Our Dragons Are Different/Literature: Difference between revisions

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* In [[Mercedes Lackey]]'s ''[[SERR Ated]] Edge'' series, there is a huge Western-style dragon with a vast, disorganized library, a love of Japanese, and the ability to shapeshift into a human. He wears Armani suits and ''loves'' popping popcorn. He also has a half-brother who is half human. His human apprentice and adopted son (even though he has a perfectly normal relationship with his parents proper) Tannim (meaning "son of Dragons") is the main protagonist of the book in which he first appears.
* In [[Mercedes Lackey]]'s ''[[SERR Ated]] Edge'' series, there is a huge Western-style dragon with a vast, disorganized library, a love of Japanese, and the ability to shapeshift into a human. He wears Armani suits and ''loves'' popping popcorn. He also has a half-brother who is half human. His human apprentice and adopted son (even though he has a perfectly normal relationship with his parents proper) Tannim (meaning "son of Dragons") is the main protagonist of the book in which he first appears.
** There's also another {{spoiler|very antagonistic}} dragon who has a half ''[[Fantasy Kitchen Sink|kitsune]]'' daughter {{spoiler|who becomes Tannim's SO}}.
** There's also another {{spoiler|very antagonistic}} dragon who has a half ''[[Fantasy Kitchen Sink|kitsune]]'' daughter {{spoiler|who becomes Tannim's SO}}.
* Another [[Mercedes Lackey]] example is the [[Dragon Jousters]] quartet, which is set in something like [[Ancient Egypt]]. These dragons come in two Western-style types. One is the crocodilian "swamp dragon" which likes water, the other is the more brightly colored, larger "desert dragon". They're established to be as smart as a bright dog (and able to [[Evil Detecting Dog|sense evil]]), can't breathe fire, and they imprint. Dragons taken from the wild as fledglings are forcibly trained to accept riders who treat them like flying chariots and have to be drugged; dragons raised from the egg are tame and fussed over by the ones who raise them. Riders mostly use them for patrols in which they make the enemy cautious and "joust" against enemy riders, knocking them out of the saddle to fall to their deaths. It's a major plot point that tame dragons can be trained to catch a falling man, and that another use is to pick out a human, snatch him up into the sky, and drop him.
* Another [[Mercedes Lackey]] example is the [[Dragon Jousters]] quartet, which is set in something like [[Ancient Egypt]]. These dragons come in two Western-style types. One is the crocodilian "swamp dragon" which likes water, the other is the more brightly colored, larger "desert dragon". They're established to be as smart as a bright dog (and able to [[Evil-Detecting Dog|sense evil]]), can't breathe fire, and they imprint. Dragons taken from the wild as fledglings are forcibly trained to accept riders who treat them like flying chariots and have to be drugged; dragons raised from the egg are tame and fussed over by the ones who raise them. Riders mostly use them for patrols in which they make the enemy cautious and "joust" against enemy riders, knocking them out of the saddle to fall to their deaths. It's a major plot point that tame dragons can be trained to catch a falling man, and that another use is to pick out a human, snatch him up into the sky, and drop him.
* [[Ursula K Le Guin|Ursula K. Le Guin's]] [[Earthsea Trilogy|Earthsea]] series has an interesting take on dragons. In the earliest books they resemble [[The Hobbit|Smaug]] (intelligent, capricious Western Dragons), but gradually become more varied. They are highly magical, and indeed seem to be affected by the geographical limits to magic -- magic in the West Reach, where dragons are huge, cunning, and rich, and rule both the skies and islands, is different from magic in the East Reach, where dragons are very small, unintelligent, and often domesticated as housepets. Although they're highly intelligent, often wise creatures, they're inclined to simply kill most people who get near them. A rare, powerful mage may become a Dragonlord, which Ged (who is one himself), describes as simply someone with whom a dragon will reliably speak rather than eat.
* [[Ursula K Le Guin|Ursula K. Le Guin's]] [[Earthsea Trilogy|Earthsea]] series has an interesting take on dragons. In the earliest books they resemble [[The Hobbit|Smaug]] (intelligent, capricious Western Dragons), but gradually become more varied. They are highly magical, and indeed seem to be affected by the geographical limits to magic -- magic in the West Reach, where dragons are huge, cunning, and rich, and rule both the skies and islands, is different from magic in the East Reach, where dragons are very small, unintelligent, and often domesticated as housepets. Although they're highly intelligent, often wise creatures, they're inclined to simply kill most people who get near them. A rare, powerful mage may become a Dragonlord, which Ged (who is one himself), describes as simply someone with whom a dragon will reliably speak rather than eat.
