Line #9 Literature/DragonSeries


1	A series of books by Creator/LaurenceYep about an exiled dragon princess named Shimmer trying to find a way to restore her former home, the Inland Sea.
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3	Along the way she meets a kind kitchen-servant named Thorn, and together they set out on a four-book journey to reverse the magic that destroyed the Inland Sea, and to stop an ancient evil from bringing forth destruction upon the world.
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5	''The Dragon Series'' takes place in the feudal China of folklore, and contains magic and all sorts of figures from ancient Chinese mythology.
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7	The four books in the series are, in chronological order, ''Literature/DragonOfTheLostSea'', ''Literature/DragonSteel'', ''Literature/DragonCauldron'', ''Literature/DragonWar''.
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9	For the series of PictureBooks by Creator/DavPilkey, go [[Literature/TheDragonSeries here]].
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11	!!Tropes:
12	* CainAndAbel: Pomfret, the older brother, is Cain to Shimmer's Abel.
13	* CarryABigStick: [[Literature/JourneyToTheWest Monkey]] has an iron rod that he can grow to any size - get your mind out of the gutter - that he can shrink to the size of a needle. It was taken from the Dragon King.
14	* DiscOneFinalBoss: Civet, the witch who originally destroyed the Inland Sea, is confronted and defeated in the very first book. Unsurprisingly, restoring the Inland Sea isn't as easy as [[NoOntologicalInertia just beating Civet]].
15	* TheDragon: A surprisingly literal example. The [[BigBad Big Bad's]] right hand man is Shimmer's older brother, a dragon named Pomfret. Shimmer even has a fight with him right before they confront the BigBad.
16	* FillItWithFlowers: The Inland Sea became a wasteland when Civet stole it, and its iconic flowers, Ebony's Tears, were all but extinct. In the second book, Shimmer and Monkey sacrificed the last specimen in existence to summon the Lord of the Flowers. At the end of the final book, when the sea is finally restored, the Lord of the Flowers shows up and gifts Shimmer with another specimen; as soon as they plant it, it multiplies to spread over the entire shoreline.
17	* FiveManBand: Shimmer is TheHero, Monkey is TheLancer, Indigo is TheSmartGuy, [[spoiler:Civet]] is TheBigGuy, and Thorn is TheHeart.
18	* JerkWithAHeartOfGold: Monkey.
19	* OurDragonsAreDifferent: The eastern variant, but with functional batlike wings. They live in cities under the sea, and can breathe water as well as air. They're not divine, have no control of the weather (unless magically trained to do so), and are not even inherently magical, although the royalty at least, is in possession of many powerful magical artifacts. They can also be taught magic easily enough. The real threat of dragons is how big, strong and durable they are, having several kilotons of muscle, rock-hard scales, sharp claws and teeth, as well as the ability to fly and withstand the crushing depths of the sea and temperatures far below freezing and above boiling. They are not immortal, but live about ten times as long as humans.
20	* MineralMacGuffin: Shimmer's dream pearl, which enhances and improves the magical abilities of the user. Its token ability, however, is to create brilliant and stunning illusions, hence the name. Also doubles as a MementoMacGuffin, as it holds particular value to Shimmer, being the only thing left she has of her mother.
21	** Civet also uses a blue pebble to hold all of the waters of the Inland Sea.
22	* AMythologyIsTrue: Chinese mythology, of course. Mythical figures such as the [[Literature/JourneyToTheWest Monkey King]], the Old Mother of the Waters, and the God of Flowers. Civet's defeat is even the same as it is in ''Literature/JourneyToTheWest''.
23	* RedemptionEqualsDeath: Several times.
24	* SwitchingPOV: The first two books are narrated by Shimmer, while the last two are narrated by Monkey.
25	* TyrantTakesTheHelm: The reign of the already cruel and merciless Butcher is made even worse when [[spoiler: the Boneless King takes over his body]].
26	* VoluntaryShapeshifter: Two of the main characters (Monkey and Shimmer) have the ability to transform themselves into any shape or form that they choose, via magic.
27	* {{Unobtanium}}: Dragon steel, an extremely durable metal that never rusts or breaks and can only be forged in undersea volcanoes by dragons.
28	* {{Wuxia}}

Context Literature / DragonSeries