Dragons' World

2011 Southeast Sci-Fi Conventions

admin — Tue, 10 Jan 2012 00:00:00 +0000

There are over 30 official science fiction conventions on the books already for 2011. Here’s a look at a few of the Southeast’s best offerings for Sci Fi fans this year:
2011 SFI Region One Summit: This annual event is held in Pigeon Forge, Tennessee and is best suited for sci fi fans of Mirror, Mirror. Don’t forget about the annual Duck Race!
Timegate: Held in Atlanta (local residents need only gas up the car and set their adt security service in georgia alarms!), this event is held primarily for Stargate and Dr. Who fans – a can’t miss for sci-fi geeks and nerds alike!
ConCarolinas 2011: Held in Charlotte, North Carolina this year, ConCarolinas is the premier event for general sci-fi, horror and fantasy fans. A haven for speculative fiction, this event will feature celebrity appearances, booths and even live-action demonstrations.
Mobicon: Mobile, Alabama’s annual tribute to all things sci-fi should go off without a hitch this year. Fantasy, gaming and sci-fi fans will all find something to get excited about this year at Mobicon.
If you live in the Southeast, there are plenty of Science Fiction events close to home for you and your friends to enjoy! Google event names for additional information.

Dragonriders: Human and Dragon Teams in Fiction

admin — Sun, 14 Aug 2011 00:00:00 +0000

Dragons are among the most fascinating fictitious beasts. They have figured in a number of myths, and even in the past century many great fantasy writers have created original works in which they figure. In this brief article I will discuss three of them.

In “the Hobbit,” the title character and twelve dwarfs are on a quest to retrieve their treasure from Smaug, the dragon who stole it. Bilbo goes into his cave as a scout and discovers the dragon’s vulnerable spot, a piece of information that proves valuable when he is killed by a human warrior. Presenting the dragon has been a major creative challenge for theater companies; I was in such a production once myself.

“The Voyage of the Dawn Treader” is Book 4 (writing order) in C. S. Lewis’s “Chronicles of Narnia.” In it, the selfish Eustace Scrubb finds himself transformed into a dragon whose lair he has invaded. Changed back into human form, he is a much nicer person.

In “Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone,” Hagrid illegally raises a baby dragon, which he has always wanted, after the egg is given to him as a bribe. Harry then helps him give the dragon her freedom.

Scales on the Silver Screen: Dragons in Movies

admin — Mon, 18 Jul 2011 00:00:00 +0000

Scales on the Silver Screen. Dragons in Movies are a Hollywood tradition

1. How to Train Your Dragon
This 3D animated film is arguably the best dragon movie ever made.

2. Eragon
Using modern computer animation makes for a nice looking beastie.

3. Reign of Fire
My personal tastes would rate this at the top. Plus the dragons sack London town.

4. Beowulf
The dragon is the best part of the modern remake of a remake.

5. The Hobbit
Tolkien’s dragon Smaug deserves to make this list, despite the retro animation style.

6. Dragonheart
Sean Connery can use one accent to play any role and the dragon is really cool.

7. Dragonslayer
Disney has always had an eye for what works in any age. This was the best dragon movie in its day.

8. Pete’s Dragon
There will probably never be another animation and musical theatre version of the dragon gone good ever again.

9. Dragon Wars
This movie has many fans of dragon culture pinning its poster to their bedroom walls. Enough said.

10. The Never Ending Story
Possibly the only Asian style dragon done decently in film history. Falkor the luck dragon gets my last top ten vote.

Shapechangers: People Becoming Dragons, Dragons Becoming People

admin — Tue, 05 Jul 2011 00:00:00 +0000

The Mythical Dragon
It’s easy to see the stretch of imagination that evolved from prehistoric dinosaurs to mythical dragons of folklore in many countries of the world. In mythical tales dragons are fire-breathing monsters to be feared. Dragons often represented ultimate power. What if in the genre of shapechangers people became dragons and dragons became people?

Dragon People
With shapechanging, a shy person is reshaped into an assertive dragon of fearsome prominence. This certainly might have a serious effect on family members and co-workers. Negative traits of a person’s character would be further exaggerated by dragon size or ferocity. Thus, a typically aggressive personality might become a fire-breathing dragon ready to spring from its cave at the first sign of prey.