** Dragons and humans are strongly implied to be descended from the same original species. Also, dragons naturally speak the world's original language, the True Speech, which is significant because in [[Earthsea]], [[Language of Magic|magic is in words]] [[I Know Your True Name|and names]]. Humans have to learn it, and cannot lie in it, while dragons can. There's also the existence of {{spoiler|dragon-people such as Tehanu and Irian}}, though how exactly that whole thing works is never fully explained.
** Dragons and humans are strongly implied to be descended from the same original species. Also, dragons naturally speak the world's original language, the True Speech, which is significant because in [[Earthsea]], [[Language of Magic|magic is in words]] [[I Know Your True Name|and names]]. Humans have to learn it, and cannot lie in it, while dragons can. There's also the existence of {{spoiler|dragon-people such as Tehanu and Irian}}, though how exactly that whole thing works is never fully explained.
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** Notably, there's a dragon-turned-to-stone in the Witch's house in ''The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe''. When he's restored, he fights on Aslan's side against the Witch. So not all Narnian dragons are evil.
** Notably, there's a dragon-turned-to-stone in the Witch's house in ''The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe''. When he's restored, he fights on Aslan's side against the Witch. So not all Narnian dragons are evil.
* Elizabeth A. Lynn's ''[[Dragons Winter (Literature)|Dragons Winter]]'' and ''Dragon's Treasure'' features were-dragons who are born human (mostly) and ascend into their powers as adults with the aid of a personal talisman. They can't transform without the talisman, but ''can'' summon fire. They're rare nowadays, and considered lords over the other [[Voluntary Shapeshifter|shapeshifters]]. They also tend towards violent, short lives with a hint of madness in their veins.
* Elizabeth A. Lynn's ''[[Dragons Winter (Literature)|Dragons Winter]]'' and ''Dragon's Treasure'' features were-dragons who are born human (mostly) and ascend into their powers as adults with the aid of a personal talisman. They can't transform without the talisman, but ''can'' summon fire. They're rare nowadays, and considered lords over the other [[Voluntary Shapeshifter|shapeshifters]]. They also tend towards violent, short lives with a hint of madness in their veins.
* Dragons in ''[[A Song of Ice and Fire]]'' are mostly stereotypical Western dragons, although it is specified that they are a [[One Gender Race]] that reproduce by parthenogenesis and strengthen magic just by existing (or at least, Fire and Blood Magic; the magic of the Others and the Old Gods were shown to be operating fine before the dragons' rebirth). It remains to be seen just how intelligent they become. In addition, George R. R. Martin, has [[Word of God|specified that they have only four limbs]]; that is, the forelegs are part of the wings.
* Dragons in ''[[A Song of Ice and Fire]]'' are mostly stereotypical Western dragons, although it is specified that they are a [[One-Gender Race]] that reproduce by parthenogenesis and strengthen magic just by existing (or at least, Fire and Blood Magic; the magic of the Others and the Old Gods were shown to be operating fine before the dragons' rebirth). It remains to be seen just how intelligent they become. In addition, George R. R. Martin, has [[Word of God|specified that they have only four limbs]]; that is, the forelegs are part of the wings.
** Martin's short story "The Ice Dragon" contains a very early depiction of an ice dragon that breathes frost, possibly the first to appear [[Trope Overdosed|outside of]] ''[[Dungeons and Dragons]]''.
** Martin's short story "The Ice Dragon" contains a very early depiction of an ice dragon that breathes frost, possibly the first to appear [[Trope Overdosed|outside of]] ''[[Dungeons and Dragons]]''.
* James Maxley's "Bitterwood" represents an combination of traditional and quite different draconic designs. While the books have traditional western-style dragons as the ruling sun dragons, there is also the agile, wyvern-like sky dragons, and the anthropomorphic turtle-like earth dragons. These are implied to be {{spoiler|an set of geneticly engineered game-races, which eventually out-hunted humanity over most the world, driving humans into a slave-caste}}
* James Maxley's "Bitterwood" represents an combination of traditional and quite different draconic designs. While the books have traditional western-style dragons as the ruling sun dragons, there is also the agile, wyvern-like sky dragons, and the anthropomorphic turtle-like earth dragons. These are implied to be {{spoiler|an set of geneticly engineered game-races, which eventually out-hunted humanity over most the world, driving humans into a slave-caste}}
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** Wild? They had their own civilisation and culture. They had a peace treaty - and strong friendship - with the elves. And then [[Draco in Leather Pants|Galbatorix]] [[Moral Event Horizon|wiped them out]]. Hardly wild beasts (although the elves mistook them for that at first).
** Wild? They had their own civilisation and culture. They had a peace treaty - and strong friendship - with the elves. And then [[Draco in Leather Pants|Galbatorix]] [[Moral Event Horizon|wiped them out]]. Hardly wild beasts (although the elves mistook them for that at first).
