Dragon Week - Tor/Forge Blog

Dragon Books of 2020

July 27, 2020May 6, 2024Rachel Taylor

Welcome to Dragon Week 2020, a celebration of all things Dragon!

There are soooooo many epic dragons in literature, from Smaug of The Hobbit to Toothless of How to Train Your Dragon, but can you REALLY ever have enough?! We think not, so we compiled a list of our dragon-y books that came out in 2020, so you can keep that dragon themed TBR pile climbing!

Servant of the Crown by Duncan Hamilton

Long laid plans finally bear fruit, but will it prove as sweet as hoped for? With the king on his deathbed, the power Amaury has sought for so long is finally in his grasp. As opposition gathers from unexpected places, dragonkind fights for survival and a long-awaited reckoning grows close.

Don’t forget to check out the first two books of the Dragonslayer Trilogy, Dragonslayer and Knight of the Silver Circle!

Dragon Age: Tevinter Nights from Bioware

Ancient horrors. Marauding invaders. Powerful mages. And a world that refuses to stay fixed. Welcome to Thedas. From the stoic Grey Wardens to the otherworldly Mortalitasi necromancers, from the proud Dalish elves to the underhanded Antivan Crow assassins, Dragon Age is filled with monsters, magic, and memorable characters making their way through dangerous world whose only constant is change.

Sorcery of a Queen by Bryan Nasund

Driven from her kingdom, the would-be queen now seeks haven in the land of her mother, but Ashlyn will not stop until justice has been done. Determined to unlock the secret of powers long thought impossible, Ashlyn bends her will and intelligence to mastering the one thing people always accused her of, sorcery. Meanwhile, having learned the truth of his mutation, Bershad is a man on borrowed time. Never knowing when his healing powers will drive him to a self-destruction, he is determined to see Ashlyn restored to her throne and the creatures they both love safe.

Sorcery of a Queen is the second book in the Dragons of Terra series. Book 1, Blood of an Exile, is on sale now!

Spine of the Dragon by Kevin J Anderson

Two continents at war, the Three Kingdoms and Ishara, are divided by past bloodshed. When an outside threat arises—the reawakening of a powerful ancient race that wants to remake the world—the two warring nations must somehow set aside generational hatreds and form an alliance to fight their true enemy.

Don’t forget to check out Book 2 in the Wake the Dragon series, Vengewar, out 1/19/21!

Black Leviathan by Bernd Perplies

In the coastal city Skargakar, residents make a living from hunting dragons and use them for everything from clothing to food, while airborne ships hunt them in the white expanse of a cloud sea, the Cloudmere. Lian does his part carving the kyrillian crystals that power the ships through the Cloudmere, but when he makes an enemy of a dangerous man, Lian ships out on the next vessel available as a drachenjager, or dragon hunter. He chooses the wrong ship. A fanatic captain, hunts more than just any dragon. His goal is the Firstborn Gargantuan—and Adaron is prepared to sacrifice everything for revenge.

The Memory of Souls by Jenn Lyons

Now that Relos Var’s plans have been revealed and demons are free to rampage across the empire, the fulfillment of the ancient prophecies—and the end of the world—is closer than ever. To buy time for humanity, Kihrin needs to convince the king of the Manol vané to perform an ancient ritual which will strip the entire race of their immortality, but it’s a ritual which certain vané will do anything to prevent. Including assassinating the messengers.

Don’t forget to check out the first two books of the Chorus of Dragon series, The Ruin of Kings and The Name of All Things!

What's New

Tor Books Presents: Dragon Week 2020!

July 27, 2020May 3, 2024Rachel Taylor1 Comment

We’re baaaaaacccckkkk!

After last week’s EPIC week filled with all things dragons, we brought Dragon Week back for DRAGON WEEK 2: 2 DRAGON 2 WEEK (can you tell someone at Tor loves The Fast and the Furious?)

So what happened in this most dragon-y of weeks? Check out the roundup below!

Dragon Books of 2020 list

How to Feed Your Dragon: 4 Great Meal Recipes to Share with Your New Reptilian Friend by Brian Naslund, author of Blood of an Exile

What Makes a Dragon a Dragon?

The Great Debate: Is Godzilla a Dragon?

The Best Dragons in Human Skins: A List by Jenn Lyons, author of The Ruin of Kings

The Most Dragon-y of Playlists

How to Survive an Adventurer Attack: A Guide for Dragons

Logo artist credit: http://www.jefthompson.com

Excerpts

Excerpt: Knight of the Silver Circle by Duncan M. Hamilton

July 11, 2019March 20, 2024torforge2 Comments

Three dragons wreak havoc throughout Mirabay—eating livestock, killing humans, and burning entire villages to ash. It was nearly impossible to kill one, using a legendary sword and the magic of the mysterious Cup; to tackle three, Guillot dal Villerauvais will need help.

The mage Solène fears having to kill again; she leaves Gill to gain greater control over her magic.

The Prince Bishop still wants Gill dead, but more than that, he wants the Cup, and he’ll do whatever he has to to get it, even sending his own daughter—a talented thief and assassin—into the dragons’ path.

