105
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Why did J. K. Rowling choose to downplay dragons?
She didn't choose to violate genre conventions. She doesn't read fantasy in the first place, and Harry Potter wasn't intended as a (high) fantasy.
In an interview with The New York Times, J. K. ...
- 9,564
67
votes
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What's the origin of the trope that dragons used to be common but aren't any more?
The idea that dragons were once numerous, but are no longer, is just one of many manifestations of what TV Tropes calls the "The Magic Goes Away" (named for the Larry Niven story). It is ...
- 99k
52
votes
Why did J. K. Rowling choose to downplay dragons?
Dragons in Harry Potter are indeed powerful.
Though it’s true that dragons were used in one of the tasks of the Triwizard Tournament competed in by schoolchildren, dragons were shown to be powerful ...
- 106k
51
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Books about dragons and war from a cat-loving author
It sounds like Eragon by Christopher Paolini. Published in 2003 but it looks like the German translation wasn't published until 2009. The film was 2006.
Eragon finds a dragon egg and it hatches. ...
- 2,255
50
votes
What's the origin of the trope that dragons used to be common but aren't any more?
I think this is inspired by real life.
Consider that where I live — the island of Ireland — was once a habitat for elk, wolves, wild cows and many species of deer.
Over the last thousands of years ...
- 13.7k
47
votes
Wouldn't this dragon have a lot of trouble flying?
It's likewise impossible for zombies to walk with no blood pumping through their veins and no way for them to move huge distances with no source of energy, nor does it make sense that they could run, ...
- 39.9k
42
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Wouldn't this dragon have a lot of trouble flying?
Magic is not the answer (in this case)
Magic is not the correct answer here, in my opinion. There are many things about the dragons that can be answered by magic:
How Viserion was born from a ...
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41
votes
Accepted
Which dragon did we see in S07E06?
The closed captions indicate that it was Viserion. Daenerys watches as Viserion flies by screaming after having been hit.
- 135k
41
votes
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Is there any mention of the absolute ceiling of dragons?
No there is no such mention in neither books nor the show.
It is unlikely there would be any mention either as:
Dragons vary in their strength, agility and endurance so one definite answer is not ...
- 48.4k
32
votes
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How many dragons ever existed in Westeros?
Number of Dragons in Westeros
In Westeros Dragons first came with Targaryen invaders. There were three of those dragons:
Balerion the Black Dread
Vhagar
Meraxes
In reign of King Viserys I, ...
- 48.4k
31
votes
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Why are there no other dragons in ASOIAF?
Flawed Premise
In order to hatch a dragon in A Song of Ice and Fire, the eggs must be
heated to an incredible heat
Who said that? Dragon incubators do not exist in Planetos.
Hatching a dragon ...
- 48.4k
27
votes
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What types of dragons are there in Middle-earth and how and why do they differ?
There were Fire-drakes and Cold-drakes
The first fire-drake to issue from the gates of Angband was Glaurung; he was said to have sired the other fire-drakes and they are also the most common.
Again ...
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25
votes
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Was it Ice or Fire?
As Dawny33 speculated, and speculated correctly. It was fire.
This is confirmed in an interview by The Huffington Post with director of the episode "Dragon and the Wolf", Jeremy Podeswa, when asking ...
- 77.6k
25
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Identify the background image of a dragon from this book cover
The user "88grzes" on Deviant Art claims to be original artist of the image and as posted it here calling it "Baptism of Fire". Along with the image they also have the following description.
Thanks ...
- 144k
24
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Was it Ice or Fire?
It is fire
The thing which the dragon was breathing radiates like flames, which only fire can do. Never seen any creature in Scifi breathing ice which radiates flames
Also, one can clearly see black ...
- 3,550
24
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Was Balerion three thousand or two hundred years old?
There is no explicit age given. But Barristan Selmy's guess seems to be a good one.
There is no reason to believe that oldest MUST mean it is also the biggest. Not all the dragons would have died at ...
