(s): Fafner.


book coverKenneth Grahame
The Reluctant Dragon

Noteworthy or Named Dragon(s): A dragon who does not want to act like a dragon.


1900s

book coverL. Frank Baum
The Land of Oz series [1900-1920]

Noteworthy or Named Dragon(s): Dragons appear in the volumes Dorothy and the Wizard of Oz [1908], Tik-Tok of Oz [1914], and The Tin Woodsman of Oz [1918].

1910s

Ryunosuke Akutagawa
Dragon: The Old Potter’s Tale [1919]

Noteworthy or Named Dragon(s): A vague shadowy image which observers believe is a dragon ascending to heaven.

1920s

Lena Leonard Fisher
“The River Dragon’s Bride” [1922]

Noteworthy or Named Dragon(s): A divine river dragon is invented by greedy priests, and maidens die as brides to the supposed dragon until the emperor insists that the groom come to the wedding before the bride be asked to go.

lastofthedragons-miniE. Nesbit
The Last of the Dragons [1925]

Noteworthy or Named Dragon(s): The last dragon on earth, who is tired of being expected to fight a prince for a princess, and becomes the princess’s pet instead. Drinks petrol (“that’s what does a dragon good, sir”) and, at his own request, is eventually transformed by the king into the first aeroplane.

1930s

pilgrimsregress-miniC.S. Lewis
The Pilgrim’s Regress [1933]

Noteworthy or Named Dragon(s): The cold Northern dragon, slain by John, and the hot Southern dragon, slain by Vertue. The Northern dragon is so greedy that his anxiety for his gold hardly lets him sleep. He recalls eating his wife, saying, “worm grows not to dragon till he eats worm”, a loose translation of the Latin saying, Serpens, nisi serpentem comederit, non fit draco. The Guide explains that dragons always live alone because they have become dragons by eating their own kind. Lewis reiterates the notion of cannibalistic dragons in The Voyage of the Dawn Treader.

book coverJ.R.R. Tolkien
The Hobbit [1937]

Noteworthy or Named Dragon(s): The treasure-hoarding dragon Smaug features prominently in The Hobbit: Or There And Back Again, Tolkien’s novel that leads into his Lord of the Rings trilogy.

1940s

book coverRuth Stiles Gannett
My Father’s Dragon [1948]

Noteworthy or Named Dragon(s): A young dragon rescued by a little boy from its abusive animal masters.


fathergilesofham-miniJ.R.R. Tolkien
Father Giles of Hamm [1949]

Noteworthy or Named Dragon(s): Chrysophilax Dives, a comically villainous dragon — Chrysophilax Dives (“gold-hoarder rich”) comes across as a pompous aristocrat—rich, vain, and arrogant, but capable of compromise if handled correctly.

1950s

betweenplanets-miniRobert Heinlein
Between Planets [1951]

Noteworthy or Named Dragon(s): The sentient inhabitants of Venus are huge flightless dragons, who are described as highly intelligent with an enormous aptitude for scientific research, who are very warm and friendly to humans. Since humans can’t prononce their real names, they habitually take – while conversing with humans via a special device – the name of a prominent past human scientist (the book’s main dragon protagonist calls himself “Sir Isaac Newton”).

book coverC.S. Lewis
The Voyage of The Dawn Treader [1952]

Noteworthy or Named Dragon(s): The unnamed elderly dragon who dies, and then Eustace Scrubb, who becomes a dragon by magic when he greedily sleeps on the dragon’s hoard. Eustace actually eats much of the dead dragon by instinct; Lewis explains that dragons like to eat other dragons, and are therefore usually alone.

book coverJ.R.R. Tolkien
The Fellowship of the Ring [1954]

Noteworthy or Named Dragon(s): Ancalagon the Black, considered to have been the greatest dragon of Middle-earth, undoubtedly the largest, and is often referred to as the ‘father of the winged-drakes’.

book coverJ.R.R. Tolkien
Return of the King [1955]

Noteworthy or Named Dragon(s): Scatha, a mighty “long-worm” of the Grey Mountains. Little is known of Scatha except that he was slain by Fram in the early days of the Éothéod.

book coverRay Bradbury
“The Dragon” [1955]

Noteworthy or Named Dragon(s): Dragon is eventually revealed to be a steam train. Appears in the Bradbury collections R is for Rocket, A Medicine for Melancholy and Bradbury Stories: 100 of His Most Celebrated Tales.