As secrets mount on secrets and betrayals on betrayals, both Guillot and Solène face critical decisions that will settle not only their own fate but that of all Mirabaya.

Knight of the Silver Circle by Duncan M. Hamilton will be available on November 19. Please enjoy the following excerpt.

Chapter 1

Bernard pushed the wooden pin into place, securing the gate, and counted his herd again. He always counted twice, and had done ever since the hiding his father had given him when

he was eleven, for coming home one short. After the beating, he had spent the whole night scouring the foothills looking for it, not returning home until dawn, when he had to break the news to his father that the wolves had gotten it. It had been a hard lesson, and not one he had forgotten. To leave one of the cattle out in the pastures at night was to condemn it to the wolves. Usually you could hear them start howling as soon as the sun went down, but they were silent tonight. Bernard didn’t know whether to be glad or to worry more. Wolves were wily beasts. At least when they were howling, he knew where they were.

Satisfied that every cow was accounted for, he gave the pin one last check and one final tug on the gate before heading for the farmhouse. He always worried his way through the summer. There was no getting around taking the cattle up to the high pastures every day if he wanted them at their best come market time in autumn. It was why he loved the winter—his herd were tucked up in the barn, safe from wolves, bears, and belek. He had never had much trouble from the latter two—perhaps the idiot noblemen of the county had hunted them to extinction—but the wolves were an ever-present threat.

There wasn’t much waiting for him at home—just a pot of broth heating on the fire, stale bread, and cheese. He had some wine, but he had to make that last until he went into town at the end of the month. Like as not, he wouldn’t see another soul until then. It was a lonely existence, and as he was rapidly approaching thirty, long past time he started trying to find himself a wife. He had no desire to end up like one of the crazy old herdsmen in the mountains, driven mad by the hardship and solitude.

He thought of Martina, who worked at the post office in Venne. She had danced with him at the spring fair, and he wondered if it was worth asking her to step out with him. He didn’t have much to offer her, although his house wasn’t bad—well built by his father and well cared for by his mother. He’d done his best to maintain the place since they’d both passed, and he didn’t think he’d done a bad job. It was pretty up the valley, and he thought Martina might like it here. Only one way to find out, he thought. He wondered if he should make his monthly trip to Venne a little earlier than usual. Tomorrow perhaps? He scratched the thick brown stubble on his chin, and realised he’d need to tidy himself up a bit before he went. A lot, if he had any hope of Martina stepping out with him.

Inside, Bernard took off his cloak, sat on his chair by the fire, and reached for the pot of broth. It had been a long day, and he was hungry. There was too much to be done around the farm for one person—a wife and family would certainly help with that. And with the loneliness.

_________

Bernard woke with a start, and the half-eaten bowl of broth on his lap clattered to the floor, splattering its contents as it fell. He had no idea how long he had been asleep. There was no light coming through the cracks in his window shutters, so it could not have been overlong. The time would better have been spent in bed, however. He kneaded his stiff neck as he surveyed the mess made by the broth, and debated with himself over whether he should clean it now, or wait until the morning. Sleeping in the chair never did much to rejuvenate him, and he couldn’t think of anything he wanted more than his bed at that moment. However, dry broth would be harder to clean. It was only then he wondered at what had woken him.

He stood and stretched his back. As the confusion of sleep cleared from his head, he realised there was noise coming from outside—from the cattle pen. Wolves. He knew it. When his gut told him something was amiss, he was always right. Bernard went to the trunk by the door and opened it, pushing aside the various things that had accumulated atop the object he sought—his father’s old crossbow.

It had been a long time since the bow had been out of the trunk, but everything seemed in working order to Bernard’s inexpert eye. He wound the string and pulled the trigger to test it. Satisfied that it was firing properly, he grabbed a lantern and a handful of bolts from the quiver in the trunk, and set off to shoot some wolves.

As soon as he stepped outside, the magnitude of his task made itself known. It was a moonless night and he could barely see his nose in front of his face. How could he hope to shoot something he couldn’t see? He swore, stuffed the quarrels into his pocket, slung the bow over his shoulder, and worked his flint to light the lantern’s wick. Once its warm orange light began to grow, he lowered its glass cover and picked up the pitchfork he had left leaning against the wall by the door. It might come in handy if a wolf attacked him.

The commotion from the cattle pen was far louder now—the rough stone walls of his house did a very good job of keeping the noise out. It sounded as though the herd had clustered at the far end of the pen, but there was noise at the near end also—the sound of beasts feeding.

Bernard had raised each and every cow in the pen from the moment its mother had birthed it, often with his help. That one of them had been savagely killed and was being devoured enraged him. He let out an angry shout, knowing it was unlikely to scare off the wolves but needing to give voice to his frustration.

“Go on! Clear off, you filthy bastards!” He shook his pitchfork in as threatening a fashion as he could muster.

