History Literature / ToothAndClaw

A fantasy novel by Jo Walton, published in 2003 and winner of the UsefulNotes/WorldFantasyAward for Best Novel in 2004.

* AffablyEvil

* WhatMeasureIsANonHuman

* HonorBeforeReason: Penn's primary dilemma is that he cannot testify as to his father's final words without revealing that he heard his father's confession and gave him absolution, which will cause him to be disgraced and dismissed from his position as a parson. Both Penn and Sher are shocked beyond measure when the villainous Daverak suggests he could just leave that part out.

* BreathWeapon: An ability manifesting in dragons once they have attained both an appropriate age, and an appropriate size. Only the most powerful and largest dragons are able to breathe fire, though it is also considered inappropriate to use it for anything beyond personal defense and in situations where decorum demands punishment for an offense.

''Tooth and Claw'' is unusual in that it follows the narrative structure and character archetypes one would expect of a Victorian-era novel along the lines of ''Literature/PrideAndPrejudice,'' apart from the fact that the entire cast are dragons. This alone opens up an entirely different take on social structure and custom. Notably, confession and absolution are regarded a high form of sin, and it is customary to feast upon not only the deceased, but any perceptibly weaker dragons whose continued existence is regarded as a degradation of the species as a whole.

* BelligerentSexualTension: Frelt through and through when it comes to Berend, so much so that his courtship of her was the major point of contention with her father, Bon Agornin. [[spoiler: That he did not get to devour Agornin's eyes upon his death, being denied both his idea of revenge and his expectation of being the presiding parson, is the cause of his initial choice to support Daverak's claim to the bulk of Agornin's body over Penn's protests. It is made all the worse when Frelt later attempts to corner and court Selendra in a cramped passage, hoping to provoke her into instinctively awakening to his desires despite her conscious protests.]]

* BreakTheCutie - Selendra suffers a bit of a breakdown when Frelt advances on her in close quarters, provoking her body into responding with a mating blush; the usual gold scales of a maiden dragon turned to a receptive pink. Her flustered state afterwards prevents the pink tone from fading, leading her brothers to discuss either marrying her off to Frelt or setting her up as a consort to an Exalted, in order to spare her life as a concubine. [[spoiler: Amer brews an herbal tea that pushes her out of a receptive state, restoring her maiden gold hue, something seen as sinful by both the Church and Penn.]]
* BreathWeapon - An ability manifesting in dragons once they have attained both an appropriate age, and an appropriate size. Only the most powerful and largest dragons are able to breathe fire, though it is also considered inappropriate to use it for anything beyond personal defense and in situations where decorum demands punishment for an offense.
* BelligerentSexualTension - Frelt through and through when it comes to Berend, so much so that his courtship of her was the major point of contention with her father, Bon Agornin. [[spoiler: That he did not get to devour Agornin's eyes upon his death, being denied both his idea of revenge and his expectation of being the presiding parson, is the cause of his initial choice to support Daverak's claim to the bulk of Agornin's body over Penn's protests. It is made all the worse when Frelt later attempts to corner and court Selendra in a cramped passage, hoping to provoke her into instinctively awakening to his desires despite her conscious protests.]]

** When Selendra is pressured into a mating blush by Frelt's unwanted advances, her brothers consider forcing her into a marriage with her assailant or else get her set up as an Exalted's concubine, because by dragon standards she's no longer a maiden - and a dragon female who isn't a maiden or married is meat.

* DiesWideOpen - Happens to Bon Agornin, but is implied to happen to ''every'' dragon, so that the attending parson can watch for signs of renewed life and assure death has actually taken place.
* DragonHoard - Dragons have a natural instinct to sleep on piles of hoarded gold; unfortunately, one cannot do this and invest one's gold in the stock market at the same time. Bon Agornin's hoard is to be divided among his biological children upon his death, and for most dragons, this implicitly includes their corpse's own flesh.
* ExoticEyeDesigns - Dragon eyes are said to "whirl" during emotional moments, by conscious action or not. What this means is never exclusively expounded upon, but if the book cover art by Tristan Elwell is anything to go on, each dragon's eyes spiral their colors, and feature a spiral-shaped iris.

* FoolishSiblingResponsibleSibling - Very evident when it comes to Bon's daughters, Haner and Selendra, versus their brothers, Penn and Avan. Both of the brothers have great concern for their sisters, who up until Bon's death had been sheltered maidens naive about the treatment of females in the broader world. Selendra and Haner's musings and solutions for their problems only reinforce their lack of understanding about draconic society, while Penn and Avan have to actively formulate viable options for their sisters so they don't wind up eaten by a more powerful dragon.
* GoldDigger - Being dragons, this can apply to just about every character in the story, but it is very apparent with both Daverak and ''especially'' Frelt.