1960s

jimbuttonlukas-miniMichael Ende
Jim Button and Luke the Engine Driver [1960]

Noteworthy or Named Dragon(s): Nepomuk, half-dragon by birth – his mother was a hippopotamus – kind and helpful, later on warden of the Magnetic Cliffs. Frau Mahlzahn (Mrs. Grindtooth): A pure-blood dragon and the main villainess of the story. Very knowledgeable, runs a school for human children in Sorrowland, likes to torment lesser beings with her power.

Oliver Postgate and Peter Firmin
The Ice Dragon [1962]

Noteworthy or Named Dragon(s): An ice dragon, whom Noggin intends to fight, but instead helps.

book coverUrsula K. LeGuin
The Earthsea books [1964]

Noteworthy or Named Dragon(s): The portrayal of dragons undergoes significant changes from book to book. In the original, they resemble Smaug, with unbounded greed for hoards of precious jewelry; later, they grow in stature and nobility, to become virtual demi-gods who speak the “Language of Creation” as their mother tongue. Later still, it is revealed that they share an ancestry with humanity, and that some rare humans (always women) can change into dragons at will (or they may be considered as dragons who can take human form at will).

Ruth Manning-Sanders
A Book of Dragons [1965]

Noteworthy or Named Dragon(s): 14 fairy tales featuring dragons.

book coverAnne McCaffrey
Dragonriders of Pern series [1966-present]

Noteworthy or Named Dragon(s): The (genetically engineered) Dragons of Pern. Dragons in Pern (genetically modified fire-lizards, which were Pernese natives) are ridden by “dragonriders” to protect the planet from a deadly threat, the Thread. The dragons include Faranth, Mnementh, Ramoth, and Ruth. [Following the death of Anne McCaffrey in 2011, her son Todd McCaffrey has continued the Pern series with additional volumes.]

goblinreservation-miniClifford D. Simak
The Goblin Reservation [1968]

Noteworthy or Named Dragon(s): A beautiful dragon from a previous universe plays a key role in the novel’s unexpected denouement.

1970s

Tanith Lee
The Dragon Hoard [1971]

Noteworthy or Named Dragon(s): Light and humorous fantasy, featuring evil enchantresses, curses, demons, monsters, and a quest for the Dragon Hoard.

grendel-mini2John Gardner
Grendel [1971]

Noteworthy or Named Dragon(s): Grendel’s omniscient advisor, revealing to Grendel the meaning of the universe, and enchanting Grendel to be impervious to man-made weapons.

book coverAlan Dean Foster
The Pip and Flinx series [1972-2009]

Noteworthy or Named Dragon(s): Pip the miniature dragon.

Astrid Lindgren
The Brothers Lionhart [1973]

Noteworthy or Named Dragon(s): Katla is a huge ancient monster in the land of Nangijala, with the ability to spray flames from her mouth, just like its namesake volcano in Iceland.

Gerald Durrell
The Talking Parsel [1974]

Noteworthy or Named Dragon(s): Tabitha, last remaining dragon and Keeper of the Eggs.

forgottenbeastsofeld-miniPatricia McKillip
The Forgotten Beasts of Eld [1974]

Noteworthy or Named Dragon(s): The dragon, whose name is Gyld, is one of the mythical creatures that Sybel inherits from her father, Ogam, and who lives with her in Eld. He is a dragon with green wings and a love for treasure.

book coverGordon R. Dickson
The Dragon Knight (a.k.a. The Dragon and The George) series [1976-2000]

Humorous series in which the dragons are usually the heroes. Prominent dragons in this series include Bryagh, Jim Eckert (the main protagonist), Gorbash, Secoh and Smrgol.


silmarillionJ.R.R. Tolkien
The Silmarillion [1977]

Noteworthy or Named Dragon(s): Glaurung was a very powerful dragon, if not the most magical. According to Tolkien, he sired the rest of his race, or at least the brood of Urulóki, wingless fire-breathing dragons. Glaurung is known as “The Deceiver” and “The Great Worm”, and was killed by Turin.