Though he neared the pen, he could still see nothing; the lantern’s light did not reach far into the gloom. But he could hear: the tearing of sinew, the cracking of bones, the grinding of teeth. Why hadn’t the beasts reacted to his challenge? He had expected a growl at least, if not more. Then it occurred to him that the feeding didn’t sound like wolves. It sounded like something larger. A bear? A wave of panic swept through him. A belek?

Bringing his pitchfork to guard, Bernard backed away a pace. If it was a belek, it was welcome to the cow. That didn’t make sense, though. Belek loved the cold, and it was summer. Even in the winter, it was rare that one of the enormous, cat-like creatures would come down into the valleys—only in the very coldest of years. Belek were said to love the hunt, too, and slaughtering captive livestock wouldn’t be of much interest to them. They were vicious beasts, as big as a bear, and he had heard it said one night in the tavern in Venne that they had the intelligence of a man. Now Bernard half smiled at the memory of the joke he had told, that beleks couldn’t be all that smart, going by most of the men he knew, but the memory couldn’t extinguish the fear the thought of the beast instilled in him.

The air was filled with the hideous, sickening noise of a carcass being torn apart—a sound that every living thing would instinctively flee from. Why was he fool enough to challenge it, to draw whatever lurked out there in the dark to him?

If he didn’t, who would look after his cows? Everything he knew spoke against it being a belek. If it was a bear, his best chance was to frighten it off.

“Go on!” he shouted. “Off with you!” He let out a roar, a brave challenge that went against everything he felt. Perhaps the lantern’s light would keep whatever it was away? He wanted to run back to the house, shut the door behind him, bar it, and hide there until daybreak.

“Off with you!” he shouted again. He shook his pitchfork once more.

The sound of feeding stopped. If anything, the silence was more terrifying than the noise. A small tendril of flame appeared in the darkness, casting a pool of light. Two great yellow orbs became visible, staring at him, their oval irises as black as the night. The ovals narrowed until they were barely more than slits. Slits that were locked on him. Bernard dropped his lantern, which spluttered out, leaving him in darkness. He clutched the pitchfork with both hands as though his life depended on it.

The beast’s eyes sat above and to the sides of a long snout containing the most wicked-looking set of teeth he had ever seen. The flame, almost hypnotising as it danced, cast a buttery sheen on the edges of the scales that covered all that he could see of the beast.

He knew what it was. He had heard rumours of one having appeared several villages over, but like everything that was said to have happened several villages over, he thought the stories were most likely to be untrue. He knew what it was, but he could not bring himself to say the name, even in the quiet of his own head. He felt warmth run down the inside of his legs, but ignored it. His eyes were fixed on those yellow orbs that seemed to study him so intently. He knew what it was. Something from legend, from a time when the tales of men merged with fantasy.

Dragon.

The flame disappeared and the night was plunged into darkness once more. He heard nothing. Had he frightened it off? He thought of Martina, probably tucked up in bed only a few miles away. If he looked to his right, he could probably see the village’s lights, but he couldn’t tear his gaze away from the inky black where the dragon had been moments before.

A thought came to him—if he couldn’t see it, perhaps it couldn’t see him. He took a step back, as quietly as he could, tensing every muscle to react if he stood on a twig or anything else that would reveal his location.

The flame at the end of the beast’s snout returned, larger now, casting a greater pool of light. The sight of two more creatures behind the first one filled Bernard with a sense of utter despair. They had killed a cow each—despite the danger he was in, he could only think of how he recognised the markings on one, and could remember the day he pulled her out of her mother by the hooves during a difficult birth.

The other beasts ignored him, but the first, the one with the gentle stream of flame coming from its nostrils, kept its eyes locked on him. Bernard thought of shouting again, of shaking his pitchfork at them, but something told him it would make no difference. Something told him nothing would make any difference. Tears streamed down his face; he wished that he’d asked Martina to step out with him at the spring dance. When the jet of flame hit him, he wondered who was going to look after his cows. He felt growing heat for a moment, then nothing.

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The Best and Worst Pop Culture Dragon Slayers

July 11, 2019July 11, 2019torforge

Welcome to Dragon Week, a celebration of all things Dragon!

Today, Blood of an Exile author Brian Naslund joins us to talk dragonslayers. Some are heroes. Some are villains. Some of them should LEAVE THOSE DRAGONS ALONE.

The 6 Best Dragonslayers and Hunters in Pop Culture

By Brian Naslund

People have been writing about dragons for a long time. The first mention of a dragon in literature was (arguably) a Sumerian poem during the Middle Bronze Age. And for almost the entire time people have been writing about dragons, they’ve also been writing about people trying to kill them.

Pop culture has come a long way since Sumerian poems, so I thought I’d run through the best dragon slayers fiction has to offer. Also, since few heroes work alone, I included supplementary shout-outs to the un-sung champions behind the dragon-slaying scenes.

Beowulf

The O.G. dragon slayer in European literature, Beowulf only killed one dragon, but he did it in style. After 50-years of peaceful king-stuff in the wake of killing Grendel and Grendel’s Mother, Beowulf catches word that there’s a pissed off lizard nearby. Does he send his lackeys to deal with the reptile (like most elderly gentleman with aching knees would have)? No. No, he does not. He grabs his sword and shield and goes to get his slay on.