* ImAHumanitarian - Cannibalism is the order of the day, prescribed by the Church, and seems to be a necessity for any dragon to gain in size, power, and acquire traits both attractive and traditionally characteristic of their species. Fire breath only manifests after many years of eating other dragons, while the growth of wings occurs only if a young dragonet is fed enough dragonflesh early in life to promote it. Holders of an establishment over a demesne often devour the weakest dragonets of their tenant families, and eating the body of a deceased relative is considered both tradition and necessary for the remaining family to grow in power. [[spoiler: This last fact forms the crux of Avan's legal complaint against his brother-in-law, Daverak, who goes against Avan's father's wishes that the bulk of his corpse feed the lesser of his offspring.]]

* NoWomansLand - Irieth is implied to be this by Avan when his sisters ask if they might return to the capital with him. Avan is too small in body size to feel comfortable at the prospect of having to defend them against larger dragons, and is many years away from being able to produce flame. Further dialog openly states there exists a marriage market for maiden female dragons, chaperoned by their mothers.
* OldMaid - Amer. A servant trusted by Bon Agornin's family (it is repeatedly mentioned her wings are bound no more tightly than a parson's, and on occasion she has been given leeway to fly) and introduced polishing Haner's scales. She even references the trope by name in description of herself when Selendra and Haner protest the supposed fate of married females, stating that there are worse ways to lose the golden lustre of one's scales.
* OurDragonsAreDifferent - Not the least of which is the fact that they have a very rigidly stratified social hierarchy and culture meshing Victorian England with European Feudalism. A prominent, polytheistic Church features parsons acting the role of community vicar, at the expense of flight prohibition through their wings being bound - though they are immune to being eaten by other dragons. Titles such as Illustrious, August, Exalted, and Eminent denote different rankings, held exclusively by males, while females are either maidens, married, or dinner. Farmers and shepherds work the land and provide both labor and food for the established family of one or more demesnes. Dragon growth and their associated characteristics are dictated almost exclusively by the frequency and quality of other dragonflesh they consume, with weaker dragons and dragonets often being on the menu as a religiously-prescribed manner of culling the population, while stronger dragons are eaten by their family upon death.
* ShoulderSizedDragon - Dragonets, noted as quite small until a few years after hatching, assuming they aren't devoured by their elders.
* WhatMeasureIsANonHuman -

A fantasy novel by Jo Walton, published in 2003 and winner of the World Fantasy Award for Best Novel in 2004.

* DragonHoard - Bon Agornin's hoard is to be divided among his biological children upon his death, and for most dragons, this implicitly includes their corpse's own flesh.

* DefiledForever: When Selendra is pressured into a mating blush by Frelt's unwanted advances, her brothers consider forcing her into a marriage with her assailant or else get her set up as an Exalted's concubine, because by dragon standards she's no longer a maiden - and a dragon female who isn't a maiden or married is meat.

* ImAHumanitarian - Cannibalism is the order of the day, prescribed by the Church, and seems to be a necessity for any dragon to gain in size, power, and acquire traits both attractive and traditionally characteristic of their species. Fire breath only manifests after many years of eating other dragons, while the growth of wings occurs only if a young dragonet is fed enough dragonflesh early in life to promote it. Holders of an establishment over a demesne often devour the weakest dragonets of their tenant families, and eating the body of a deceased relative is considered both tradition and necessary for the remaining family to grow in power. [[spoiler: This last fact forms the crux of Penn's legal complaint against his brother-in-law, Daverak, who goes against Penn's father's wishes that the bulk of his corpse feed the lesser of his offspring.]]

''Tooth and Claw'' is unusual in that it follows the narrative structure and character archetypes one would expect of a Victorian-era novel along the lines of ''Literature/PrideAndPrejudice,'' apart from the fact that the entire cast are dragons. This alone opens up an entirely different take on social structure and custom. Notably, confession and absolution are regarded a high form of sin, and it is customary to feast upon not only the deceased, but any perceptibly weaker dragons who's continued existence is regarded a degradation of the species as a whole.

* ArrangedMarriage: When Selendra is pressured into a mating blush by Frelt's unwanted advances, her brothers consider forcing her into a marriage with her assailant. [[spoiler: She manages to restore her maiden hue through an herbal mix.]] While she wasn't actually raped, this is analogous to the [[ForgottenTrope mostly-forgotten]] version of the trope where a victim could be [[DefiledForever compelled to marry their rapist because they have no other prospects]].

* ArrangedMarriage: When Selendra is pressured into a mating blush by Frelt's unwanted advances, her brothers consider forcing her into a marriage with her assailant. [[spoiler: She manages to restore her maiden hue through an herbal mix.]] While she wasn't actually raped, this is analogous to the [[ForgottenTrope mostly-forgotten]] version of the trope where a victim could be compelled to marry their rapist because they have no other prospects.

* BreakTheCutie - [[spoiler: Selendra suffers a bit of a breakdown when Frelt advances on her in close quarters, provoking her body into responding with a mating blush; the usual gold scales of a maiden dragon turned to a receptive pink. Her flustered state afterwards prevents the pink tone from fading, leading her brothers to discuss either marrying her off to Frelt or setting her up as a consort to an Exalted, in order to spare her life as a concubine. Amer brews an herbal tea that pushes her out of a receptive state, restoring her maiden gold hue, something seen as sinful by both the Church and Penn.]]