book coverPiers Anthony
The Xanth series [1977-present]

Noteworthy or Named Dragon(s): Stanley Steamer, the Gap Dragon; and Stella Steamer, Stanley Steamer’s female counterpart.


book coverDiana Wynn Jones
Charmed Life [1978]

Noteworthy or Named Dragon(s): Chrestomanci’s pet dragon (rescued from poachers who killed its mother).


book coverRobert Asprin
The MythAdventures series [1978-]

Noteworthy or Named Dragon(s): Gleep is Skeeve’s excitable pet, a baby dragon with a one-word eponymous vocabulary (“Gleep!”) that belies his incredible intellect. However, in the twelfth book in this series, Gleep speaks simple, short phrases.

neverendingstory-miniMichael Ende
The Neverending Story [1979]

Noteworthy or Named Dragon(s): Falkor (the luck dragon) and Smerg (the evil dragon)

Robert Don Hughes
Pelmen the Powershaper series [1979-1985]

Noteworthy or Named Dragon(s): Vicia-Heinox, the two-headed dragon

1980s

paperbagprincess-miniRobert Munsch
The Paper Bag Princess [1980]

Noteworthy or Named Dragon(s): A dragon who destroys Princess Elizabeth’s kingdom and kidnaps her beloved Prince Ronald. Princess Elizabeth defeats the dragon by getting him to show off his full skills, exhausting him.

dragonslayer-miniWayland Drew
Dragonslayer [1981]

Movie novelization – Young apprentice wizard Galen takes on a quest to kill the dragon terrorizing a nearby kingdom, when his wizard mentor is killed. Unnamed dragon.


book coverDavid and Leigh Eddings
The Belgariad series [1982] and The Mallorean series [1988]

Noteworthy or Named Dragon(s): Unnamed dragons. There used to be three: two males and one female but the males killed each other in the first mating season leaving the female alone for millennia.

book coverRaymond E. Feist
The Riftwar Trilogy [1982-1986]

Noteworthy or Named Dragon(s): Rhuagh, Ryath, Shuruga and others.


dragonofthelostsea-miniLawrence Yep
The Dragons of the Sea series [1982-1992]

Noteworthy or Named Dragon(s): Shimmer, the Dragon Princess, who wandered in human form but could change to dragon form. Shimmer recurs throughout this 10-book series.


book coverJane Yolen
The Pit Dragon trilogy [1982-2009]

Noteworthy or Named Dragon(s): Trilogy (plus one book in 2009) set on an Earth-like world with native creatures that are dragon-like. The humans have captured, enslaved and trained the dragons for combat in the Dragon Pit. One significant dragon of note: Heart’s Blood.

book coverTerry Brooks
The Magic Kingdom of Landover [1986]

Noteworthy or Named Dragon(s): Strabo is a dragon, in this 6-book series inspired in part by the Oz books by L. Frank Baum.


teawiththeblackdragon-miniR.A. MacAvoy
Tea With the Black Dragon [1983] and Twisting the Rope [1986]

Noteworthy or Named Dragon(s): Mayland Long, a 2000-year-old former Chinese dragon, who has now taken human form.


book coverJoel Rosenberg
The Guardians of the Flame series [1983-2003]

Noteworthy or Named Dragon(s): Ellegon and others, primarily in the first volume in the series, The Sleeping Dragon.


hourofthegate-miniAlan Dean Foster
The Spellsinger series [1983-1994]

Noteworthy or Named Dragon(s): Falameezar-aziz-Sulmonmee, a Marxist dragon originally enlisted to aid Jon-Tom and the others get to Polastrindu after a close encounter where they were nearly eaten, who appears in books 1, 2 and 4 of this 8-book series.

guardsguards-miniTerry Pratchett
The Discworld novels [1983-2015]

Noteworthy or Named Dragon(s): Notably The Colour of Magic (1983) and Guards! Guards! (1989): Errol, Ninereeds and other dragons. Pratchett’s Discworld novels describe two types of dragons: Noble Dragons (Draco Nobilis) which are typical European-type dragons, which are extinct by the time the books take place but can be summoned by magic or created with a lot of magic and imagination; and the Swamp Dragons (Draco Vulgaris), which are the size of small dogs, bred as pets, and, due to their complex, fire-producing anatomy, have a tendency to self-destruct.

book coverSteven Brust
The Vlad Taltos series [1983-present]

Noteworthy or Named Dragon(s): Jhereg are small (40 cm) flying reptiles with leathery wings, sinuous necks, sharp claws, and a venomous bite.

