All posts tagged Dragon

Here There Be Dragons!

(Credit: Justin25_rocks at fanpop)

I often find that I want to write about dragons.

However, every time I think of dragons, I immediately think of the classical fantasy setting with nimble elves and stout dwarves riddled with dungeons and magical forests. Not that there is anything wrong with a classical fantasy setting, I’ve read some really good stories in that setting, but when I’m trying to write some little flash fiction text, I’d like to try something new. I have to get better at giving my dragon glasses and letting him live on the roof of a skyscraper with a daytime job in construction, or at least making it an aquatic dinosaur which is a threatened although dangerous species. The problem is that even now the firebreathing monster is flying through my head and incinerating all my attempts at changing it.

Having a Cold

Ice Dragon (Photo credit: Gerry Balding)

He blew his nose and got a nosebleed. With a ball of cotton pressed against one nostril, he leant back and sighed. He could not smell the hot cocoa beside him, but the taste was still in his mouth and he felt that it had helped slightly. As he shivered, he considered reading a bit more, only his eyelids were getting so heavy, and he was still waiting for the dragons.

The sound of cars driving past his window turned into a nondescript rushing in his ears. Then things began moving behind his eyelids and he saw them, dragons, blue ice dragons with breath that smelt of hot cocoa but turned one into an icicle. And he felt like he had been waiting for the dragons all his life.

37 Dog

My favourite pet would be a dragon. But I do not have a dragon, so I will write about the only pet I have.

Bacon.

Bacon.

This is Bacon. Bacon is a dog. He does not know his age because he does not know how to read a calendar, like I do. And he not as smart as me and therefore he cannot read a clock either like I can. So every time I go to school and tell him that I will be back by two o’clock in the afternoon, he just sits with his tongue lolling looking like Lickitung.

A dragon would fly me to school.

Bacon is a coward as well. He NEVER chases the neighbor’s cat even though everyone knows that cats and dogs are mortal enemies.

If I had a dragon, it would roast the cat with its dragon fire and eat it whole.

And then Bacon is lazy. He will not even go up the stairs.

A dragon would be too big to get in the house, but if it had stairs big enough, it would run up them at the speed of light.

And that is why I wish for a dragon this Christmas.

‘Aren’t you a bit hard on Bacon,’ he asked after having read his son’s essay.

‘He doesn’t know what I wrote, and even if he did he wouldn’t understand, he’s too stupid.’

The father looked at the essay, then down at bacon and wondered when he stopped believing that animals could understand him.

‘Did you read the last line?’ asked his son.

‘Yes?’

‘I haven’t written any other wish list. It doesn’t have to be Smaug, but it has to be one that looks like.’

‘Smaug, from The Hobbit?’

His son nodded and the father considered if he should tell his son that Smaug died a long time ago and did not leave any children, or if he should just try to make his son believe that middle earth did not exist.

5 Comments

by Beatrix MGN on December 14, 2012 • Permalink

Posted in Flash fiction, Stories

Tagged 100 challenge, Bacon, Dragon, Hobbit, humor, humour, parent, pets, son

Posted by Beatrix MGN on December 14, 2012

https://abolg.wordpress.com/2012/12/14/37-dog/

Review: Temeraire (or His Majesty’s Dragon)

Temeraire. Also published as His Majesty’s Dragon.

Temeraire by Naomi Novik is the first book in an ongoing series of seven books so far. The eighth book is on its way and the author has planned to end the story after nine books. It is set in a world very like our own; the only great difference is that dragons are a natural part of that world. The story takes place during the Napoleonic wars and begins at sea where the captain Will Laurence boards a French ship. On board he finds a dragon egg and the dragon within becomes the cause of many problems and much happiness. The story is 332 pages. The appendix is another 8 pages.

This dragon has absolutely nothing to do with the dragons in the series, I just drew it for fun a couple of days ago and wanted more pictures in my post 🙂

The book is written in a simple style which flows naturally and is easy to read. There are also no long inner monologues or philosophical reflections and this allows the plot to move forwards smoothly at a brisk walk.

The story has a good mix of calm and action. In the calm scenes the world and characters are shown in more detail and greater empathy is established with the reader. In the action scenes, great turns of the plot take place often with grand battles in the sky between the raging dragons.

The appendix, although not part of the story, is interesting to read. It explains in some measure how dragons came to be as they are in this world and also gives a small discussion of dragons’ weight.

The best thing about the book is the relationship between the captain, Will Laurence, and the dragon, Temeraire, which is both touching and interesting. It develops into a very strong bond that sometimes resembles the bond between a child and its parent, and it is not easy to tell if Laurance is the parent or the child.

All in all, Temeraire is both an entertaining and enjoyable read which is fast paced enough to keep most readers hooked throughout the story.

Throne of Jade. Number two in the series.

Tags: Friendship, dragons, war, social norms

This would be a good read for: Children and parents, people who like dragons, people who like a quick paced plot, people interested in altered history

This would not be a good read for: People who prefer long descriptions and lots of detail, people who prefer realistic novels, people who do not like series

Suggested further reading: The rest of the series. Number two is called Throne of Jade.