First thing that happens? The dragon bites B-Wulf in the throat. But he doesn’t give up. He slams his massive sword onto the dragon’s head, which breaks his trusty steel. Still, he perseveres—drawing a dagger and gut-stabbing the lizard, killing it.

Beowulf died shortly thereafter, too, but he still goes down in history as a pioneer of dragon-slaying technique.

Supplementary shout-out goes to: Wiglaf, the only one of Beowulf’s thanes who didn’t run away when the dragon showed up. He got his arm toasted by dragon fire and definitely deserves an assist on the slaying. (Depending on what account you read, he might even deserve full credit.)

Bard the Bowman

Moving on to a Tolkien classic: the grim, bird-language understanding, sharpshooting captain of the Lake Town archers. Bard the Bowman smoked Smaug with his lucky arrow, thus saving the day and (most of) the people in the city.

The movie version certainly wins points for suspense and the helping hand from his son to form a human ballista, but either way you cut it, Bard crushed it when it comes to killing dragons.

Supplementary shout-out goes to: the thrush who told Bard where the weak spot was in Smaug’s bejeweled armor. That bird’s the real hero in this situation.

Tokoyo

Next, we travel east to Japanese dragon mythology. Tokoyo might not be on the tip of everyone’s dragon-slaying tongue, but she should be. Here’s the condensed version of how awesome she is:

Tokoyo’s father was a samurai who gets banished from the realm. This sucks, but Tokoyo isn’t one to just lay back on something like that, so she goes looking for him on a remote island chain. Before she finds him, she runs across a priest who’s about to sacrifice a young girl to the gods for “reasons.” What does Tokoyo do? Pulls a Catniss Everdeen and volunteers herself as tribute in the girl’s stead. Then she puts a dagger between her teeth and jumps off a cliff into the sea.

Turns out there’s a dragon down there. But Tokoyo stays cool. First things first, she stabs the dragon in the eye with her dagger. Then she just goes ballistic and keeps on stabbing till it’s dead.

I won’t get into the details, but in the aftermath of this badassery, the Emperor’s life is saved and Tokoyo’s father’s banishment is lifted. Oh, and she got a city named after her that you might have heard of.

Supplementary shout-out: Nobody. Tokoyo slays solo and she’s damn good at it.

Geralt of Rivia

Curveball coming here. The gravel-voiced anti-hero of The Witcher novels, video games (and soon, Netflix series) is one of the most infamous monster hunters around. So, you’d think he’s killed his fair share of dragons, too, right? Wrong. Geralt’s personal code of ethics (which has enough gray area to put GRRM to shame) precludes killing dragons because they’re sentient, intelligent, almost extinct, and don’t attack humans without being provoked.

So, why’d I just include him in a list of the best dragon slayers? Because if that’s how dragons behave in your fictional world, refusing to kill them is the best thing you can do.

Supplementary shout-out goes to: Geralt’s dubious moral compass.

The Dragonborn

I’m gonna bullet-point the Dragonborn’s bonafides because this is the internet and attention spans are probably running thin.

Gender- and race-fluid: The Dragonborn is whoever you create in Helgen.
Eats dragon souls like they’re sweet rolls:
Crafts their bones into weapons and armor afterwards: Assuming you max your smithing skill.
Stops a dragon from literally eating the world: MVP move.

Supplementary shout-out goes to: Lydia, obviously. For carrying all those burdens.

And of course:
Silas Bershad

Silas Bershad lives in a world where dragon slayers aren’t heroes. They’re criminals. As punishment for their crimes, they get a ceremonial face tattoo and a donkey, then they get told to go kill dragons for the rest of their lives. Most of them live for about a week.

Bershad’s been killing lizards for 14 years and counting.

This vexes the king, who exiled Bershad under the assumption that he’d be dead before the next full moon. The secret behind Bershad’s ability to live so long doing the most dangerous job in the world is a topic of conjecture, but I did write a book with more details.

Supplementary shout-out: Rowan (Bershad’s sidekick and closest friend) and Alfonso (the aforementioned donkey who carries all Bershad’s gear, eats apples, and craps loyalty).

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On Dragon Conservation

July 10, 2019July 6, 2023torforge

Welcome to Dragon Week, a celebration of all things Dragon!

We’ve been a little hard on dragons so far. We’ve talked about the deadliest dragons, and how to survive an encounter with a dragon (trickery, seduction, and the magic of friendship were on table.)

So today we’re sobering up with a more serious issue, brought to you by Marie Brennan, author of A Natural History of Dragons and Turning Darkness Into Light.

“Real Conservation Needs Teeth, Not Talk”

By Tamara Lewis, Opinion Writer, Falchester Weekly Review

These days it seems like dragon conservation is the hot new cause for celebrity figures, with everyone from actors to politicians to socialites being photographed with adorable dragon hatchlings.