Steven Brust
To Reign in Hell [1984]

Noteworthy or Named Dragon(s): Belial

book coverTracy Hickman and Margaret Weis
The Dragonlance Universe [1984-present]

Noteworthy or Named Dragon(s): Various dragons in various novels, including Cyan Bloodbane, a green dragon; Khisanth, Skie, Malystryx, Pyros, Flamestrike, Silvara, Khirsah — among others.

book coverRobin McKinley
The Hero and the Crown [1984]

Noteworthy or Named Dragon(s): Numerous small dragons, which cannot speak, and the huge, sentient dragon Maur, which is a malevolent force even after death.

Barbara Hambly
Dragonsbane [1985]

Noteworthy or Named Dragon(s): Morkeleb the Black, an ancient and powerful dragon, around which this novel’s plot pivots.

book coverMelanie Rawn
The Dragon Prince and The Dragon Star trilogies [1985-1994]

Noteworthy or Named Dragon(s): Ahzdeen, Elisel, various others

Paul Edwin Zimmer
A Gathering of Heroes [1987]

Noteworthy or Named Dragon(s): Komanthedel, an ancient evil dragon.

book coverStephen King
The Eyes of the Dragon [1987]

Noteworthy or Named Dragon(s): Niner, The dragon that Roland killed. Its head is mounted on the wall of his sitting room

Lucius Shepard
various stories, including “The Scalehunter’s Daughter” [1988]

Noteworthy or Named Dragon(s): Griaule, a gigantic dragon, paralyzed and moribund yet still capable of casting a baleful influence.

Martin Baynton
Jane and the Dragon [1988]

Childrens trilogy adapted to TV, featuring a princess-in-training who befriends a chatty dragon and goes on several adventures with him.

book coverR.A. Salvatore
The Forgotten Realms series [1988-present]

Noteworthy or Named Dragon(s): Numerous books set in the Forgotten Realms gaming campaign system world have featured dragons, particularly Salvatore’s Icewind Dale trilogy (featuring Ingeloakastimizilian, also known as Icingdeath, who is a White Frost Dragon), Streams of Silver (in which Shimmergloom the shadow dragon is mentioned), and both Sojourn and Servant of the Shard (in which Hephaestus the red dragon is a minor character).

book coverTad Williams
Memory, Sorrow and Thorn series [1988-1993]

Noteworthy or Named Dragon(s): Igjarjuk, Shurakai, Hidohebhi, Khaerukama’o, and more…


book coverSusan Fletcher
The Dragon Chronicles [1989-1996]

Noteworthy or Named Dragon(s): Byrn, Pyro, Embyr, Synge, and others.

Gary Gentile
A Time for Dragons [1989], Dragons Past [1990] and No Future for Dragons [1990]

Noteworthy or Named Dragon(s): various

Rick Cook
Wizard’s Bane [1989]

Noteworthy or Named Dragon(s): LRD, little red dragon guards the compiler book.

Jean Marzollo
Baby Unicorn and Baby Dragon [1989]

A young dragon named Moon to match the crescent mark on his head. Became a great friend of Star after the Eight-Horn Friendship Spell in the prequel The Baby Unicorn.

1990s

book coverPatricia C. Wrede
The Enchanted Forest Chronicles [1990-1993]

Noteworthy or Named Dragon(s): Kazul, Woraug, Tokoz, Roxim and others.


book coverJackie French Koller
The Dragonling series [1990-1998]

Noteworthy or Named Dragon(s): Zanto and various others


book coverRobert Jordan
The Wheel of Time series [1990-2011]

Noteworthy or Named Dragon(s): Depiction of a Chinese dragon as the sigil of The Dragon, Lews Therin Telamon


book coverMercedes Lackey and Andre Norton
The Halfblood Chronicles [1991-1992/2002]

