Dragons of The Media
Even today dragons can be found all over. They appear in movies, books, television, toys and every way that they possibly can. Dragons have never stopped haunting the human imagination, and they may never stop. Dragons can be found all over, although they've taken on something of a different form. Instead of provoking fear they now take up flight in the imagination of many. It is more common to find dragons as working and riding partners, not unlike a horse with human intelligence. The amount of unique dragons out there is innumerable.
Dracopedia
Art and book by William O'Connor
Photograph by nathanf2014xvii/twitter
A series of four art books by William O'connor. Similar to Dragonology, the author/artist treats dragon as if they were real, disuccussing anatomy, habitat, and life style in a number of his books alongside well detailed artwork as well as art tutorials.
Dragon Age
Electronic Arts (2009-Present)
A popular game in the roleplay genre, Dragon Age is a series published by Electronic Arts and developed by several developers. The game's premise is of a dark fantasy world where the character is caught up in battles and politics. One of the big features are the dragons of which the player must face and defeat throughout the game. Along with the game series, there are several spin-off titles, novels, and even a table-top game based around the world that the series takes place within.
Dragon Pit Trilogy
Jane Yolen (1982-2009)
Initially a trilogy, this series first concluded in 1987 but gained a fourth book in 2009. The Dragon Pit series follows a young dragonmaster named Jakkin Stewart and his love Akki through trails and hardships. The dragons in their world dragons are used in battle, where owners can win prizes if their beasts win. The group goes through many hardships and trials, and learn to be more compassionate towards dragons and even end up saving some from a ritual sacrifice.
The Dragon Prince
Netflix (2018-Present)
"The Dragon Prince" is an ongoing Netflix series about two boys, an elf, and a dragon in a world split by magic and technology. The two princes, Callum and Ezran, are joined by elf Rayla to help bring back the dragon king's son Azymondias, otherwise known as Zym. The group endures many trials on their journey, and the series is set to possibly conclude in 2021.
Dragon Quest
Square Enix (1986-Present)
Published by the well-known Square Enix, Dragon Quest is a turn based role-playing-game that features and fantastical world of cute monsters and dragons. Originall released for the Nintendo Entertainment System and the Famicom, the game has since broadened to more recent platforms such as the Nintendo Switch. Players go through a well developed story with plenty of characters to slay monsters and dragons alike. The series also has several spin-offs, novels, manga, and even an anime series for fans to enjoy.
Dragonology
Dugald Steer (2003-2014)
Nintendo (2010)
Part of the "-Ology" series which includes Wizardology and Egyptology, the Dragonology series is probably the most popular of Steer's work. It has received the most interest and marketability. There is the original book, along with several other "field guides," a set of four choose your own adventure books, several stuffed animals and figures, wood assembly kits, a board game, and a video game for the Nintendo DS and Wii. The book that started it all, Dragonology: A Complete Guide to Dragons was published in 2003 and is written in a style as if dragons were real, including "dragon dust," "dragon scale," and various diagrams discussing the nature of dragons.
Dragonriders of Pern
Anne McCaffery (1967-2003)
Todd McCaffery (2003-2012) Gigi McCaffery (2018)
Cover art by Michael Wheelan
Considered one of the leading novels in dragons, Anne McCaffery and her Dragonriders of Pern series has earned her the nickname "Queen of Dragons." She was a critically acclaimed author, and was named the 22nd Grand Master of the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America. She was the first woman to win both a Hugo Award for her novella Weyr Search and the Nebula Award for another novella Dragonrider. Her use of dragons being partners with riders lives on in many novels and stories today, and the use of telepathic communication between dragon and rider is also widely used.
Dungeons &Â Dragons
Todd Lockwood, Silver Dragon, oil on canvas, 2001, Wizards of The Coast
Originally released in 1971, Dungeons & Dragons is a popular table top game that has gained more attention than before in recent years. In 2000 the game has a massive revision with rules being changed and added. The dragons first appeared in 1973 in the "white box" set. The Chromatic (Red, Blue, Green, Black, and White) as well as the Metallic (Brass, Bronze, Copper, Gold, and Silver) are currently designed by dragon artist Todd Lockwood. His designs for these dragons are the current standard, and have been used for posters, game board figures, and toys. The Dragon Codex book series features a story centered on each of thse dragons.
The Elder Scrolls
Bethesda Softworks (1994-Present)
A popular hit-game series by Bethesda, The Elder Scrolls is a fantasy world that inlcudes men, elves, and beasts. Players can select to play from a multitude of fictional races, and fight numrous beasts that could never be found in real life. Some of these beasts are dragons and dragon-like creatures such as the Cliff Racers. While mentioned throughout the series, dragons dont make an appearance until TES Adventures: Redguard in 1998, and not again until TES: Skyrim in 2011 while making a brief appearance in TES: Oblivion in 2006.
Flight Rising and DragonArt
Art by J "Neondragon" Peffer
Flight Rising is a browser based game where players may own, raise, fight with, and care for their very own dragons, with a total of seventeen breeds to choose from. The lead artist, Jessica Peffer, is previously known for her work on DeviantART as "neondragon" and for her series of three art books published by Impact Books that detail on how she draws dragons.