** The wild dragons are intelligent, but have no civilization. However, a magical contract exists between the dragons, the elves and the humans. The fortunes of all three races are tied together. Also, some dragon eggs are enchanted so that they only hatch when they contact the person who they will [[Mental Fusion|bond with]]. A bonded dragon becomes gentler and more civilized, even as the rider becomes more fierce. (Not to mention becoming [[Super Strength|super-strong]], [[The Call Twinks You|magically powerful]] and [[Really Seven Hundred Years Old|immortal]]. Woot!)
** The wild dragons are intelligent, but have no civilization. However, a magical contract exists between the dragons, the elves and the humans. The fortunes of all three races are tied together. Also, some dragon eggs are enchanted so that they only hatch when they contact the person who they will [[Mental Fusion|bond with]]. A bonded dragon becomes gentler and more civilized, even as the rider becomes more fierce. (Not to mention becoming [[Super Strength|super-strong]], [[The Call Twinks You|magically powerful]] and [[Really Seven Hundred Years Old|immortal]]. Woot!)
* The [[Exactly What It Says On the Tin|red dragons]] of Meredith Ann Pierce's ''[[Firebringer Trilogy]]'' are wingless, have jewel-encrusted hides, live deep beneath a volcanic mountain range, and spend most of their (very long) lives asleep and {{spoiler|watching the goings-on of the world through their dreams, as the main character discovers to his dismay in the third book.}} The queen and her mate (the only black dragon) are the only dragons to have wings, and a queen loses hers after her mating flight while her erstwhile consort flies off somewhere unknown, though the queen will continue to produce eggs from that one mating for the rest of her life. A male is only born every thousand years, and it's only a queen and her consort who breed; thus, all dragons are closely related sisters (or aunts and nieces depending on the generation(s) living) and [[Brother Sister Incest|a queen's consort is always her brother.]]
* The [[Exactly What It Says On the Tin|red dragons]] of Meredith Ann Pierce's ''[[Firebringer Trilogy]]'' are wingless, have jewel-encrusted hides, live deep beneath a volcanic mountain range, and spend most of their (very long) lives asleep and {{spoiler|watching the goings-on of the world through their dreams, as the main character discovers to his dismay in the third book.}} The queen and her mate (the only black dragon) are the only dragons to have wings, and a queen loses hers after her mating flight while her erstwhile consort flies off somewhere unknown, though the queen will continue to produce eggs from that one mating for the rest of her life. A male is only born every thousand years, and it's only a queen and her consort who breed; thus, all dragons are closely related sisters (or aunts and nieces depending on the generation(s) living) and [[Brother-Sister Incest|a queen's consort is always her brother.]]
* [[Terry Pratchett]] features two types of dragons in his ''[[Discworld]]'' novels: noble dragons are typical Western dragons, but have to feed on high levels of magic [[Deconstruction|to get away with their impossible physiology]]; as such, they are effectively extinct on the Discworld, having migrated to [[Sealed Evil in A Can|a pocket dimension]]. They're used as mounts by the Dragonriders of Wyrmberg (from ''[[Discworld (Literature)/The Colour of Magic|The Colour of Magic]]''), who live in a highly-magical area. The far more common swamp dragons, on the other hand, are small, rather friendly Western dragons as they'd have to be ''without'' magic: rather than huge, majestic, and cunning monsters, they're small, ugly, and rather dim creatures that can barely fly, and are only dangerous because they tend to explode when ill or overexcited (due to the complicated internal chemistry set that allows them to breathe fire).
* [[Terry Pratchett]] features two types of dragons in his ''[[Discworld]]'' novels: noble dragons are typical Western dragons, but have to feed on high levels of magic [[Deconstruction|to get away with their impossible physiology]]; as such, they are effectively extinct on the Discworld, having migrated to [[Sealed Evil in A Can|a pocket dimension]]. They're used as mounts by the Dragonriders of Wyrmberg (from ''[[Discworld (Literature)/The Colour of Magic|The Colour of Magic]]''), who live in a highly-magical area. The far more common swamp dragons, on the other hand, are small, rather friendly Western dragons as they'd have to be ''without'' magic: rather than huge, majestic, and cunning monsters, they're small, ugly, and rather dim creatures that can barely fly, and are only dangerous because they tend to explode when ill or overexcited (due to the complicated internal chemistry set that allows them to breathe fire).
