Dragons in Our Midst is a series of four novels written by author Bryan Davis. The series follows the adventures of two teens, Billy Bannister and Bonnie Silver. Billy is devastated to find that his father is in fact a dragon disguised in human skin to hide from a centuries-old dragon slayer and his squire. Bonnie has known that her mother was a dragon for years. Both teens carry on traits from their dragon heritage. Bonnie has wings that she keeps hidden in a large hiking backpack, while Billy can breathe fire. When they are found and attacked by a slayer, they must fight for their lives.Dragons in Our Midst was followed by another four-book series, titled Oracles of Fire. The first book, Eye of the Oracle, was a prequel to the DioM series, while the three others, Enoch's Ghost, Last of the Nephilim and The Bones of Makaidos, were all sequels to DioM. This series shifts its focus to other characters that were mostly in the background in the first series, such as Walter, Billy's best friend, and Ashley, an anthrozil (half-dragon, half-human) with a mind far more intelligent than a normal human. It also introduced several new characters, such as Sapphira Adi and Elam, the centuries-old teenagers. It also introduced several new villains, such as Goliath [a dragon, not the biblical giant], Mardon and Semiramis.These series provide examples of:
Bittersweet Ending - Just about all of them, but especially Tears of a Dragon and The Bones of Makaidos.
Blessed with Suck: Billy and Bonnie's powers don't necessarily endear them to people. Billy sets of the fire alarm once while trying to stop a prank due to his breath, and Bonnie is mistaken for a monster while escaping from the school (with Billy in tow.)
Cast Herd - The first series cast was somewhat large, but managable. The second series added entire hoards of new characters.
Catch Phrase - Ashley's "Too much information can make your brain choke"
Also a Meaningful Echo of sorts for the audience when the prequel, Eye of the Oracle, reveals Ashley's mother Thigocia saying "Too much information can be taxing on our brains" several thousand years before Ashley was even born
Thigocia also repeats the Catch Phrase verbatim while cradling the newborn Ashley
Cool Old Guy - Professor Hamilton, Merlin and, technically, Valcor and Clefspeare, as well as about half of everyone else that lived longer than the normal human life span should allow.
There's also Barlow and his group of knights.
Enoch, as well.
Cool Old Lady - Hartanna and the rest of the female dragons.
Exactly What It Says on the Tin - The first series is about dragons and half-dragons trying to fit into the modern day world, while also trying desperately to stay hidden.
Gambit Pileup - It can get pretty confusing, with Morgan, Devin, Mardon, Semiramis, possessed Arramos, Valcor, Merlin, the Professor, and a few others all contributing.
Generation Xerox - The Prof looks a LOT like his distant ancestor, Merlin, to the point that several of the dragons (notably Clefspeare) think he is his ancestor when they first meet him.
Good Wings, Evil Wings - Subverted. Bonnie has draconic wings, while the Watchers have your more typical angelic wings.
Happily Married - Marilyn and Jared Bannister, Carl and Catherine Foley, dragons Makaidos and Thigocia, presumably Ashley and Walter Foley, Billy and Bonnie Bannister, Elam and Sapphira, and Shiloh and Gabriel Drake
Noble Demon - Palin. Had the perfect opportunity to kill Bonnie, but did not take it. Later defied Devin in the slayer's attempt to kill several of the heroes. He was promptly Killed Off for Real for his actions.
Not to mention the reason he dies (the secondtime) is that he tries to convince Devin that what they've been doing is wrong.
No Loves Intersect - For the most part, Karen and Namaah are the exceptions for their respective possible love interests. Karen dies, then Naamah... re-dies...
Official Couple - A whole slew of them by the end of The Bones of Makaidos: Bonnie and Billy, Ashley and Walter, Sapphira and Elam, Gabriel and Shiloh, to name a few.
Playing with Fire - Sapphira and Acacia can make it, Billy breathes it
Plucky Comic Relief - Walter Foley, especially in the first four books. Not as much in Oracles of Fire, but he definitely has his moments.
Walter: So we have...Me, Elam, Billy, Bonnie, Valiant, Candle, Yereq, Sir Barlow, and Sapphira. That's nine of us and the dragons *whistles* I don't know about you, but if we're facing hundreds of crazed warriors trained to kill, I'd like at least ten.
Power Trio - In the first few books, Billy is id, Bonnie superego, Walter ego
Raised by Grandparents - Ashley, who was raised by her grandfather Isaac Stalworth after her parents' deaths. Subverted in that we learn Isaac Stalworth is not actually her grandfather, but just a family friend.
Take That - Against the entire human race, courtesy of the possessed Arramos.
Team Hand Stack - Billy, Walter, Ashley, and Bonnie have one of these in The Bones of Makaidos before the final battle.
Walter, Billy, and Ashley also have one at the end of The Last of the Nephilim
Thou Shalt Not Kill - Interestingly subverted: a lot of emphasis is put on killing honorably (through fair fights) instead of dishonorably (ambushes, back stabbing, etc.), but this doesn't stop several of the heroes from having a fairly high kill count, especially the dragons.
Unexplained Recovery - Several different people. Doctor Conner, Roxil, Goliath, any dragon who ended up in Dragons Rest, the original ten female dragons who became human, Arramos (sort of), Billy, Bonnie... the list goes on.)]] It would actually probably be easier to list the subversions.
Wacky Marriage Proposal - Walter proposes to Ashley by building a snowman kneeling on a roof in front of a snowwoman. He then goes on to make a speech in true Walter style.
Weddings for Everyone - This occurs at the end of The Bones of Makaidos with the triple wedding ceremony of Walter and Ashley, Elam and Sapphira, and Billy and Bonnie
Wild Mass Guessing - The forums would always be most active a few weeks before the book came out. One of the biggest topics was about Palin, specifically why he didn't kill Bonnie.
When a member guessed that Palin had a daughter at one point and couldn't bring himself to kill someone else's little girl, Davis's response was that the member was "sowing a fertile field."
Also, it's implied in the epilogue for The Bones of Makaidos that one of Billy and Bonnie's twins will grow a pair when he or she gets older.
Word Of God - Averted. Even though the series is finished, Davis still refuses to tell fans wether Bonnie chose to stay an anthrozil or become a full blood human at the end of Tears of a Dragon.
She has wings by the end of The Bones of Makaidos, but it's still left open whether she had them or not before that whole thing with the tree.
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