Apollonius of Rhodes, Argonautica (3rd century BC): the dragon guarding the golden fleece (Book 2), and the dragon whose teeth can be sown like seed to make an army grow (Book 3).[1]
Pseudo-Apollodorus, Bibliotheca (after 1st century BC): the sea monster Perseus slays to rescue Andromeda, and the dragon guarding the apples of the Hesperides (Book 2).[2]
Amadis de Gaula (14th century): Endriago, a monster Amadis battles.
Jacques de Longuyon, Les Voeux du Paon (1312): Melusine, a beautiful woman who seems faithful but refuses to take communion in church. When confronted, she turns into a dragon and flees. She has been depicted in Russian art of the 18th century as a woman's head on a dragon's body.[5]
E. Nesbit, The Last of the Dragons (1925): 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
C. S. Lewis, The Pilgrim's Regress (1933): 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 (see below).
Glaurung is described as the Father of Dragons in Tolkien's legendarium, and the first of the Urulóki, the Fire-drakes of Angband (first introduced in The Silmarillion, 1977; also appears in The Children of Húrin).
Smaug the Golden (The Hobbit, 1937): Smaug is a classic, European-type dragon; deeply magical, hoards treasure and burns innocent towns. Contrary to most old folklore and literature, J. R. R. Tolkien's dragons are very intelligent and can cast spells over mortals. See also dragons listed at Dragon (Middle-earth).
Robert A. Heinlein, Between Planets (1951): 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 pronounce 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").
C. S. Lewis, The Voyage of the Dawn Treader (1952), one of the Chronicles of Narnia: 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, echoing his thoughts on dragons in The Pilgrim's Regress (see above).
Ray Bradbury, "The Dragon" (1955): set simultaneously in the recent and distant past, the short story features a pair of knights setting out to fight what they think is a dragon. After they are killed by it, it is revealed that the "Dragon" is actually a steam train.
Michael Ende, Jim Button and Luke the Engine Driver (1960): 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.
Ursula K. Le Guin, world of Earthsea (1964): 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). In contrast to the dragons of C.S. Lewis's fiction, the dragons of Earthsea do not eat each other.[8] Like Tolkien's Smaug,[9] they are susceptible to drowning.[10]
Anne McCaffrey, Dragonriders of Pern series (1967): 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.
John Gardner, Grendel (1971): Grendel's omniscient advisor, revealing to Grendel the meaning of the universe, and enchanting Grendel to be impervious to man-made weapons. (Based on the unnamed dragon from Beowulf.)
Jim Eckert, main character in the series: reluctant knight and magician, part-time dragon and de facto member of the Cliffside dragons
Gorbash, major character in The Dragon and The George novel and minor character in the rest of the series: largest dragon of the Cliffside dragons, grandnephew of Smrgol
Secoh, major character in the series: a member of the Mere-Dragon clan, which have become diminutive as the result of a blight
Smrgol, major character in The Dragon and The George novel: an elderly and respected member of the Cliffside dragons and the paternal granduncle of Gorbash
Various other dragons.
Piers Anthony, Xanth novels (1977): Stanley Steamer, the Gap Dragon; and Stella Steamer, Stanley Steamer's female counterpart.
Robert Munsch, The Paper Bag Princess (1980): 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.
David and Leigh Eddings, The Belgariad (1982) and The Malloreon series (1988): 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.
Terry Pratchett, Discworld novels (1983), 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.
Steven Brust, Vlad Taltos novels (1983–present): jheregs, tiny dragon-like creatures, and dragons, huge reptiles that cannot breathe fire but have tentacles that pick up psychic impressions.
Steven Brust, To Reign in Hell (1984): Belial, one of the Firstborn angels, takes the form of a colossal, insane dragon living beneath a volcanic mountain range.
Robin McKinley, The Hero and the Crown (1984): numerous small dragons, which cannot speak, and the huge, sentient dragon Maur, which is a malevolent force even after death.
Donn Kushner, A Book Dragon (1987): Nonesuch, the last in a long line of dragons, learns to adapt as humans become more prevalent in the world. He survives through his unusual ability to change size.
Lucius Shepard, stories (e.g., The Man Who Painted the Dragon Griaule, 1984; The Scalehunter's Beautiful Daughter, 1988): Griaule, a gigantic dragon, paralyzed and moribund yet still capable of casting a baleful influence.
