Dragons: Rawr!

[grahamguitarman]

I've not been on here for quite a while - Ill health has limited my activities for the las few months (and now I'm just trying to catch up again)

Despite the rather childish argument at the beginning, this has been interesting to read. My attitude is that Dragons (and elves / humans / orcs ect) are only as boring and cliched as the writer who creates them. I love the Pern novels by McCaffrey, and wish I could have come up with such a wonderful world of dragons (though I would have made it more fantasy than sci-fi) but generally I think Dragons work best as isolated magical creatures not as common wildlife.

To me Dragons are not just large flying creatures - they are huge and powerful manifestations of magic, once you make them as common as cattle then you would have a world in which humans would be extinct (or at best cattle for the dragons).

one very interesting take on dragons I saw recently was in Miyazaki's Spirited Away, the idea of rivers being dragons was pretty cool and original (or at least to me)

 

[Erica]

I've not been on here for quite a while - Ill health has limited my activities for the las few months (and now I'm just trying to catch up again)

...

one very interesting take on dragons I saw recently was in Miyazaki's Spirited Away, the idea of rivers being dragons was pretty cool and original (or at least to me)

Wb! Hope you feel better. I loved that movie.

 

[mirrorrorrim]

I've not been on here for quite a while - Ill health has limited my activities for the las few months (and now I'm just trying to catch up again)

Despite the rather childish argument at the beginning, this has been interesting to read. My attitude is that Dragons (and elves / humans / orcs ect) are only as boring and cliched as the writer who creates them. I love the Pern novels by McCaffrey, and wish I could have come up with such a wonderful world of dragons (though I would have made it more fantasy than sci-fi) but generally I think Dragons work best as isolated magical creatures not as common wildlife.

To me Dragons are not just large flying creatures - they are huge and powerful manifestations of magic, once you make them as common as cattle then you would have a world in which humans would be extinct (or at best cattle for the dragons).

one very interesting take on dragons I saw recently was in Miyazaki's Spirited Away, the idea of rivers being dragons was pretty cool and original (or at least to me)

The idea of kami—spirits that embody many different parts of nature, including rivers, mountains, etc.—is a central component of Shinto, the national religion of Japan. So, in that respect, Miyazaki wasn't being original within his own culture. What he did do, however, and why I love Spirited Away so much, is embody the concept in a very beautiful way, that children and adults alike can appreciate. When they were younger, Spirited Away was one of the favorite films of my two neices, and I always loved watching it with them because I could appreciate it as well.

I think most of the great concepts of fantasy come from the various religions of the world, both past and present. The trick is, like Miyazaki, convenying those concepts in a meaningful way. I think if done correctly, dragons will never use their novelty. It's the often poorly-executed characterization of them that has made their modern reputation suffer. Unfortunately, if an idea is a good one, it's sure to be mimiced by all authors, including the bad ones.

It'll be interesting to see if Peter Jackson can pull off the dragon Smaug in his new Hobbit movies. Maybe it's time for a dragon Renaissance?

 

[SeverinR]

It'll be interesting to see if Peter Jackson can pull off the dragon Smaug in his new Hobbit movies. Maybe it's time for a dragon Renaissance?

How about the year of the dragon 2012?

 

[Telcontar]

Also love dragons, and provided they aren't shat on like the recent foo-foo vampire fad, I'll never get tired of 'em. The first book I ever tried to write was titled Dragon's Magic. It had all sorts of dragons, of all shapes and sizes.

I think a large part of the fascination with dragons is not only that most cultures have some version of them, but that they're always powerful creatures. At least, I've never heard of a a dragon myth where the dragon was anything but an engine of destruction (if it wished to be) or possessed of arcane knowledge and wisdom. Add to that the fact that they're beautiful (also a constant), and they've got a lot going for them.

I'm trying a different take on the dragon thing in a (planned) book, where dragons are the familiar myth of many cultures (meant to completely parallel the real world) but that at the base of all these ancient myths is a real creature, the Dragon, who is a sort of spirit-creature gestalt manifestation of the natural world (or in this book, the mortal world).

 

[Wormtongue]

I had originally planned to skip the dragons in my WIP but then decided to include them. But as simple beasts, similar to large raptor dinosaurs. No wings. No breathing fire. That said, they're still fearsome and few men would face one. Fewer still would survive if they did.

 

[Ziggy]

Last night I watched Dream Works "How to Train Your Dragon". I was amazed at their unique portrayal. From making them swarming creatures, to giving the main dragon cat-like characteristics to make it more sympathetic. It was so good!

I also loved these dragons, they had so much character.

I too prefer my dragons as "beasts". They can be cunning, intelligent, etc. Not in a human way, but in a predatory reptilian way.

I'm not such a fan of dragons that can talk. Bit Eurgh when humans start chatting to dragons for me. But if it's done really well I can cop it.