Best Book Ever: Dragons
Having just read a book all about dragons, and of course thinking about the return of Game of Thrones to television for its third season, I've got dragons on the mind! So this week, naturally, I asked our contributors to share their favorite books with dragons. Check out our selections and let us know what you think in the comments.
Easy! My favorite dragon book ever is The Dragon & The George by Gordon R. Dickson. Not familiar with this title? Actually, if you're from my age bracket you probably are... you just don't know it. The 1982 animated film The Flight of Dragons uses this novel as the inspiration for the plot, but the character design from the film borrows heavily from the Peter Dickinson speculative natural history book titled... The Flight of Dragons. To muddy the waters a bit more - in the film version, Sir Peter IS Peter Dickinson, attempting to finish his manuscript of... The Flight of Dragons. Yeah. It's complicated.
Mindy McGinnis - Not a Drop to Drink (September 9, 2013; Katherine Tegen Books)
My pick for best Dragon book is Shana Abe’s THE SMOKE THIEF. When I read this novel several years ago, it was the first dragon-romance I’d ever read. I was skeptical to say the least, but Abe successfully combines two things I love—fantasy and historical romance. The secret society of shape-shifting Dragons sucks you into a fascinating world that is both vicious and beautiful. Abe’s writing style is lyrical without being too wordy and the plot was surprising and fast paced. I highly recommend the entire DRAKON series to all fantasy romance fans!
Lorie Langdon - Doon (September 2013; Zondervan/Harper Collins)
I'm sure I'm not the only one who read and loved Seraphina by Rachel Hartman. The world building in this book is marvelous, the characters are complex and interesting, and I always enjoy a good mystery. I sometimes have trouble following the politics of fantasy worlds, but I was drawn into the conflict of this one easily, which is the best kind: high stakes for the kingdom as well as the individuals we come to care about. Best of all, the real heart of Seraphina is a girl caught between two worlds who finds friendship and love in unexpected places, discovers and learns to accept herself just the way she is.
E.C. Myers - Quantum Coin (October 23, 2012; Pyr)
Like I said earlier, I was largely inspired to pick this topic by my recent reading of A Natural History of Dragons, and by the anticipation of season three of Game of Thrones. So of course I'm going to pick George R. R. Martin's A Song of Ice and Fire series, which has war, political intrigue, murder, weird family dynamics, magic, family secrets, religious and culture clashes, maybe-zombies, and, oh yeah, dragons. I'll admit I've been a little disappointed by the fourth and fifth books in the series but the first three are pretty amazing works of fiction.
Sarah
If you're interested in participating in Best Book Ever, let us know! Just leave us a comment or send an email to oneminutebooks at gmail and we'll get you set up!