Martin Baynton, Jane and the Dragon (children's book series, 1988, later adapted into a TV show): features a twist on the conventional tale, with a friendly and chatty dragon who befriends a teenage girl training to be a knight.
Susan Fletcher, The Dragon Chronicles novels (1989–1996): Byrn, Pyro, Embyr, Synge, and others.
Gary Gentile, A Time For Dragons (1989), Dragons Past (1990), and No Future For Dragons (1990): Various dragons.
Rick Cook, Wizard's Bane (1989), 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.
Andrzej Sapkowski, The Witcher series (Sword of Destiny novel, 1992): Villentretenmerth, the golden dragon - intelligent shape-shifting creature, the only dragon among others (green, black, red and white) that can tolerate humans and even take their form. Also known as Borch Three Jackdaws in his human form.
Tamora Pierce, The Immortals quartet (1992–1996): Skysong, as well as Flamewing, Wingstar, Diamondflame, Icefall, Steelsings, Jadewing, Jewelclaw, Moonwind, Rainbow and Riverwind.
Dick King-Smith, Dragon Boy (1993), Albertina, Montague, and Lucky Bunsen-Burner, Gerald Fire-Drake and his family
R.A. Salvatore, The Spearwielder's Tale trilogy (1993–1995): Robert (also known as Robert the Wretched), the antagonist.
Various Authors Star Wars Legends (1993-2014): Duinuogwuin (also known as Star Dragons) first appeared in the novel Queen of the Empire and later in several other works.
Robin Hobb, Realm of the Elderlings series (1995): dragons and humans coexisted in the distant past. Their essences became mixed in some cases, producing scaled humans referred to as Elderlings, or small, rubbery-skinned dragons, called "Others" and treated as abominations. Humans carved living dragon statues out of special living stone; these statues were later used as a weapon against the Outislanders by King Verity Farseer of the Six Duchies.
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.
Frank E. Peretti, The Oath (1995): Giant, silver, unnamed dragon; a pact was made with this demonic creature by the citizens of a mining town in the northwest
George R. R. Martin, A Song of Ice and Fire series (1996–present), and the CCG based on the books: 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.
Cornelia Funke, Dragon Rider (1997): Firedrake, Slatebeard, Maia, Shimmertail and several unnamed dragons. The cannibal Nettlebrand from the same book may also be considered a dragon due to his appearance.
Elizabeth Kerner, Song in the Silence (1997): the Kantri, a society of telepathic dragons, including Akhor, the king; Shikrar, his soulfriend; Kedra and Mirazhe, the first new parents in centuries, and Idai, and old and wise admirer of Akhor.
J. K. Rowling, "Harry Potter" series (1997–2007): Various dragons (including Norwegian Ridgebacks, Hungarian Horntails, Swedish Short-Snouts, Common Welsh Greens, Hebridean Blacks, and a Chinese Fireball - see magical creatures in Harry Potter). Dragons are mentioned throughout the Harry Potter books and a baby dragon appears in the first installment and dragons later play a significant role in the fourth and seventh. They are portrayed as having strong magic (even in their blood), but they do not exhibit any hints of intelligence or self-awareness. Within the series, dragons are considered very dangerous by most characters (Rubeus Hagrid being a notable exception) and private ownership of dragons is illegal.
T. A. Barron, The Fires of Merlin (1998), The Mirror of Merlin, and The Wings of Merlin: Valdearg the Wings of Fire and his daughter Gwynnia (named after Tiamat).
Anne Bishop, Black Jewels Trilogy (1998): Lorn, Prince of Dragons and Keeper of the Knowledge of the Blood, Race that created the Race of the Blood and Bestower of the Blood Jewels.
Harry Turtledove, Darkness series (1999): in this magical analogue of the Second World War, the dragons are beasts, highly pugnacious and under complete human control. In the storyline they are the analogue of fighter planes and dragon riders are obviously intended to represent fighter pilots of the Luftwaffe and the RAF.
Jeffrey A. Carver, science fiction novels set in the Star Rigger Universe: Dragons in the Stars (1992) and Dragon Rigger (1993); dragons live in the hyperdimensional "Flux" of interstellar space, most notably Highwing.
Twenty-first century
Arranged by publication date of the first installment in a series.