People Dragons
More interesting a study is shapechanging dragons into a specific person. This could be a CEO, a school teacher, a truck driver or a physician. Enter Mr. Dragon CEO at a board meeting and the result might just be less negotiation and more obedience. Perhaps, Mrs. Dragon Teacher has the most advantage. Who would doubt how fast grades would rise? Imagine driving past a semi with a dragon at the wheel? Or Dr. Dragon with a stethoscope?

Fire, Frost, or Poison: Dragon’s Breath

admin — Fri, 29 Apr 2011 00:00:00 +0000

It really just depends on how you want to get your critter.

If you choose poison, will it be slow and painful? Or will that pesky thing go quietly in its sleep? Do you -want- them to turn weird shades of green and have everybody around them wonder what in tarnation is going on, or will they go peacefully with nobody the wiser?

Frost, well, that is a little bit more noticable. That there critter will turn a nice, shall we say, healthy shade of blue and be quite crystallized. They should be ready for your intent study for a later date, or later snack, or heck it is a convenient method of getting them out of the way for the time being.

Now fire, that is one way to get rid of a critter. There would not be a question on wether it lives or dies. Well… unless it was immune or resistant in some way. Then that would kinda stink in some way or form, for you, not them. With fire, though, it is quite flashy. They would go down in one heck of a roaring blast of brilliant flame! Unless you were a puny little thing that just happened to burp and this lick of fire comes out your nose and just happens to burn a dragon’s tail three times your size, then, you might be in trouble.

Fire, Frost, or Poison: Dragon’s Breath.

The Hoard: Dragons and Their Treasures

admin — Fri, 15 Apr 2011 00:00:00 +0000

The Hoard: Dragons and Their Treasures is a unique gaming experience that as sure to be a hit with players. The Hoard is set in the times of kings, castle, and dragons. In most games set during this time period, players play the part of a hero slaying the dragons and other monsters. If not a hero, the players inevitably play the part of a nation builder and just build buildings in games that sadly resemble SimCity.

Thank goodness for The Hoard: Dragons and Their Treasures for changing these tired paradigms. In The Hoard, players finally play the part of the dragon. They get to fly around and steal the gold from the villagers, kidnap the princess, burn villages and fields to the ground, and kill the knights that come to stop you.

This is a great game to play with up to three of your friends in cooperative play. There are dozens of kingdoms of increasing difficulty to destroy keeping it entertaining. Your dragon will power up over time with better fire breath and fly as well increased health and treasure carrying ability. Not to mention the dozens of badges that you can earn in game for different accomplishments.

The Hoard will play on multiple platforms on April 4. Players will be able to play it on PC and Mac. Currently players can already get this game for Playstation 3 and PSP.

Tolkien’s dragons

admin — Fri, 15 Oct 2010 14:45:12 +0000

Dragons are an integral part of many modern fantasy stories, so it’s no surprise that we should find them in the classic forerunner of the genre. I refer, of course, to J.R.R. Tolkien’s collection of writings, known as the “Middle-earth legendarium,” which includes The Lord of the Rings, The Hobbit, and more. In 1938, Tolkien delivered a lecture called “On Fairy Stories,” in which he explained his fascination with dragons in the legends of myth from a young age. It’s no surprise that he later focused on Beowulf’s final nemesis in his paper “Beowulf: The Monsters and the Critics,” as well as in his fiction.Naming was always very important to Tolkien, given his love of languages and ancient legends. Within his stories, he referred to dragons, drakes, and worms, and divided the creatures based on details like their method of movement or whether they could breathe fire. The latter were referred to as Uruloki, or “fire-drakes.” Despite Tolkien’s careful attention to detail, he only gives the name of four different dragons in the history of Middle-earth. Perhaps he was trying to maintain some element of the magic and mystique which fascinated him in Beowulf and the King Arthur tales?In any case, we do know where Tolkien’s dragons came from. They were created by Morgoth the Tyrant, a character mentioned only briefly in The Lord of the Rings but featured heavily in The Silmarillion. Glaurung was the first dragon, and was able to breathe fire. Like all of Tolkien’s dragons, he had a great love of treasure, and was resting on it when he was killed.Ancalagon and Scatha are two later dragons found in the writings, but the most infamous and well-known is Smaug, who Bilbo Baggins tangled with in The Hobbit. Smaug has Glaurung’s love of gold as well as his fire breath, and is also implied to have Glaurung’s ability to control minds. Luckily, Bilbo discovered Smaug’s weak spot on his left breast, and the dragon was able to be killed. Although Tolkien didn’t mention any dragons in his writings after Smaug, he implied in letters and conversations that several did survive much later than people might think.