Noteworthy or Named Dragon(s): Alamarana

Christopher Rowley
The Bazil Broketail series [1992-1999]

Noteworthy or Named Dragon(s): Bazil Broketail and others

book coverBruce Coville
Jeremy Thatcher, Dragon Hatcher [1992]

Noteworthy or Named Dragon(s): Tiamat


book coverAndrzej Sapkowski
The Witcher series [1992]

Noteworthy or Named Dragon(s): Villentretenmerth, the Golden Dragon

Jeffrey A. Carver
various Star Rigger Universe series novels [1992-1993]

Noteworthy or Named Dragon(s): Dragons in hyperdimensional flux of space

book coverTamora Pierce
The Immortals quartet [1992-1996]

Noteworthy or Named Dragon(s): Skysong and many others

Dick King-Smith
Dragon Boy [1993]

Noteworthy or Named Dragon(s): Albertina, Montague, and Lucky Bunsen-Burner, Gerald Fire-Drake and his family.

R.A. Salvatore
The Spearwielder’s Tale trilogy [1993-1995]

Noteworthy or Named Dragon(s): Robert (the antagonist)

book coverTerry Goodkind
The Sword of Truth series [1994]

Noteworthy or Named Dragon(s): Scarlet and Gregory


book coverBruce Coville
The Unicorn Chronicles series [1994]

Noteworthy or Named Dragon(s): Ebillan and Firethroat

Daniel Hood
The Fanuilh series [1994-2000]

Noteworthy or Named Dragon(s): A miniature dragon

Harlan Ellison and Robert Silverberg
The Dragon on the Bookshelf [1995]

Noteworthy or Named Dragon(s): Urnikh

book coverRobin Hobb
The Farseer trilogy, part of the Real of the Elderlings series [1995-1997]

Noteworthy or Named Dragon(s): Hobb’s dragons would begin life as sea serpents, who would swim upriver to a special beach where they would cocoon themselves and hatch as dragons the next year. After a natural disaster changed the shape of the land, the serpents could no longer find their cocooning grounds and remained in the sea, as the cataclysm wiped out all but two of the dragons.

dragoncharm-miniGraham Edwards
The Ultimate Dragon Saga trilogy [1995-1997]

Noteworthy or Named Dragon(s): Cumber, Fortune, Wraith and others

[brcl]

book coverFrank E. Peretti
The Oath [1995]

Noteworthy or Named Dragon(s): Giant silver unnamed dragon


book coverGeorge R.R. Martin
A Song of Ice and Fire series [1996-present]

Noteworthy or Named Dragon(s): Drogon, Viserion, and Rhaegal, the dragons hatched by Daenerys Targaryen. Also, Balerion the Black Dread, Meraxes and Vhaghar, ridden by Aegon the Conqueror and his sisters in the conquest of Westeros.

dragonheartbook-miniCharles Edward Pogue
Dragonheart [1996]

Draco, possibly the last Dragon, and Bowen, likely the last dragonslayer, must team up to oppose an evil King who has achieved near-immortality. (movie novelization)

[brcl]

book coverCornelia Funke
Dragonrider [1997]

Noteworthy or Named Dragon(s): Firedrake, Slatebeard, Maia, Shimmertail and others


book coverElizabeth Kerner
Song in the Silence [1997]

Noteworthy or Named Dragon(s): The Kantri, telepathic dragons

[brcl]

book coverJ.K. Rowling
The Harry Potter series [1997-2007]

Noteworthy or Named Dragon(s): Various dragons (including Norwegian Ridgebacks, Hungarian Horntails, Swedish Short-Snouts, Common Welsh Greens, Hebridean Blacks, and a Chinese Fireball). Dragons figure most prominently in both Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (#4) and Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows (#7).

book coverT.A. Barron
The Avalon/Merlin series [1996-2011]

Noteworthy or Named Dragon(s): Valdearg and others

[brcl]

book coverAnne Bishop
The Black Jewels trilogy [1998]

Noteworthy or Named Dragon(s): Lorn


book coverJoanne Bertin
Dragon and Phoenix [1999]

Noteworthy or Named Dragon(s): Kelder Orolin, Linden Rathan and others

Christopher Golden
Strangewood [1999]

Noteworthy or Named Dragon(s): Fiddlestick

James Clemmens
The Banned and the Banished series [1999]

Noteworthy or Named Dragon(s): Various dragons, including Ragnar’k, the stone dragon of A’loa Glen, and Conch and others, seadragons bonded to the Mer’ai.

book coverSteven Erikson
The Malazan Book of Fallen series [1999-present]

Noteworthy or Named Dragon(s): Soletaken and others


book coverHarry Turtledove
The Darkness series [1999]

Noteworthy or Named Dragon(s): Various beast-like dragons used as weapons of war in a WWII analogue, in which the dragons serve as the analog of airplanes.

