BW4: Bingo Quest: Dragons

 

“No dragon can resist the fascination of riddling talk and of wasting time trying to understand it.”

― J.R.R. Tolkien, The Hobbit, 

Happy Sunday! Let's dive into L.E.S.T.E.R's Bingo Quest with Dragons!  Whether they are good or bad, we enjoy reading about dragons, experiencing them through the eyes of the characters such as the personable Temeriare ridden by Captain Laurence during the Napoleonic wars in Naomi Novik's series, or the fear they generate such as Smaug in The Hobbit.   Dragons or similiar creatures appear in every culture, universally symbolizing transformation,  yin and yang, or guardianship.  In eastern culture they symbolize control and power, whilst in western culture evil and chaos and heroism.  

I have several books on my TBR related to dragons including: James Rollins epic Moon Fall trilogy, Samantha Shannon's Root of Chaos, Richard Knaak's Omnibus Legends of the Dragonrealm, and others.  Including Stephen King. 

Did you know he wrote a book about dragons called The Eyes of the Dragon published in 2016.  

"Once, in a kingdom called Delain, there was a king with two sons…

​Thus begins one of the most unique tales that master storyteller Stephen King has ever written—a sprawling fantasy of dark magic and the struggle for absolute power that utterly transforms the destinies of two brothers born into royalty. Through this enthralling masterpiece of mythical adventure, intrigue, and terror, you will thrill to this unforgettable narrative filled with relentless, wicked enchantment, and the most terrible of secrets…"

Bronson Pinchot (remember the tv show Perfect Strangers back in the 90's) is the narrator of the audiobook.  I'll let you now how it turns out. 

30 Fantasy Books Featuring Dragonriders which includes Temeriare as well as the Eragon Series. 

11 Books + Fantasy Series with Dragons to Read if Your Suffering From an Onyx Storm Book Hangover.  And if you weren't into the Empyrean series, no matter. The list includes The Hobbit and The Natural History of Dragons  and more so it's well worth checking out. 

Epic Dragon Books for Tweens and Teens

Dragons For Young Adults

Happy Reading! 

BW5: The Expeditions of Laurence and Temeraire

 

Welcome to February and our Dragon Bookology reading and spelling challenge for the month - Temeraire - and his faithful companion, Captain William Laurence.  They are the lead characters in Naomi Novik's alternate historical fantasy 9 books  series which takes place during the Napoleonic Wars and through England to China as well as Africa, Asia, South America and Japan. 

The first book in the series, His Majesty's Dragon, all about Captain Laurance who reluctantly bonded with the dragon Temeraire during the Napoleonic war and grew to love and trust him above all else, was an engaging five star read for me this past year.  

“after supper Laurence would go to sit outside and read to him by the light of a lantern. He had never been a great reader himself, but Temeraire’s pleasure in books was so great as to be infectious, and Laurence could not but think with satisfaction of the dragon’s likely delight in the new book, which spoke in great detail about gemstones and their mining, despite his own complete lack of interest in the subject.”

I went on the read the second book Throne of Jade and enjoyed it so much, decided to read the rest of the series and am currently on #3  Black Powder War.  

Naomi Novik also wrote the Scholomance Trilogy as well as Spinning Silver, Uprooted, and Will Supervillains be on the Finals?.

Goodreads Interview with Naomi Novik