The Dragon and the George
Encyclopedia
The Dragon and the George is a 1976 fantasy
novel
by Gordon R. Dickson
, the first in his "Dragon Knight
" series. A shorter form of the story was previously published as the short story, "St. Dragon and the George" in the September 1957 issue of The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction.
Jim is on a quest to rescue his fiancee, Angie, who had preceded him in transportation to the magical world, but is being held hostage by Dark Powers. On the way, Jim and his companions must fight a band of "georges" and the rogue dragon Bryagh, who have sold their services to the Dark Powers and their creatures. The Dark Powers are ultimately planning an attack upon England (and eventually the entire world). Jim must also realize that the world to which he has been transported is real, not simply a game, and that what he does may have major effects, for good or ill, on the people of that world. At the end of the book, Jim (or Sir James, as he has come to be called in the alternate world) regains his human form and must decide whether to remain in the alternate world or return to our world and the life of an underpaid junior academic.
, with little or no connection to real geography or history. In the subsequent books (all written many years after the first) many places from real geography and people and places from real history appear, albeit in altered, fantastic form.
by Rankin/Bass
.
Fantasy
Fantasy is a genre of fiction that commonly uses magic and other supernatural phenomena as a primary element of plot, theme, or setting. Many works within the genre take place in imaginary worlds where magic is common...
novel
Novel
A novel is a book of long narrative in literary prose. The genre has historical roots both in the fields of the medieval and early modern romance and in the tradition of the novella. The latter supplied the present generic term in the late 18th century....
by Gordon R. Dickson
Gordon R. Dickson
Gordon Rupert Dickson was an American science fiction author.- Biography :Dickson was born in Edmonton, Alberta, in 1923. After the death of his father, he moved with his mother to Minneapolis, Minnesota, in 1937...
, the first in his "Dragon Knight
Dragon Knight
The Dragon Knight is a series of fantasy novels by Gordon R. Dickson . The first book informed the 1982 animated movie The Flight of Dragons by Rankin/Bass, but was previously published as a short story, St. Dragon and the George...
" series. A shorter form of the story was previously published as the short story, "St. Dragon and the George" in the September 1957 issue of The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction.
Plot summary
The book tells the story of Jim Eckert, who is whisked from this world into an alternate world where magic is real and deadly. There he finds himself in the body of the dragon Gorbash, and must learn to deal with a dragon's-eye view of the world. He must also deal with both the friends and foes that Gorbash has already made. In this world, dragons universally refer to humans as "georges," based upon the past experience of St. George with one of their kind; hence the title.Jim is on a quest to rescue his fiancee, Angie, who had preceded him in transportation to the magical world, but is being held hostage by Dark Powers. On the way, Jim and his companions must fight a band of "georges" and the rogue dragon Bryagh, who have sold their services to the Dark Powers and their creatures. The Dark Powers are ultimately planning an attack upon England (and eventually the entire world). Jim must also realize that the world to which he has been transported is real, not simply a game, and that what he does may have major effects, for good or ill, on the people of that world. At the end of the book, Jim (or Sir James, as he has come to be called in the alternate world) regains his human form and must decide whether to remain in the alternate world or return to our world and the life of an underpaid junior academic.
Setting
The book takes place in a sort of vague never-never version of EnglandEngland
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
, with little or no connection to real geography or history. In the subsequent books (all written many years after the first) many places from real geography and people and places from real history appear, albeit in altered, fantastic form.
Trivia
The novel was loosely adapted into the 1986 animated movie The Flight of DragonsThe Flight of Dragons
The Flight of Dragons is a 1982 animated movie produced by Jules Bass and Arthur Rankin, Jr. and loosely combining the speculative natural history book of the same name by Peter Dickinson with the novel The Dragon and the George by Gordon R. Dickson. The film centres upon a quest undertaken to...
by Rankin/Bass
Rankin/Bass
Rankin/Bass Productions, Inc. , also known as Rankin/Bass Animated Entertainment, was an American production company, known for its seasonal television specials, particularly its work in stop-motion animation. The pre-1974 library is currently owned by Classic Media,while the post-1974 library is...
.
External links
- St. Dragon and the George referral at SFSite.com