Mark Chadbourn
The Age of Misrule trilogy [1999-2001]

Noteworthy or Named Dragon(s): Involves various Celtic mythology figures

book coverLawrence Watt-Evans
The Obsidian Chronicles [1999-2003]

Noteworthy or Named Dragon(s): The dragons have retreated from the world in this trilogy, but young protagonist Arlian is studying up on their history, so that he’ll be prepared to exact his revenge and kill them if they return to the Land of Man. What he learns changes his life and his world.

2000s

book coverChris d’Lacey
The Last Dragon Chronicles series [2001-????]

Noteworthy or Named Dragon(s): Gadzooks, G’reth, Gretel, Gawain, and other dragons. These dragons are made of clay and brought to life by the fire/essence of one of Earth’s last true Dragons, called Gawain. It is possible that Gawain’s line might rise to full draconicity as a result of the actions taken by the student David Rain, his girlfriend the sibyl Zanna, the clayworkers Liz and Lucy Pennykettle, scientist Anders Bergstrom, and the witch Gwillanna.

book coverCressida Cowell
The How to Train Your Dragon series [2003-????]

Noteworthy or Named Dragon(s): Toothless, Windwalker, Horrorcow, Fireworm, Stormfly, Wodensfang, Patience, Innocence, Arrogance and Furious, among others. Children’s novels, that inspired both the feature films of the same name and an animated television series, Dragons: Defenders of Berk.

book coverEmily Rodda
Deltora’s Quest third installment [2000-2004]

Noteworthy or Named Dragon(s): Various Gem Dragons — Dragons are portrayed as very intelligent and proud; as being divided into seven distinct tribes; as having the capacity to reproduce by parthenogenesis; and as each having a virtue to which it adheres, such as Strength, Honor, Luck, Faith, Hope, Joy, and Truth.

Mark E. Cooper
The Devan Chronicles novels [2001]

Noteworthy or Named Dragon(s): Boldizar and others

Neal Asher
several books including Gridlinked [2001]

Noteworthy or Named Dragon(s): The entity Dragon

book coverRobin Hobb
The Tawny Man trilogy [2002-2003]

Noteworthy or Named Dragon(s): Icefyre and Tintaglia


book coverChristopher Paolini
The Inheritance Cycle [2002-2011]

Noteworthy or Named Dragon(s): Glaedr, Saphira, Shruikan, Thorn, Firnen, among others.


dragonbones-miniPatricia Briggs
Dragon Bones [2002] and Dragon Blood [2003]

Noteworthy or Named Dragon(s): The dragons in this pair of novels serve more as historical footnotes than interactive characters.

Robin Wayne Bailey
The Dragonkin series [2003]

Noteworthy or Named Dragon(s): The dragons of Wyvernwood


book coverDugald Steer
Dr. Ernest Drake’s Dragonology: The Complete Book of Dragons [2003] and Dr. Ernest Drake’s Comprehensive Compendium of Dragonology [2009]

Jo Walton
Tooth and Claw [2003]

Noteworthy or Named Dragon(s): An entire society made up of dragons


book coverMargaret Weis
The Dragonvarld trilogy [2003-2005]

Noteworthy or Named Dragon(s): Maristara, an evil black dragon; Braun, her grandson; Draconas, the walker, a dragon in human form; and various other dragons.