2000s
Chris d'Lacey, "The Last Dragon Chronicles" series, starting with The Fire Within (2001): Gadzooks, G'reth, Gretel, Gawain, and other dragons. These dragons are made of clay and brought to life by the fire/essence (known as the "auma") 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.
Emily Rodda, Deltora Quest's third installment (2000–2004): 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.
Robin Hobb, The Tawny Man trilogy (2002–2003): Icefyre and Tintaglia, the last remaining dragons; and The Rain Wild Chronicles (2009–2013): Various dragons
Margaret Weis, Dragonvarld trilogy (2003–2005): Maristara, an evil black dragon; Braun, her grandson; Draconas, the walker, a dragon in human form; and various other dragons.
In The Spiderwick Chronicles serial (2003–2004), Book Five, The Wrath of Mulgarath: The snake-like poisonous dragons raised by the ogre Mulgarath as his weapons of mass destruction. Mentioned as the European Wyrm variety.
In Beyond the Spiderwick Chronicles serial (2007–2009), Book Three, The Wyrm King: A Hydra, a dragon or snake-like creature with multiple heads and gills appears, called the Wyrm King.
Mercedes Lackey, the Dragon Jousters series (2003–2006): Avatre and several others.
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.
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): Clefspeare, Hartanna, Firedda and others.
Christopher Pike, Alosha series (2004): Dragons also 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.
Donita K. Paul, Dragonkeeper Chronicles (2004–2008): Celisse, Metta, Gymn, Greer and others.
E. E. Knight, the Age of Fire series (2005): 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.
The Sea of Monsters (2006): The dragon Peleus guards the Golden Fleece at Camp Half-Blood.
The Titan's Curse (2007): The dragon Ladon guards the apples of the Hesperides.
Jessica Day George, Dragon Slippers series (2006–2009): introduces several dragons (Theoradus, Amacarin, Feniul, Shardas) who befriend the main character, Creel, as well as her friends.
Stephen Deas, Memory of Flames series (2009–2011): centered around a world inhabited by dragons, which are ridden by knights. Plot centers around their re-awakening consciousness.
Tui T. Sutherland, Wings of Fire series (2012-present): epic children's fantasy series which features dragons as the heroes of each story; features hundreds of dragons.[11]
Marie Brennan, Lady Trent series (2013–2015): Lady Trent's memoirs on how she first started studying dragons in a Victorianesque world.
Laurence Yep & Joanne Ryder, A Dragon's Guide to the Care and Feeding of Humans (2015): told from the point of view of a dragon named Miss Drake.
Julie Kagawa, Talon series (2014–2018): revolves around dragons with the ability to disguise themselves as humans and an order of warriors sworn to eradicate them.
George R. R. Martin, The World of Ice & Fire; The Untold History of Westeros and the Game of Thrones (2014): A list of dragons mentioned in the book on page 33; Balerion, Vhagar, Meraxes and page 81; Sunfyre, Dreamfyre, Tessarion, Morghul, Shrykos, Syrax, Caraxes, Vermax, Arrax, Tyraxes, Stormcloud, Meleys, Moondancer, Silverwing, Seasmoke, Vermithor, Sheepstealer, Grey Ghost, The Cannibal, Morning. Brief bios of the dragons on page 81.
Todd Lockwood, "The Summer Dragon (Evertide #1), released on May 3, 2016, heavily features dragons."
Rachel Hartman:[12]Seraphina (2012) and Shadow Scale (2015) describe the story of Seraphina, who is half-dragon and half-human. The companion novel, Tess of the Road (2018), tells the story of Seraphina's half-sister, Tess.
David Cartwright, Dragon Fire (The Camelot 2050 Trilogy #2) (August 2018). A resurgent Morgana le Fay uses a biomechanical dragon as a weapon of mass destruction against the forces of Camelot.
^" [Arren:] 'Do they... eat their own kind?' [Ged:] 'No. No more than we do.' " "The Dragons' Run" (chapter) in The Farthest Shore
^"[Smaug's] enemies were on an island in deep water—too deep and dark and cool for his liking. If he plunged into it, a vapour and a steam would arise enough to cover all the land with a mist for days; but the lake was mightier than he, it would quench him before he could pass through." Chapter XIV ("Fire and Water") in The Hobbit
^Ged says that "plunging into the sea [is] a loathly death for the fire serpent, the beast of wind and fire." "The Dragons' Run" (chapter) in The Farthest Shore