But these photographs obscure the reality, and in some cases contribute to the very harm they’re attempting to mitigate. Don’t let the gangly appearance of a baby Akhian desert drake fool you; just out of the frame there’s undoubtedly an experienced handler waiting with a tranquilizer dart, ready to shoot the dragon if it tries to take a piece off the celebrity. Far too many people believe that if a dragon is raised in captivity, it will become tame and cooperative around humans.

On occasion this is true. The“guard dragon” swamp-wyrms of the oba of Bayembe are a famous attraction for tourists, as are the performing ci lêng of Yelang. Producing such a result, however, requires years of painstaking and expert work, and even then, accidents are all too common — and all too fatal. A private individual attempting to raise a dragon in his barn or her cellar is likely to wind up in the hospital sooner rather than later.

Furthermore, these environments are rarely healthy for the dragon. The Trent Draconic Rescue Center in Linshire is home to dozens of dragons whose health problems preclude them ever being released back into the wild, thanks to an early life spent with improper food and insufficient room to move. Nor are they socialized to deal with their own kind, who would swiftly kill them if they were to return.

Smaller breeds such as honeyseekers do offer a safer alternative, and in fact many people successfully keep them as pets. But although the dragons themselves are healthy and their owners are unharmed, the trade in honeyseeker eggs and breeding pairs threatens the long-term stability of wild populations. They used to be a common sight on many islands in the Broken Sea, but now their natural range has shrunk alarmingly, with their numbers being reduced past the point of viability by hunters armed with snares and nets. Although the species may survive in captivity, this cannot be called good conservation.

It would be far preferable, not to mention more effective, if these celebrities spent less time posing for pictures with dragons and more on raising awareness of measures that would truly help preserve the diversity of dragon species in their natural habitats. Better agricultural practices would leave more untouched terrain for dragon reproduction and hunting, and we must hold our industries accountable for the pollution that has reduced sea-serpents to an alarmingly small fraction of their previous numbers.

Successfully doing this requires more than a mere photo opportunity. National initiatives to set aside nature reserves may seem like a wonderful move, but without ongoing support and monitoring, poachers can easily slip in to hunt at will, taking skins, claws, teeth, and living specimens. Given the financial incentives to sell such materials on the black market, it’s no wonder that merely designating a protected space does little good.

For these measures to work, community involvement at the local level is vital. The traditional practices in the Keongan Islands have been remarkably effective at maintaining healthy fire-lizard populations there, because there is social value in protecting the dragons rather than selling them. Even a single person can make a difference, as in southern Coyahuac, where the influence of Zocachitl yec Tecehuitzo has done a great deal to stabilize the future of quetzalcoatls. Her connections in the government show how top-down initiatives can be translated to real action on the ground, creating sustainable tourism programs to view a queztalcoatl in the wild.

Our celebrities could use their own influence to support these efforts on the ground in the places where dragons still thrive. Whether this is via fundraising for local organizations or campaigning against the foreign policy decisions that drive a great deal of habitat loss, they do have a role to play. We also commend Rebecca Susskind for publicly decrying the use of drakefly feathers in high fashion — for it is our demand for these rarities that makes the illicit trade in them so lucrative.

Change must happen around the world if we want our grandchildren and their grandchildren to enjoy the beauty and majesty of dragons.

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Top Five Deadliest Dragons

July 9, 2019October 29, 2019torforge7 Comments

Spine of the Dragon author Kevin J. Anderson joins us to round up the top 5 dangerous dragons. In his book, the legendary dragon at the heart of the world is so enormous that if he ever wakes, it will be the end of all things. But don’t worry, he’s recused himself from the list.

Dragons—Fearsome, Dangerous, and Otherwise

By Kevin J. Anderson

For Dragon Week, Tor asked me to write a piece on the top five deadliest dragons in fantasy. The publication of my new novel, Spine of the Dragon, gives me at least ephemeral street cred on the subject, so let’s get to it.

First and most obvious, I choose Tolkien’s Smaug.
This was the seminal dragon for me, when I read The Hobbit in 9th grade and then saw (on first-run TV) the Rankin-Bass animated movie. Fearsome and terrifying, Smaug caused horrific destruction to Lake Town. (Yes, Tolkien afficionados can point out other dragons from Middle Earth, particularly Ancelagon the Black from the Silmarillion, as being more deadly…but it’s a subjective list.)
Godzilla.
Yeah, you just did a doubletake, but he’s a giant reptile that breathes fire, so I’ll include him as a dragon. Think of how many times he’s stomped Tokyo and elsewhere (including Fenway Park in the new movie). Since I just had the delightful experience of taking my young grandsons to their very first Godzilla movie, this guy will always rank high on my list. Runner up: in the Godzilla-verse, Ghidorah is a little more dragon-like and maybe even more deadly.
Drogon from Game of Thrones.
I don’t know what GRRM was intending to do with the dragon character in the later novels, but in the last episodes of the series when Drogon obliterates the city of King’s Landing, that’s an excessive and gut-wrenching body count. Note that Viserion, the “zombie dragon” was pretty darned deadly, too.
Pern dragons.
Not long after reading The Lord of the Rings, I discovered Anne McCaffrey’s Dragonriders of Pern series, and my life was filled with dragons. Since I’m making the rules for this list, “deadly” doesn’t have to mean deadly to people, and the Pern dragons are certainly deadly to Thread!
I went straight to the source, asking Todd McCaffrey which dragons he thought qualified best. He responded, “The obvious choice is F’lar’s Mnementh, a bronze dragon and gold Ramoth’s mate. For me, I’d say that F’nor’s Canth, the large brown dragon that actually jumped with F’nor to the Red Star is the most awesome. (Pern dragons, as you noticed, don’t do “deadly” except to Thread.)”
Tiamat, the five-headed dragon from D&D.
When I was in college, playing Dungeons and Dragons for hours and hours every weekend, and studying the Monster Manual on my own time, Tiamat seemed the most awesome, deadliest thing you didn’t want to encounter while wandering through a dungeon. Tiamat has been responsible for an untold number of RPG-related deaths.

