I've always loved dragon books, but I've gotten quite picky as I matured as a reader. What are your favorite dragon books (or even if they just mention dragons!) that match the following requirements as much as possible:
– Heavy/niche worldbuilding (I love knowing all 8 surrounding countries even if the character never visits them, but I'm equally happy just knowing that "the neighbor bakes bread with an eighth cup less flour than the recipe calls for because she was out of flour one time and thought the bread turned out bad, so she gave it to the other neighbor and soon the whole village decided her bread was the best")
– No telekinesis / dragon magic
– Dragon riders preferred, but not necessary
– Dragons are viewed as dangerous or generally respected
– Higher stakes preferred
– Lower on the romance scale
– Higher on the characterization scale
by Due-Concept-7144
2 Comments
Moniquill Blackgoose. 1. To Shape a Dragons Breath. 2. To Ride a Rising Storm
They are in the Young Adult category but I am definitely not a young adult and I loved them
First book blurb
The remote island of Masquapaug has not seen a dragon in many generations—until fifteen-year-old Anequs finds a dragon’s egg and bonds with its hatchling. Her people are delighted, for all remember the tales of the days when dragons lived among them and danced away the storms of autumn, enabling the people to thrive. To them, Anequs is revered as Nampeshiweisit—a person in a unique relationship with a dragon.
Unfortunately for Anequs, the Anglish conquerors of her land have different opinions. They have a very specific idea of how a dragon should be raised, and who should be doing the raising—and Anequs does not meet any of their requirements. Only with great reluctance do they allow Anequs to enroll in a proper Anglish dragon school on the mainland. If she cannot succeed there, her dragon will be killed.
For a girl with no formal schooling, a non-Anglish upbringing, and a very different understanding of the history of her land, challenges abound—both socially and academically. But Anequs is smart, determined, and resolved to learn what she needs to help her dragon, even if it means teaching herself. The one thing she refuses to do, however, is become the meek Anglish miss that everyone expects.
Anequs and her dragon may be coming of age, but they’re also coming to power, and that brings an important realization: the world needs changing—and they might just be the ones to do it.
Robin Hobbs’ worlds in her trilogies – the Liveship Traders trilogy is heaviest on the dragons.