Timothy Zahn
The Dragonback series [2003-2008]

Noteworthy or Named Dragon(s): Draycos


book coverTony DiTerlizzi and Holly Black
The Spiderwick Chronicles [2003-2009]

Noteworthy or Named Dragon(s): Various books, various dragon-like creatures


book coverMercedes Lackey
The Dragon Jousters series [2003-2006]

Noteworthy or Named Dragon(s): Avatre and several others.


book coverMercedes Lackey and James Mallory
The Obsidian trilogy [2003-2006]

Noteworthy or Named Dragon(s): Ancaladar – Jermayan’s Bonded dragon, he has remained in hiding for thousands of years to escape the fate of his brethren who Bonded Mages and thus were forced to fight and kill their own kin in the last war between the Endarkened and the Light. He has decided to fight for the Light and give up immortality for the sake of his Bondmate and to save the world from the Demons.

Keith Baker
Eberron [2004]

Various, including: Eberron, one of the progenitor dragons. Eberron’s bones compose the world; Khyber, one of the progenitor dragons. Khyber rules the underworld and his children are the demons and monsters of the world; and Siberys, one of the progenitor dragons. Siberys is the “Dragon Above”, his remnants compose the Ring of Siberys, a golden ring of crystal-like shards that glitters in the night sky.

Bryan Davis
Dragons in Our Midst series [2004]

Noteworthy or Named Dragon(s): Clefspeare, hartanna, Firedda and others

L.B. Graham
The Binding of the Blade series [2004]

Noteworthy or Named Dragon(s): Eliandir, Sumandir

book coverChristopher Pike
The Alosha series [2004]

Noteworthy or Named Dragon(s): Dragons start life as legless, wingless, tailless, and without fire; in this form, they are known as Kouls. Later in life, a Koul develops legs, a tail, wings, and fiery breath. To do this, a Koul must risk its life for protection of others, learn to swim, and take a literal “leap of faith” from a high place.

Emma Maree Urquhart
Dragon Tamers series [2004-2005]

Noteworthy or Named Dragon(s): Sam, Nick and Crystal, plus various others

book coverDonita K. Paul
Dragonkeeper Chronicles [2004-2008]

Noteworthy or Named Dragon(s): Celisse, Metta, Gymn, Greer and others


book coverE.E. Knight
The Age of Fire series [2005]

Noteworthy or Named Dragon(s): Auron (later AuRon), the gray, scaleless dragon. Also included are Natasatch (his mate), Irelia (his green mother), AuRel (his bronze father), Jizara (green sister), Wistala (green sister), NooMoahk (black dragon), Rugaard (copper dragon), and many others.

Michele Avanti
GreeHee: The Journey of Five [2006]

Noteworthy or Named Dragon(s): GreeHee and others

Joe Ekaitis
Collinsfort Village [2006]

Noteworthy or Named Dragon(s): Dorian de Drago

Gareth P. Jones
Dragon Detective Agency [2006]

Noteworthy or Named Dragon(s): Dirk Dilly

book coverNaomi Novik
Temeraire series [2006-2016]

Noteworthy or Named Dragon(s): Temeraire, Arkady, Iskierka, Lien, Lily, Maximus, Messoria and many, many others. The many different breeds of dragons in this reality are all intelligent, loquacious and working in partnership with the humans. It is the era of the Napoleonic Wars, only the dragons serve as an “air force” for the various powers, with human crews of riders, infantrymen and gunnery officers. The dragons in many parts of the world are also struggling to achieve their own civil and cultural rights from the humans, who generally seem to be their “masters”.

book coverJames A. Owen
The Chronicles of the Imaginarium Geographica [2006]

Noteworthy or Named Dragon(s): Samaranth, an Eastern-type dragon who offers guidance to the main characters. Also various other dragons.


book coverJ.R.R. Tolkien and Christopher Tolkien
The Children of Hurin [2007]

Noteworthy or Named Dragon(s): The dragon Glaurung, which first appeared in The Silmarillion, features prominently in The Children of Hurin.


book coverEd Greenwood
The Falconfar Saga [2007-2010]

Noteworthy or Named Dragon(s): Dragons used as beasts of war.


book coverJanet Lee Carey
The Wild Island Chronicles [2007, 2012-present]

Noteworthy or Named Dragon(s): Dragons and dragonriding feature in the backgrounds of the three novels in this series.


book coverJessica Day George
The Dragon Slippers series [2007-2009]

