History Literature / WrongTimeForDragons

* TheDragonslayer: Victor is destined to be the next Dragonslayer. The previous Dragonslayer was Ritor, the current leader of the Air Clan. Ironically, Ritor has since decided that the killing of the dragons was a mistake and is now working to stop Victor.

* SecretLegacy: [[spoiler:Victor turns out to be Ritor's grandson, after Ritor raped the mate of the last dragon, a sorceress of the Unknown Clan, and banished her to the Underside. Both Victor and Ritor find this out at the end of the novel, when Loy Iver spells it out for them. This triggers Ritor's HeelFaceTurn and results in RedemptionEqualsDeath]].

** It's heavily hinted that [[spoiler: Telle]] is this.

* StrangerInAFamiliarLand: Victor in the second novel every time he returns to the Underside, usually to see his mother and grandmother. Since his grandmother is the only one who knows the truth, he's forced to lie to his mother about his long absences. Our world has changed in 25 years, technology has advanced, what with everyone having access to lots of knowledge in their pockets.

* DragonAncestry: [[spoiler:Victor]] is eventually revealed to have both dragon and human blood in him: his grandmother was pregnant with a child of a dragon when the latter was killed and she, raped by his killer and banished from Middle World. This becomes a plot point late in the novel, when he must decide [[spoiler:whether to become a full Dragon or a Dragonslayer--a human with the power to kill dragons for good]].

* [[LastOfHisKind Last of Her Kind]]: Telle is the last of the Unknown Clan, most of them having been wiped out along with the Winged Masters. [[spoiler:Technically, Victor's grandmother is still alive, but she is unable to return to the Middle World, so she might not count]].
* LeftHanging: The novel ends with [[spoiler:Victor turning into a dragon and flying off to battle the invading Natural Born. We don't find out if he succeeds, and no sequel is planned]].

* NeverMessWithGranny: Victor's maternal grandmother is in her [=80s=] but looks to be in great shape (she isn't even grey yet). She has fought during WorldWarTwo as a partisan and has once told young Victor about her experiences fighting Nazis. Victor's mother then had a fight with her about telling a little boy about how to properly cut an enemy's throat (on the opposite side from you, so you don't get splattered with blood). Victor later finds out that she was even more badass than that, [[spoiler:being a sorceress of the Unknown Clan fighting side-by-side with a dragon]]. Strangely, her badassness didn't get passed on her daughter, a plump, quiet schoolteacher.

'''Wrong Time For Dragons''' (''Не время для драконов'', Ne vremya dlya drakonov) is a 1997 fantasy novel written by the popular Russian science fiction and fantasy authors Creator/SergeyLukyanenko and Creator/NickPerumov.

* TheGameOfTheBook: An ActionRPG called ''A Farewell to Dragons'' was made in 2007 based on the book. The game was available on {{Steam}} for a while but has since been removed.

* OurDragonsAreDifferent: The Winged Masters used to rule the Middle World. They could [[VoluntaryShapeshifting appear as dragons or humans]]. All dragons were male, but they were always accompanied by sorceresses of the Unknown Clan. The dragons have since been wiped out during an uprising, along with most of the Unknown Clan.

* VoluntaryShapeshifting: Members of some Totem clans are capable of turning into their Totem animal. The animal in question must be similar in size and mass, presumably averting ShapeshifterBaggage. For this reason, members of the Cat Clan cannot shapeshift (their Totem animal is a regular house cat, not any of the big cats).

* ZeppelinsFromAnotherWorld: The dwarves are attempting to popularize the use of dirigibles for transportation, although few are willing to take to the skies. It's heavily implied that such a machine would be mercilessly shot out of the sky by the Winged Masters when they ruled the Middle World, as they held the monopoly on flying. A few dwarves, in an attempt to capitalize on the investment use the airships to ferry contraband, since airships aren't stopped by customs officials.

* EthicalSlut: Loy Iver considers herself to be one. Despite having a mate, she frequently uses her body to [[MataHari obtain information]] or exert influence. Her mate Hor is usually annoyed at this but doesn't openly object, since Loy is the head of the Cat Clan. Besides, Loy can easily point out that Hor himself has no shortage of female admirers. The one thing that Loy has a problem with is prostitution. In her mind, love must be given freely, never for a price. There's a bit of FridgeLogic there (besides the fact that prostitutes provide sex not love), since this is exactly what she does, except the price is not monetary. So, sex for political reasons is ok, but sex for financial reasons is not?