- 77.6k
22
votes
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Name/Author of story of heart surgeon who corrects alligator hearts and makes dragons
This is The Day of the Dragon, by Guy Endore. (He's credited as "Guy Endor" in the linked reproduction but appears as "Endore" on Wikipedia and IMDb.) A Professor Crabshaw endeavors to cure alligators'...
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22
votes
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Movie in which two men ask a dragon three questions
I think this may be the Earthsea miniseries.
With the help of Ogion, Ged confronts the Gebbeth and attempts to drown him using a rock, however, it escapes with Ged's likeness and voice. Ged's ...
- 232k
21
votes
Novel where a girl, Sre, hatches a dragon, Blue, to defend her from an innkeeper
It looks like this book was The Dragon Tamer, by Cly Novak.
This answer is largely based on a public forum post (NSFW, possible trigger warning too) that carries elements similar to what you describe....
- 36.6k
20
votes
What was the inspiration for the 'draco vulgaris'?
I'd be very surprised if D&D Pseudodragons were the initial inspiration for Draco Vulgaris. As the TV Tropes page says, small pet dragons predate them in a significant way. The tropes page guesses ...
- 10.2k
19
votes
How old is Smaug, the dragon, in The Hobbit?
Tolkien doesn't give many statements that allow us to pinpoint Smaug's age, but we can cross-reference what is said in The Hobbit with other sources and make a reasonable guess.
First of all, to ...
19
votes
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Towards the end of Game of Thrones season 7, has Drogon become larger than Balerion was?
Balerion seems to be bigger - just compare the skull of Balerion to the head of Drogon:
Cersei next to Balerion skull
Jon next to Drogon
But keep in mind that Balerion is much older than Drogon, ...
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17
votes
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Fantasy book series with each book being about a different colored dragon?
Is this the Dragon Codices series by R.D. Henham...?
Book 1: Red Dragon Codex (2008)
Book 2: Bronze Dragon Codex (2008)
Book 3: Black Dragon Codex (2008)
Book 4: Brass Dragon Codex (2009)
Book 5: ...
- 128k
16
votes
Accepted
What is the kill score of all dragons and dragon-riders during the Dance of the Dragons?
Top Aces of Dance of the Dragons
In Dragons, Vhagar and Sunfyre were most successful with 3 kills each.
In Dragonriders, Prince Aemond and King Aegon II were most successful with 3 kills each.
Score ...
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16
votes
Accepted
How does Gandalf know that dragon-fire might be able to melt the rings of power, but not the One Ring?
The issue of what Gandalf knew concerning the destruction of the One Ring is discussed in the answers to How does Gandalf (or anyone) know how to destroy the Ring? As for the lesser rings, Gandalf ...
- 11.3k
16
votes
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80s or 90s Fantasy novel, part of series. Castle talks to wizard, 2 headed dragon fights itself
This is the Pelmen the Powershaper trilogy by Robert Don Hughes.
The two-headed dragon is in the first book, The Prophet of Lamath, and the sentient castle is in the second, The Wizard in Waiting. ...
15
votes
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Ancient film where a knight rescues a princess from an evil magician
This is The Magic Sword from 1962. Description from Wikipedia:
George (Gary Lockwood) is the foster son of Sybil (Estelle Winwood), an elderly sorceress. She brought him up after his "royal ...
- 232k
14
votes
Accepted
Can Bran Stark control dragons?
The answer would be "No He probably can't". We can't answer this from Show canon because show has never mentioned an encounter between Wargs and Dragons. So we have to see the history in books.
...
- 48.4k
13
votes
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What happened to all Targaryen's Dragon Eggs?
As summarized on the ASOIAF wiki there up to 33 known dragon eggs. We know there was 25 dragons to have lived in Westeros after the Targaryens landed at Dragonstone.
So indeed, in Westeros they were ...
- 60.9k
Only top scored, non community-wiki answers of a minimum length are eligible