Game of Thrones
George R.R. Martin (1996-Present) HBO (2011-2019)
Image from the cover of the fifth season blue-ray disc
Game of Thrones is a television series on HBO inspired by George R. R. Martin's series A Song of Ice and Fire. the series follows several characters in their lives as the rise of an evil army threatens to destroy the world. The most attractive part of the series for many are the three dragons, Rhaegal, Viserion and Drogon. Many consider them some of the most impresive CGI dragons to date.
How to Train Your Dragon
Cressida Cowell (2003-2015) Dreamworks (2014-Present)
Image by Dreamworks
Arguably one of the largest franchises with dragons, How to Train You Dragon has become a beloved series by many a kind. The primary focus is of a young Viking named Hiccup and his dragon named Toothless. Together the two go on many adventures together, working to save all of dragonkind. DreamWorks has earned a total of 1,636,312,926 in box office gross worldwide from the three movies they have produced. All three movies has earned over 90% on Rotten Tomatoes, over 70 on Metacritic, and an A in CinemaScore. Overall, it has been one of the most popular franchises to feature dragons.
Inheritance Cycle
Christopher Paolini (2003-2019)
20th Century Fox (2006)
While originally self published in 2001, the book was later picked up and published by Knopff Books in 2003, and continued through 2011, with a small book of side stories published in 2019. While it had received mixed reviews, a film was produced by 20th Century Fox in 2006. The series also has official merchandise such as a board game, pins, video game, and posters. The story follows a young boy and dragon known as Eragon and Saphira who bring rise to the new dragon riders, as all of the previous ones have been killed save for the evil king Galbatorix.
The Legend of Zelda
Nintendo (1986-Present)
The well known and well beloved series The Legend of Zelda includes many dragons throughout the series. From fearsome monsters seen in battle to helpful characters, and even wise and powerful beings, dragons make a prominent presence in many of the games. Gleeok, Argorok, Valoo, Dinraal, Farosh, Naydra, Faron, Eldin, and Laynaru are the most notable. They can be seen in the games, manga, and even the television show.
Little Dragon's Cafe
Aksys Games (2018)
Released for the Nintendo Switch and Sony PlayStation 4, Little Dragon's Café is a unique game where the player must raise a dragon, take care of a café, find a cure for their mother, take care of customers and employees, and keep ingredients in stock. The game is more slower paced than typical games, and allows players to slow down and relax while playing and traveling with their dragon. The player has the option of which child to play (a boy or girl) and even the color of their dragon. As the story goes on, the player learns the backgrounds of the employees and is able to watch their dragon grow up.
Monster Hunter
Capcom (2004-Present)
Monster Hunter is a more recent but well known series where players take on a fantasy world full of beasts and creatures of all sizes. Each game has it's own story set in the world of monsters, and the player must kill various animals for quests and parts to upgrade gear. The forefront of the series are the larger more formidable monsters such as Rathalos and Leviathan. Many of the monsters are dragon or dragon-like creatures.
Pete's Dragon
Disney (1977) Disney (2016)
Poster from the 2016 version
Pete's Dragon was originally planned to be a two part episode for Disney's Disneyland television series in 1957. It had been an unpublished book originally titled "Pete's Dragon and the USA (Forever After)" written by Seton I. Miller and S.S. Field. The movie would go on to have a generally good reception, but many who bought the movie had returned it. The movie was remade in 2016 to a much different story with a similar premise of a lost boy with a dragon who could disappear. The remake had a better reception than the original, which is generally uncommon for Disney's live action remakes.
Rain Wilds
Robin Hobb (2009-2013)
Part of Robin Hobb's Realm of the Elderling's, the Rain Wilds series consists of four books that tell the story of dragons and how they come back to the world after being gone for so long. The world in which the characters live is full of magic, and tells of how dragons transform from snakes in a way similar to a caterpillar turning into a butterfly. The dragons inherit the memories of their ancestors, and eating another dragon or snake will imbue them with the memories of their ancestors. When in the egg-cocoons, the material of the egg can be used to make ships, but they came to life and the material was soon banned. After hatching dragons eat their egg shells and soon proceed to devour anything in their way. The story tells of how the most recent dragons don't all develop properly and of the trials that come with this, and possible extinction of dragons as an intelligent species.
Spyro
Sony Computer Entertainment (1998–2000)
Vivendi Universal Games (2001–07)
Activision (2008–present)
A long loved series by many fans of dragons, Spyro first appeared in Spyro the Dragon in 1998 on the Playstation and Nintendo Gamecube. Following the young purple dragon, each game details a new quest of which Spyro must take on to save someone or another. Recently, the original trilogy has been remade and remastered for the PlayStation 4, Nintendo Switch, Microsoft Windows, and Xbox One in 2018 and 2019 under the title Reignited Trilogy.
Temeraire
Naomi Novik (2006-2016)
Cover art by Todd Lockwood
Through a series of nine books, Naomi Novik tells of an alternate history where dragons are used and bred for war, with the main character Captain William Lorence and his dragon Temeraire. The series takes place during the Napoleonic wars, where Lorence has to do his duty for Britian, but finds himself torn between what's right for his country and what's right for all of dragon kind.
Wings of Fire
Tui T. Sutherland (2012-Present)
Cover art by Joy Ang
The Wings of Fire series consists of a total of twenty books and five graphic novel adaptations, with four of those novels being short stories. The series consitst of three arcs, and is unique in that they follow dragons as the main characters, in a world populated primarily by dragons, with human civilizations being few and far between. The series is currently nearing the end of it's third arc, with each arc consisting of five books.