* MataHari: Loy Iver, the leader of the Cat Clan, as well as the other Cat women.
** When Sandra, a high-ranking Air mage, offers to use her feminine wiles to get Victor out into the open, Ritor brushes her off, saying that she's no Loy Iver. Sandra doesn't appear to take offense at that. [[spoiler:She later admits to Ritor that she used to be a prostitute before coming to the Middle World]].

* ChristianityIsCatholic: The only Underside religion to survive in the Middle World was spread by a Franciscan monk who built the only church in the whole world. There are still a few devout followers, but no one else regards it seriously. Can be justified by the fact that FunctionalMagic is real in the MiddleWorld, thus rendering the concept of miracles pointless.

* AnotherDimension: Telle explains to Victor that, in fact, there is only one world. Those who see the world one way live in the Underside (out world). Those who see it differently live in the Middle World. Those who see it in yet another way live in the world of the Natural Born. Those who, at first, see the world one way but feel like they do not belong can find a Trail and cross over by learning to see the world differently. Victor doesn't bother trying to understand this and just sticks to the "parallel world" explanation to make it easier.

* RedemptionEqualsDeath: [[spoiler:After finding out that Victor is his grandson, Ritor helps him reach his goal by using up every last ounce of his remaining power]].

* FunctionalMagic: According to the backstory, the original magic-users came from the world of the Natural Born. However, it took them a long time to master the use of magic in the Middle World. Eventually, the various magical schools split into clans. After many generations, the four Elemental clans have achieved mastery over their respective elements and use them to the benefit of the people in their lands (e.g. the lands of the Earth Clan are always fertile and full of mineral resources, while drought never visits the lands of the Water Clan). The Totem clans' mastery typically involves their mages becoming extremely-capable close combatants and attaining the qualities of their respective animals (e.g. Cats are cunning, seductive, difficult to kill, and lay deadly ambushes).

** When Sandra, a high-ranking Air mage, offers to use her feminine wiles to get Victor out into the open, Ritor brushes her off, saying that she's no Loy Iver. Sandra doesn't appear to take offense at that.

** A variation with [[spoiler:a continuous dream that Victor experiences every night. He finds himself on a shore with snow-white sand and black water. In the nearby woods, there is a BiggerOnTheInside shack. in the shack, a dwarf dubbed "Glutton" by Victor is busy making some sort of potion or meal. Every night, the dream continues, although Victor always appears on the same spot and must find his way to the shack. Later on, he finds a burning city. The final dream reveals that [[ThatWasNotADream this was not a dream]] but an attempt by the Natural Born to communicate with Victor, show him their highly-abstract world, and try to get him to join them]].

* DishingOutDirt: The Earth Clan [[HufflepuffHouse doesn't appear much in the novel]], despite being stronger than the Fire Clan. However, its leader Anjey is a cowardly pedophile, so it would make sense for him to want to stay out of the fighting. Additionally, Earth is, traditionally, the calmest element (barring an earthquake). The Earth Clan is the most prosperous of the four, being able to easily find underground resources and ensure bountiful harvests.

* HeWhoFightsMonsters: As Victor finds out near the end of the novel, [[spoiler:to fight a dragon, a Dragonslayer must become one. Even worse, as a Dragonslayer's power comes from hate. For all their faults, the Winged Masters are incapable of the sheer amount of hate that a human can muster]].

* InitiationCeremony: Not a ceremony, really, but for a Dragonslayer to be fully capable of taking on a dragon, he must first be initiated by the four Elemental clans. The initiation can either be done openly or disguised as an attack.

* SecretLegacy: [[spoiler:Victor turns out to be Ritor's grandson, after Ritor raped the mate of the last dragon, a sorceress of the Unknown Clan, and banished her to the Underside. Victor finds this out in a vision, which is actually Ritor's memory of the event, and notes that the woman's hair is strikingly similar to the old pictures of his grandmother]].