** When the characters travel to the moon in ''[[Discworld (Literature)/The Last Hero|The Last Hero]]'', they find another kind of dragon, similar to the swamp dragons, but much more graceful in the low gravity, and with the fire coming out the other end as a rocket boost, {{spoiler|much like Errol the swamp dragon from ''[[Discworld (Literature)/Guards Guards|Guards! Guards!]]''}}
** When the characters travel to the moon in ''[[Discworld (Literature)/The Last Hero|The Last Hero]]'', they find another kind of dragon, similar to the swamp dragons, but much more graceful in the low gravity, and with the fire coming out the other end as a rocket boost, {{spoiler|much like Errol the swamp dragon from ''[[Discworld (Literature)/Guards Guards|Guards! Guards!]]''}}
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* The dragons in E. E. Knight's ''[[Age of Fire (Literature)|Age of Fire]]'' are Western type dragons that come in a variety of colors and metals. They have an organ that allows them to breathe fire but they must be well fed (fat provides part of the fuel) to use it. Their life stages are Hatchlings who can neither breathe fire nor fly, Drakes, who can breathe fire but not fly and Dragon who can do both. They collect hordes of metals in order to eat them and strengthen their armor. A variant are greys who have no armor but who can blend in, chameleon-like with their surroundings. The lack of armor, while it makes them more vulnerable, also enables them to swim and to fly better because of the lack of weight.
* The dragons in E. E. Knight's ''[[Age of Fire (Literature)|Age of Fire]]'' are Western type dragons that come in a variety of colors and metals. They have an organ that allows them to breathe fire but they must be well fed (fat provides part of the fuel) to use it. Their life stages are Hatchlings who can neither breathe fire nor fly, Drakes, who can breathe fire but not fly and Dragon who can do both. They collect hordes of metals in order to eat them and strengthen their armor. A variant are greys who have no armor but who can blend in, chameleon-like with their surroundings. The lack of armor, while it makes them more vulnerable, also enables them to swim and to fly better because of the lack of weight.
* The dragons of [[Dragons in Our Midst]] are Western in looks. They can use human speech, and while they at first appear to be more intelligent then humans, this is revealed to have more to do with their near-immortal life spans than any innate ability. Personality wise, they have about the same range and diversity as humans.
* The dragons of [[Dragons in Our Midst]] are Western in looks. They can use human speech, and while they at first appear to be more intelligent then humans, this is revealed to have more to do with their near-immortal life spans than any innate ability. Personality wise, they have about the same range and diversity as humans.
* In [[Sergey Lukyanenko]] and [[Nick Perumov]]'s ''[[Wrong Time For Dragons]]'', the actual dragons show up very little, despite the name of the book. They are the masters of the [[Magical Land|Trueborn world]] and every so often attempt to conquer the Middle world (where most of the book takes place). There's also the Outworld, a world of humans, where magic doesn't exist (i.e. our Earth), where the protagonist is from. The dragons in the book are [[Voluntary Shapeshifting|shapeshifters]], able to assume human form and, as revealed later, capable of [[Half Human Hybrid|interbreeding with other races]]. Each time the dragons invade the Middle world, a Dragon Slayer is summoned to stop them. The protagonist is believed to be the next Slayer, who must master the four [[Elemental Powers]] in order to be strong enough. At the end of the book, it is revealed that {{spoiler|he is himself a quarter dragon by way of his maternal grandmother, who was raped by the last Dragon Slayer before being banished to the Outworld; he is then able to turn into a dragon to fight the invaders}}.
* In [[Sergey Lukyanenko]] and [[Nick Perumov]]'s ''[[Wrong Time For Dragons]]'', the actual dragons show up very little, despite the name of the book. They are the masters of the [[Magical Land|Trueborn world]] and every so often attempt to conquer the Middle world (where most of the book takes place). There's also the Outworld, a world of humans, where magic doesn't exist (i.e. our Earth), where the protagonist is from. The dragons in the book are [[Voluntary Shapeshifting|shapeshifters]], able to assume human form and, as revealed later, capable of [[Half-Human Hybrid|interbreeding with other races]]. Each time the dragons invade the Middle world, a Dragon Slayer is summoned to stop them. The protagonist is believed to be the next Slayer, who must master the four [[Elemental Powers]] in order to be strong enough. At the end of the book, it is revealed that {{spoiler|he is himself a quarter dragon by way of his maternal grandmother, who was raped by the last Dragon Slayer before being banished to the Outworld; he is then able to turn into a dragon to fight the invaders}}.
* A few of [[Diana Wynne Jones]]'s books contained dragons, mostly intelligent Westerns.
* A few of [[Diana Wynne Jones]]'s books contained dragons, mostly intelligent Westerns.
** Her [[Chrestomanci]] Chronicles had a few minor dragons, most notably the one in ''Charmed Life''.
** Her [[Chrestomanci]] Chronicles had a few minor dragons, most notably the one in ''Charmed Life''.
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