What is with all the books where dragons bond with humans?
Question by Thekherham: What is with all the books where dragons bond with humans?
First it was McCaffrey’s Dragonriders of Pern, then Paolini’s Eragon, and now Nancy Novik’s Temeraire is another book (or should I say series) that has dragons bonding with humans. Is there some kind of literary law that says dragons have to bond with humans?
Best answer:
Answer by XaXa30
either bond with the humans or eat them 
What do you think? Answer below!
July 20th, 2010 at 6:31 am
Cliches… Almost all fantasies have the same plot.
A good dragon and a bad dragon. Good dragon with heroes, bad dragon with the villains.
Easy to sell formulas. U need to rearrange the beds in the same garden to make it appear as a new one.
TW K
July 20th, 2010 at 7:02 am
Just part of the Human ego, to tame the beast, gain control to utilize their strength and power for our own benefit. We’ve been doing it for centuries…..horses, elephants, dogs, shamu, fossil fuels…..and men.
lol!
(oops, sorry) had to put that in there.
July 20th, 2010 at 7:26 am
It makes a much better story to have a bond with a noble intelligent dragon whose bond is life long. In some countries especially in the orient, the dragon is still a revered animal of history.
July 20th, 2010 at 8:25 am
no clue, honestly, I don’t think books like that are great
July 20th, 2010 at 8:41 am
Anne McCaffrey did in best, but by no means did she do it first. Everything that followed after her, of course, is derivative.
July 20th, 2010 at 9:39 am
it’s called a literary fad. Like the Dan Brown fad that is currently going. Some of the time, a publisher or agent will actually approach an author (who is a client and who can type up a novel in a month) and say “hey want to write a _______ rip off for loads of cash?” The author agrees and them boom: the fad is created.
Sort of where the chicklit genre grew from. It started as a fad and then became a genre in and of itself.
oh, and I was reading books about dragons bonding with humans back when I was a kid. The books were for adults. Many fads start with adult books and then someone writes a YA version, and someone else writes a middle grades version. YA Chicklit is now hot. Paranormal romance was pretty much started by Laurell K Hamilton (the style of the first person witty chick navagating the world of monsters). I just read an agent interview that she is now looking for “YA paranormal chicklit” which is also very hot in the adult market. (Although, that market should be reaching a saturation point soon … i mean some terrible books are coming out!)
July 20th, 2010 at 10:01 am
Sure proof a lot of authors shouldn’t be writing fantasy/sci-fi. Vampire books, dwarf/elf sagas, and endless series of Star trek and Wars books, they all make me long for the days when they were just busy ripping off horse opera to sell as space opera.
I think Anne McCaffrey has a North Pole style workshop. She strides through saying “telepathic horses who can crap out gem stones” then legions of mediocre authors churn out the books of that series.