“Pete’s Dragon” straddles two worldsreal and animated

admin — Fri, 08 Oct 2010 08:30:57 +0000

Many people remember 1977 as the year Star Wars was born. Disney also released The Rescuers, one of the first animated films in the ’70s to gain considerable acclaim. That same year, Disney slipped in an oft-forgotten but charming entry to the world of dragons in fictionPete’s Dragon.The film’s plot is a now-familiar take on how a child (unsurprisingly an orphan) retreats into imagination to deal with his difficult surroundings. Even Alice in Wonderland featured a similar premise, so it’s not hard to believe that the film was based on a short story written at least twenty years before the release. What makes Pete’s Dragon so fun to watch is the interaction between the real-life child star Sean Marshall (Pete) and his animated dragon, Elliot (voiced by Charlie Callas).Pete meets Elliot when an invisible force rescues him from his cruel foster family and then reveals itself as an animated dragon. Together, the two travel to the village of Passamaquoddy and encounter a series of interesting characters, including the drunken Lampie, the compassionate Nora, and the scheming Doc Terminus. The film is full of musical numbers, one of which gained mainstream popularity. “Candle on the Water” was nominated for an Academy Award, and a recording by actress Helen Reddy was issued on Capital Records.Elliot is a unique and entertaining take on the historical dragon: mischievous rather than evil, and protective of the young Pete rather than a hoard of treasure. You can track down Disney’s 2009 DVD release, the “High-Flying Edition,” which includes forgotten Disney shorts and historical looks at the role of monsters in mythsome of which are actually quite interesting. The film itself will probably appeal more to children or the young at heart, or those who remember the film from their childhood. However, Pete’s Dragon foreshadowed such films as Who Framed Roger Rabbit? and The Pagemaster–inventive films which showed that live action and animation could be used to create films which attracted young and old alike.

“How to Train Your Dragon”

admin — Fri, 01 Oct 2010 02:00:17 +0000

Dragons in modern fiction are generally featured in fantasy novels intended at least for young adults, if not older (like the complex Lord of the Rings series). In her children’s series “How to Train Your Dragon” (named for the first installment), Cressida Cowell has captured the magic of dragons in a way that can be enjoyed by young and old alike.The recent Dreamworks film loosely adapts the plot of Cressida’s first novel. In the film, a young Viking named Hiccup tries to win the acceptance of his father and the love of his fierce peer, Astrid, but finds both more difficult when he chooses to save one of the dragons that his tribe is fighting against. Hiccup names the dragon Toothless, but finds it increasingly more difficult to keep the pet a secret as his own stature rises in the tribe.The film (by directors Chris Sanders and Dean DeBlois) has become a critical and financial success. What’s next? A sequel, television show, and live tour are in the works. Cowell’s eighth book was released the year before the film, so hopefully we can expect another work from her in the near future.

Here there be dragons?

admin — Fri, 24 Sep 2010 20:45:59 +0000

If you’re a fantasy fiction fan, you’ve probably wondered what it would be like if dragons were real. I can tell you the answer to that, actually”very scary.” Some historians and anthropologists have wondered the same thing, though, and have even attempted to find the “origins” of dragons in actual creatures. This tendency goes as far back as 300 BC, when Chinese historian Chang Qu described the fossil remains of what was thought to be an Asian dragon.The creatures that we know of which most resembled dragons (large, wingless lizards) lived millions of years ago, such as the Quinkana crocodile and the Megalania goanna lizard in Australia. Both of these could be larger than four meters long, and weigh several hundred pounds, but went extinct almost 40,000 years ago. Additionally, a five-to-six meter long snake, the Wonambi, also went extinct in Australia in the last 50,000 years. Scientist Tim Flannery says this may have been due to the Australian Aboriginal culture, which feared the beasts and forbade their children to play at the water-holes where the snakes waited.In 2000, anthropologist David E. Jones wrote a controversial book called An Instinct for Dragons. Jones claimed that humans evolved with a primate fear of snakes, large cats, and hunting birds, and that dragons combine all of these elements. Many anthropologists have disagreed with this interesting assertion, but it’s hardly likely that we’ll ever have a definitive answer.