Noteworthy or Named Dragon(s): The dragon king Shardas and his queen Velika are supporting characters in these adventures of a young human girl on a rags-to-riches path.


book coverAlison Goodman
Eon [2008] and Eona [2011]

Noteworthy or Named Dragon(s): Various Asian dragons


book coverKevin J. Anderson
The Griffen McCandles series [2008-2013]

Noteworthy or Named Dragon(s): Griffen “Grifter” McCandles appears to be a human, a con-man out to make an easy buck. But as the series starts, he’s informed by a mysterious Uncle that he’s actually a dragon, shapeshifted into human form. Reluctant to join the “family business”, Griffen settles into New Orleans, where his more disreputable skills work in his favor. Unfortunately, being a dragon has some drawbacks, as later books in the series reveal.

Dave Freer
Dragon’s Ring [2009]

Fionn, a black dragon who plans to destroy Tasmarin.

Dipaporn Baldwin
The Society On Da Run series [2009]

Space dragons

book coverRick Riordan
Percy Jackson: Sea of Monsters [2009]

Noteworthy or Named Dragon(s): The dragon Peleus guards the Golden Fleece at Camp-Half Blood. Also, in Percy Jackson and the Titan’s Curse the dragon Ladon guards the apples of the Hesperides.

book coverRobin Hobb
The Rainwild Chronicles [2009-2013]

Noteworthy or Named Dragon(s): Tintaglia, Sintara and various others.

Stephen Deas
Memory of Flames series [2009-2011]

Noteworthy or Named Dragon(s): Centered around a world inhabited by dragons, which are ridden by knights. Plot centers around their re-awakening consciousness.

book coverPierre Pevel
The Cardinal’s Blades series [2009-2011]

Noteworthy or Named Dragon(s): Dragons used as beasts of war in a “Three Musketeers”-like setting.

2010s

book coverRick Riordan
The Lost Hero [2010]

Noteworthy or Named Dragon(s): Festus, a bronze automaton dragon

Jackie Gamber
The Leland Dragons series [2011-present]

Noteworthy or Named Dragon(s): Fordon Blackclaw, Kallon Redheart, among others. Dragon and Human societies exist side-by-side in an uneasy peace, but trouble is brewing between them as this series begins.

book coverRachel Hartman
Seraphina [2012]

Noteworthy or Named Dragon(s): Seraphina is the heroine of this series. During a time of peace between Dragons and Humans, the dragons have shapeshifted to become human-like ambassadors to the kingdoms of men, serving as teachers and philosophers. But something or someone is threatening to destroy the peace between the species.

book coverKevin J. Anderson
The Dragon Business [2013]

Noteworthy or Named Dragon(s): Humorous and satirical look at a team of fake dragon-slayers who team up to fleece ignorant kingdoms by slaying non-existant dragons. Until they’re called upon to slay an actual dragon!

book coverMarie Brennan
A Natural History of Dragons [2013], The Tropic of Serpents [2014], Voyage of the Basilisk (2015) and In the Labyrinth of Drakes (2016)

Noteworthy or Named Dragon(s): Lady Trent’s memoirs on how she first started studying dragons in a victorianesque world.


book coverMichelle Sagara
Cast in Flame [2014], part of the Chronicles of Elantra series [2005-present]

Noteworthy or Named Dragon(s): Kaylin’s roommate

2020s

Patrick Ness
Burn [2020]

Noteworthy or Named Dragon(s): Kazimir


Nora Roberts
The Dragon Heart Legacy Trilogy [2020-2022]

Noteworthy or Named Dragon(s): Kazimir


Elizabeth Lim
Six Crimson Cranes [2021]

Noteworthy or Named Dragon(s): Serya, a shape-shifting dragon


Isabel Ibanez
Together We Burn [2022]

Noteworthy or Named Dragon(s):


Margaret Weis & Tracy Hickman
The Dragonvarld trilogy (a.k.a. Dragonlance Destinies) [2022-????]

Noteworthy or Named Dragon(s):


Rebecca Yarros
The Empyrean saga [2023-????]

Noteworthy or Named Dragon(s): Tairn, Andarna, Sgaeyl, Deigh and many more…


Compiled July-October 2022 sdc | Adapted for the Web October 2022 sdc | Last updated March 2024