Read these 15 epic fantasy series about dragons

4. Temeraire by Namoi Novik

You don’t see dragons crop up in historical fiction very often, which is enough to set the Temeraire books by Namoi Novik apart from the crowd. The first entry, His Majesty’s Dragon, is set during the Napoleonic Wars, only in this version of history, dragons are staples of warfare.

Will Laurence is a captain in England’s Royal Navy, duty bound to thwart Napoleon and defend Britain from invasion. Laurence and his crew capture a French ship at the story’s outset, and onboard they find a dragon egg about to hatch. Young dragonets bond as soon as they hatch, and in this case, that means that the young, black dragon that pops out of the egg becomes attached to Laurence, who names it Temeraire.

The relationship between man and dragon is a huge part of this series. Similar to Saphira in Eragon, Temeraire is capable of intelligent thought and human speech.

Over the course of nine books, Laurence and Temeraire embark on a variety of missions for the crown in different parts of the world, from China to Africa to South America. This is one of the most unique dragon series ever, due in large part to the well-researched real-world settings.