* BreakTheCutie
* BreathWeapon - An ability that only manifests in dragons once they have attained both an appropriate age, and an appropriate size. Only the most powerful and largest dragons are apparently able to breathe fire, though it is also considered inappropriate to use it for anything beyond personal defense and in situations of extreme belligerency.

* BelligerentSexualTension - Frelth through and through when it comes to Berend, so much so that his courtship of her was the major point of contention with her father, Bon Agornin. [[spoiler: That he did not get to devour Agornin's eyes upon his death, being denied both his idea of revenge and his expectation of being the presiding parson, is the cause of his initial choice to support Daverak's claim to the bulk of Agornin's body over Penn's protests. It is made all the worse when Frelth later attempts to corner and court Selendra in a cramped passage, hoping to provoke her into instinctively awakening to his desires despite her conscious protests.]]

* GoldDigger - Being dragons, this can apply to just about every character in the story, but it is especially apparent with both Daverak and especially Frelth.
* ImAHumanitarian - Cannibalism is the order of the day, prescribed by the Church, and indeed seems to be a necessity for any dragon to gain in size, power, and acquire traits considered both attractive, and typically attested to dragons in the first place, such as the capacity to breathe fire. Holders of an establishment over a demesne often devour the weakest dragonets of their tenant families, and eating the body of a deceased relative is considered both tradition and necessary for the remaining family to grow in power. [[spoiler: This last fact forms the crux of Penn's legal complaint against his brother-in-law, Daverak, who goes against Penn's father's wishes that the bulk of his corpse feed the lesser of his offspring.]]
* NoWomansLand - Irieth is implied to be this by Avan when his sisters ask they go back to the capital with him. Avan is too small in body size to feel comfortable at the prospect of having to defend them against larger dragons, and is many years away from being able to produce flame. Further dialog openly states there exists a marriage market for maiden female dragons, chaperoned by their mothers.

* OurDragonsAreDifferent - Not the least of which is the fact that they have a very rigidly stratified social hierarchy and culture that is a mesh of Victorian England and European Feudalism. There is a grand Church and associated creation myth and deities, with parsons acting as a community vicar, at the expense of having their wings bound and prohibition from flight, though they are immune to being eaten by larger dragons. Titles such as Illustrious, August, Exalted, and Eminent denote different rankings, held exclusively by males, while females are either maidens, married, or dinner. Farmers and shepherds work the land and provide both labor and food for the established family of one or more demesnes. Dragon growth and their associated characteristics are dictated almost exclusively by the frequency and quality of other dragonflesh they can consume, with weaker dragons and dragonets often being on the menu as a prescribed manner of culling the population, while strong dragons are eaten by their family upon death.
* ShoulderSizedDragon - Dragonets, expressly described as quite small until a few years after hatching, assuming they aren't devoured by their elders.
* WhatMeasureIsANonHuman

* BelligerentSexualTension - Frelth through and through when it comes to Berend, so much so that his courtship of her was the major point of contention with her father, Bon Agornin. [[spoiler: That he did not get to devour Agornin's eyes upon his death, being denied both his idea of revenge and his expectation of being the presiding parson, is the cause of his initial choice to support Daverak's claim to the bulk of Agornin's body over Penn's protests.]]

* NoWomansLand - Ireith is implied to be this by Avan when his sisters ask they go back to the capital with him. Avan is too small in body size to feel comfortable at the prospect of having to defend them against larger dragons, and is many years away from being able to produce flame. Further dialog openly states there exists a marriage market for maiden female dragons, chaperoned by their mothers.

* ExoticEyeDesigns - Dragon eyes are said to "whirl" during moments of thought or at an emotional response. What this means is never exclusively expounded upon, but if the book cover art by Tristan Elwell is anything to go on, each dragon's eyes spiral their colors, and feature a spiral-shaped iris.
* FoolishSiblingResponsibleSibling
* GoldDigger - Being dragons, this can apply to just about every character in the story, but it is especially apparent with both Daverak and Frelth.

* OldMaid - Amer. A servant trusted by Bon Agornin's family (it is repeatedly mentioned her wings are bound no more tightly than a parson's, and on occasion she has been given leeway to fly) and introduced polishing Haner's scales. She expresses fright and concern at going with Haner to Daverak's demesne after Agornin's death, regaling rumors of his killing and eating of older servants, the act considered a wasteful of proven labor, and a major taboo.

* OldMaid - Amer. A servant trusted by Agornin's family (it is repeatedly mentioned her wings are bound no more tightly than a parson's, and on occasion she has been given leeway to fly) and introduced polishing Haner's scales. She expresses fright and concern at going with Haner to Daverak's demesne after Agornin's death, regaling rumors of his killing and eating of older servants, the act considered a wasteful of proven labor, and a major taboo.