Best Dragon Books for Fantasy Nerds
Greetings Fantasy Nerds! This week we will be discussing our picks for best dragon books. Dragons are synonymous with the Fantasy genre, without them Fantasy would never be the same. We hope you enjoy our list, and maybe find some new favorites!
Temeraire Series by Naomi Novik
This series has so many things going for it: the brilliant premise, relatable and likable characters, and incredible world-building. Novik cleverly explores what dragons’ place would be in our world and how they would impact history if they existed. I was continually amazed by the thought she gave to how dragons would be used in military warfare. The ongoing conflict throughout the series between how the government views dragons – as tools – and how their riders know them to be – free-thinking beings – is perfectly used to fuel the plot in interesting ways.
It’s difficult to name a favorite thing about this series, but I love how the dragons are seen as worthy of being the main characters in their own right. Temeraire is an intelligent and unique portrayal of a dragon, and his relationship with his Captain is one of my favorites in literature.
A Song of Ice and Fire Series
Whether you’ve read the A Song of Ice and Fire series or watched the Game of Thrones television series, or neither, I am sure you are aware dragons are a focal point in both. The Targaryen house is centered around the existence of dragons. Dragons have won wars, been companions, and have even been children to Daenerys Targaryen. Personally, I was attached to the dragons in this series: Raegal, Viserion, and Drogon. In a similar way, I was attached to the Starks’ dire wolves, especially Ghost. In this series, I think it’s easy to see the dragons as a character themselves and create that emotional attachment, especially when a main character has such an attachment to them. If you enjoy dragons, definitely a book series to check out!
Eragon Series
This series made the list mainly out of nostalgia. It was the first dragon book that Clever ever read and spurred her love for the creatures. From the time Saphira’s egg appeared, Eragon’s life changed in tragic and epic ways. The world of Alegaesia is incredible and the villain of the series was formidable. I always felt the side characters in this series were heroes in their own right, both Eragon’s love interest and his cousin. I would recommend Eragon if you have a love for dragons and adventure.
Dragonriders of Pern Series
Clever only recently started this well-known and prolific dragon series, but was immediately hooked from the opening lines. The idea that in the future humans travel to another planet and breed dragon-like creatures to defend their new home is an interesting one. I love the sci-fi elements of this series, especially the time travel component. The main characters are realistic and have a strong sense of justice, which is my favorite kind of hero.
Dragonology: The Complete Book of Dragons
Now, you may be chuckling to yourself seeing this book on our list, but if you were a dragon connoisseur growing up you had this book. Dragonology was full of information on every different type of dragon, their scales, bone structure, and the area they inhabited. One of my favorite parts about this book was not only the visuals but the interactive parts. For example; there are samples of scales you can touch, and letters you can open. To this day I adore this book and open it up to a world of dragons and nostalgia. This is the perfect book to share with your kids, nephews, and nieces to introduce them to the magical world of dragons!
The Hobbit
The Hobbit is a perfect fantasy tale with a vile dragon. Bilbo Baggins sets out on an adventure to help Thorin and his band of dwarves take back the Lonely Mountain from the dragon Smaug. Smaug is a greedy dragon, who loves his gold and treasure. Bilbo is recruited by Gandalf to sneak into the mountain where Smaug is sleeping on a hoard of treasure; the dwarves’ treasure and their home. There is much more to this tale, but to keep things short and focused on the dragon in this story I will omit further details. What I love about Smaug in this story is that he can talk, and he is quite clever. Bilbo and Smaug have a full-blown intellectual conversation full of Bilbo’s specialty; riddles! Smaug is certainly an antagonist in this book, but I quite enjoy him as a character. If you haven’t, read The Hobbit!
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What do you think of our list? What dragon books would you add? Let us know in the comments below!
We wrote a dragon story together, if you want to check it out find the first installment here!
Thank you so much for reading!
-Clever&WTF