HONORABLE MENTIONS

A tip of the hat to the dragons in the works of Christopher Paolini, Gordon R. Dickson, and Naomi Novik. Looking to Fantasy films, some of the most obvious candidates include Vermithrax Pejorative from Dragonslayer, Draco from Dragonheart, the Jabberwock from Jabberwocky (at least it had a most impressive turd), Maleficent from Sleeping Beauty (who turns into a dragon at the end), and possibly the biggest kahunas of them all, the dragons from Reign of Fire, who wipe out most of the human race, six billion or so deaths…one of them may be the literal “deadliest” of any dragons on this list.

And to balance out on a lighter note, here are some dragons that definitely did not make the “deadliest” list:

Puff
Pete’s Dragon
The dragons from the How to Train Your Dragon series (though some of them are indeed scary)
Nebbish, heart-warming and stage-warming dragon companion at many spectacular Rush concerts (anyone who knows me will understand that a Rush reference is pretty much required…)

Make your own list. Go out and slay those dragons…or at least read them.

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Celebrate Dragon Week With These Epic Ebook Deals!

July 8, 2019May 3, 2024torforge

The time has come! Dragon Week is finally here and to mark the start of such a fiery week, we’re helping you stock up on the dragon books you love. Add these ebooks to your eReader for just $2.99 each, but hurry the sale is only for today!

The Assassin King by Elizabeth Haydon

The Assassin King opens at winter’s end with the arrival by sea of a mysterious hunter, a man of ancient race and purpose, who endlessly chants the names of the pantheon of demons that are his intended victims, as well as one other: Ysk, the original name of the Brother, now known as Achmed, the Assassin King of Ylorc.

At the same moment of this portentous arrival, two gatherings of great import are taking place. The first is a convocation of dragons, who gather in a primeval forest glade–the site of the horrific ending of Llauron, one of the last of their kind. They mourn not only his irrevocable death, but the loss of the lore and control over the Earth itself that it represents. The ancient wyrms are terrified for what will come as a result of this loss.

The second gathering is a council of war held in the depths of the keep of Haguefort: Ashe and Rhapsody, rulers of the alliance that protects the Middle Continent; Gwydion, the new Duke of Navarne; Anborn, the Lord Marshall; Achmed, the King of Ylorc, and Grunthor, his Sergeant-Major. Each brings news that form the pieces of a great puzzle. And as each piece is added it becomes quite clear: War is coming, the likes of which the world has never known.

Bones of the Dragon by Margaret Weis and Tracy Hickman

In Bones of the Dragon, Skylan Ivorson is a sea-raider of the Vindras and eventually becomes the Chief of Chiefs of all Vindras clans, an honor he truly feels he deserves as one who has been blessed by Skoval, the god of war.

But sometimes a blessing is a curse in disguise.

Skoval and the other ancient gods are under siege from a new generation of gods who are challenging them for the powers of creation… and the only way to stop these brash interlopers lies within the mysterious and hidden Five Bones of the Vektan Dragons.

It will be up to the Vindras people, as the dragon-goddess’s champions, to undertake the quest to recover all Five. The fate of the Old Gods and the Vindras rests on their recovery–for this is not only a quest to save the world. It is also a quest for redemption.

Crown of Vengeance by Mercedes Lackey and James Mallory

Mercedes Lackey and James Mallory, bestselling authors individually and together, return to the world of their New York Times and USA Today bestselling Obsidian and Enduring Flame Trilogies with Crown of Vengeance.

Here, readers will learn the truth about the Elven Queen Vielissiar Faricarnon, who was the first to face the Endarkened in battle and the first to bond with a dragon. She worked some of the greatest magics her world has ever known, and paid the greatest Price.

Dragon Age by David Gaider

Dragon Age: The Calling by David Gaider is another thrilling prequel to Dragon Age: Origins, the hit role-playing video game from award-winning developer BioWare!

After two hundred years of exile, King Maric has allowed the legendary Grey Wardens to finally return to Ferelden. When they come, however, they bring dire news: one of their own has escaped into the Deep Roads and aligned himself with their ancient enemy, the monstrous darkspawn.

The Grey Wardens need Maric’s help, and he reluctantly agrees to lead them into the passages he traveled through many years before, chasing after a deadly secret that will threaten to destroy not only the Grey Wardens but also the Kingdom above.

The Dragons of Babel by Michael Swanwick

A war-dragon of Babel crashes in the idyllic fields of a post-industrialized Faerie and, dragging himself into the nearest village, declares himself king and makes young Will his lieutenant. Nightly, he crawls inside the young fey’s brain to get a measure of what his subjects think. Forced out of his village, Will travels with female centaur soldiers, witnesses the violent clash of giants, and acquires a surrogate daughter, Esme, who has no knowledge of the past and may be immortal.

Evacuated to the Tower of Babel — infinitely high, infinitely vulgar, very much like New York City — Will meets the confidence trickster Nat Whilk. Inside the Dread Tower, Will becomes a hero to the homeless living in the tunnels under the city, rises as an underling to a politician, and meets his one true love–a high-elven woman he dare not aspire to.

The Ice Dragon by George R. R. Martin

The Ice Dragon is an enchanting tale of courage and sacrifice for young readers and adults by the wildly popular author of the #1 New York Times bestselling Song of Ice and Fire series, George R.R. Martin. Lavish illustrations by acclaimed artist Luis Royo enrich this captivating and heartwarming story of a young girl and her dragon.

In the world of A Song of Ice and Fire the ice dragon was a creature of legend and fear, for no man had ever tamed one. When it flew overhead, it left in its wake desolate cold and frozen land. But Adara was not afraid. For Adara was a winter child, born during the worst freeze that anyone, even the Old Ones, could remember.

Adara could not remember the first time she had seen the ice dragon. It seemed that it had always been in her life, glimpsed from afar as she played in the frigid snow long after the other children had fled the cold. In her fourth year she touched it, and in her fifth year she rode upon its broad, chilled back for the first time. Then, in her seventh year, on a calm summer day, fiery dragons from the North swooped down upon the peaceful farm that was Adara’s home. And only a winter child—and the ice dragon who loved her—could save her world from utter destruction.

The Knight by Gene Wolfe

A young man in his teens is transported from our world to a magical realm that contains seven levels of reality. Very quickly transformed by magic into a grown man of heroic proportions, he takes the name Able and sets out on a quest to find the sword that has been promised to him, a sword he will get from a dragon, the one very special blade that will help him fulfill his life ambition to become a knight and a true hero.

Inside, however, Able remains a boy, and he must grow in every sense to survive the dangers and delights that lie ahead in encounters with giants, elves, wizards, and dragons.

Mistress of Dragons by Margaret Weis

Mistress of Dragons is the first volume in an epic fantasy trilogy entitled The Dragonvald. Here is a world where men and dragons coexist amid political intrigue and dark magic, where the uneasy balance of power between the two is on the verge of becoming undone, threatening to unleash waves of destruction that will pit humans against humans as well as dragons against men for the domination of the world. Humanity’s very survival is at risk . . . .

The power to hold the chaos at bay, the terrible secret that maintains the balance, rests in the hands of a new and inexperienced.

A Natural History of Dragons by Marie Brennan

All the world, from Scirland to the farthest reaches of Eriga, know Isabella, Lady Trent, to be the world’s preeminent dragon naturalist. She is the remarkable woman who brought the study of dragons out of the misty shadows of myth and misunderstanding into the clear light of modern science. But before she became the illustrious figure we know today, there was a bookish young woman whose passion for learning, natural history, and, yes, dragons defied the stifling conventions of her day.

Here at last, in her own words, is the true story of a pioneering spirit who risked her reputation, her prospects, and her fragile flesh and bone to satisfy her scientific curiosity; of how she sought true love and happiness despite her lamentable eccentricities; and of her thrilling expedition to the perilous mountains of Vystrana, where she made the first of many historic discoveries that would change the world forever.

Tooth and Claw by Jo Walton

The tale of a family dealing with the death of their father, of a son who goes to law for his inheritance, a son who agonizes over his father’s deathbed confession, a daughter who falls in love, a daughter who becomes involved in the abolition movement, and a daughter sacrificing herself for her husband.

Except that everyone in the story is a dragon, red in tooth and claw.

Here is a world of politics and train stations, of churchmen and family retainers, of courtship and country houses…in which, on the death of an elder, family members gather to eat the body of the deceased. In which society’s high-and-mighty members avail themselves of the privilege of killing and eating the weaker children, which they do with ceremony and relish, growing stronger thereby.

The Assassin King by Elizabeth Haydon

Bones of the Dragon by Margaret Weis and Tracy Hickman

But sometimes a blessing is a curse in disguise.

Crown of Vengeance by Mercedes Lackey and James Mallory

Dragon Age by David Gaider

Dragon Age: The Calling by David Gaider is another thrilling prequel to Dragon Age: Origins, the hit role-playing video game from award-winning developer BioWare!

The Dragons of Babel by Michael Swanwick

The Ice Dragon by George R. R. Martin

The Knight by Gene Wolfe

Inside, however, Able remains a boy, and he must grow in every sense to survive the dangers and delights that lie ahead in encounters with giants, elves, wizards, and dragons.

Mistress of Dragons by Margaret Weis

The power to hold the chaos at bay, the terrible secret that maintains the balance, rests in the hands of a new and inexperienced.

A Natural History of Dragons by Marie Brennan

Tooth and Claw by Jo Walton

Except that everyone in the story is a dragon, red in tooth and claw.

Behind the Scenes / Extras / Fearless Women / What's New

How to Survive a Dragon Attack

July 8, 2019April 8, 2024torforge10 Comments

Welcome to Dragon Week, a celebration of all things Dragon!

Even as we celebrate dragons, we know encountering them in the wild can be dangerous!
You have to ask yourself the important questions: Am I in a dragon’s territory? Do I have any wizarding or archery skills? Am I crunchy and good with ketchup?

So we chatted with the experts. People who have spent their whole lives reading about dragons and talking the talk. That’s right. We asked ourselves.

Here’s our expert advice on surviving.

Caro Perny, Publicity Manager, Tor Books and Tor.com Publishing:
Cloaks.
Just… Cloaks.
If you must have elaboration, though, I think cloaks are ideal.

they are a disguise; you can flare it behind you and pretend it’s wings, to make the dragon believe you are a wayward spawn.
Cloaks often have magical, protective properties. Surely, those would be useful against a dragon.
If all else fails, and you’re definitely gonna die, you may as well do it with some style. And there is nothing more stylish than a cloak.

Capes are also acceptable.

Renata, Digital Marketing Manager, Tor Books:
Make yourself appear larger. Then play dead.

That dragon will think “Whoa, something over there killed that surprisingly large apex predator! I should avoid that area.”

I give the same advice for bears.

Chris Morgan, Associate Editor, Tor Books:
Dress the group bard up in a raw meat jacket and send them in to “negotiate”.

Christine Foltzer, Associate Art Director, Tor.com Publishing:
I think it’s to hide in a small place it can’t get in and hope it goes away!

Either that or befriend it and ride it to freedom.

Emily Hughes, Senior Marketing Manager, Tor Books:
Use a series of mirrors to lure the dragon to a predetermined defensible position, preferably against a cliff face, where you have set up a series of nets filled with soil, which, as we all know, extinguishes fire. Once the dragon is in position, pull the ropes to release the soil, thereby trapping the dragon underneath and preventing it from breathing fire.
Voilá.

Rebecca Yeager, Ad/Promo Manager, Tor Books:
Roll to seduce?

Mordicai Knode, Marketing Manager, Tor.com Publishing:
Dragons are mostly just reflections of the Seven Deadly Sins, so you can always just try being a virtuous maiden.

Christina Orlando, Publicity Coordinator, Tor.com:
Research first. learn about dragon communities, their habitats, their biology and anatomy. Knowing what you’re getting into is important. plus, dragon history and sociology is fascinating.

Books Are The Best Weapon GIF from Drwho GIFs

Julia Bergen, Associate Ad/Promo Manager, Tor Books:
Try to outsmart it! You’re not going to be able to overpower it, but it might not be that clever. Appeal to its vanity, or maybe its greed. At least try to distract it long enough to run away.

See, we are great at advice. You definitely won’t die if you do these things. How would you survive an encounter with a dragon? Sound off in the comments!

Author Features / eBook Deals / Events / Extras / What's New

Tor Books Presents: Dragon Week!

July 8, 2019May 2, 2024torforge13 Comments

YASS DRAGONS!!

Ok. Now that we’ve got that out of our systems, here’s your home for all things #DragonWeek. Check out our expert advice and ebook deals through the links below and follow the discourse on Twitter!

Dragon Books of 2020

Logo artist credit: http://www.jefthompson.com

Chapter 1

Order Your Copy

Beowulf

Bard the Bowman

Tokoyo

Geralt of Rivia

The Dragonborn

And of course: Silas Bershad

Order Your Copy of Blood of an Exile:

Order Your Copy of Turning Darkness Into Light:

Order Your Copy of Spine of the Dragon:

Celebrate Dragon Week With These Epic Ebook Deals!

Celebrate Dragon Week With These Epic Ebook Deals!

How to Survive a Dragon Attack

How to Survive A Dragon Attack

Deadliest Dragons With Spine of the Dragon author Kevin J. Anderson

Dragon Conservation With A Natural History of Dragons and Turning Darkness Into Light author Marie Brennan

Top Dragon Slayers with With Blood of an Exile author Brian Naslund

Famous Dragons vs. Famous Sharks!

Celebrate Dragon Week With These Epic Ebook Deals!

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And of course:
Silas Bershad

Deadliest Dragons
With Spine of the Dragon author Kevin J. Anderson

Dragon Conservation
With A Natural History of Dragons and Turning Darkness Into Light author Marie Brennan

Top Dragon Slayers with
With Blood of an Exile author Brian Naslund