(Found) I Can't Remember Dragon Book ...

[Kierkegaurdian]

I read this book when I was pretty young. It began with a boy in some large city, who escapes to a life of adventure ... eventually he comes to a place in the mountains where dragons are raised. I think he steals an egg, raises a dragon, etc. There are a number of different twists and turns, but I don't really remember them. It was a pretty short book (less than 200 pages). Sorry I am so sparse on the details!

 

[chrispenycate]

The trouble is the "young boy/girl/outcast/orphan goes somewhere inadvsable, collects big egg which hatches into lovable dragon, learns a sense of responsibilty in learning to feed it, clean and educate (since McCaffrey they've largely been telepathic) and rides off into the sunset with new friend/protector at the end" YA theme is so generalised that it probably has it's own serial number. Without more data, hitting the right verson of "had several adventures" sounds like a lottery. Hmm, in your youth; so probably not Lackey's "Joust", for example. Idea of a year, cover picture, anything?

 

[PaulMmn]

Since Pern (and McCaffrey's dragons) it's made "dragonlore" that much more difficult.
.
However, Mercedes Lackey has met the challenge. The descriptions -does- sound like Mercedes' "JOUST" series.
.
See "Mercedes Lackey" on Wikipedia.

 

[chrispenycate]

Since Pern (and McCaffrey's dragons) it's made "dragonlore" that much more difficult.
.
However, Mercedes Lackey has met the challenge. The descriptions -does- sound like Mercedes' "JOUST" series.
.
See "Mercedes Lackey" on Wikipedia.

Except that there's no 'large city' at the beginning of it, yes.

But I read up a number of peoples concepts of dragons, before starting breeding my own, and it seems that the dragon's oviparous nature, and symbolism of power, has made it a natural target for orphans and outcasts; mother dragons must be nervously hiding their clutches in old folks homes to avoid the adoption syndrome.

Since Puff went pirate hunting there have probably been enough dragons in the imaginary (and very powerful) big brother role that there are books published about the care and feeding of them, and quite likely psychology books for the poor beasts growing up outside their natural society.

 

[erinsbooks]

I think it might be Dragon's Blood, by Jane Yolen.

"In this classic, humans have long since colonized the planet Austar IV, where "dragons" are one of the native creatures. Dragons are raised here in nurseries because they had almost reached the brink of extinction in the wild. Young Jakkin was born into a life of labor under one such place, Sarkkhan's Nursery. Each laborer wears a pouch around their neck, and can only become free when that pouch is full. Jakkin's is hardly full, and at Sarkkhan's Nursery there is only one way to do that: steal a dragon's egg and raise it to be a fighter at the Pits."

 

[Kierkegaurdian]

I think it might be Dragon's Blood, by Jane Yolen.

"In this classic, humans have long since colonized the planet Austar IV, where "dragons" are one of the native creatures. Dragons are raised here in nurseries because they had almost reached the brink of extinction in the wild. Young Jakkin was born into a life of labor under one such place, Sarkkhan's Nursery. Each laborer wears a pouch around their neck, and can only become free when that pouch is full. Jakkin's is hardly full, and at Sarkkhan's Nursery there is only one way to do that: steal a dragon's egg and raise it to be a fighter at the Pits."

Ah! I think that's it! I will pick up a copy soon. This was a while ago (1997?) that I read it, so this would fit the bill. The descriptions I find online seem to match what I remember. Thanks!

Edit: The "nurseries" point is pretty key ... I remember dragon raising / breeding being an established, dominant part of life in the world of the story. I do remember the main character (boy) ends up stealing his egg from a nursery in a mountainous / wilderness locale, NOT in the city towards the beginning. Are there any other books where dragons are raised in nurseries like this?

 

[kythe]

Could you have read a different book in the Dragon's Blood series? Jane Yolen also wrote "A Sending of Dragons" and "Heart's Blood", I'm not sure if there were others. They are meant to be read in order, but I didn't realize that I had originally read them out of order until I was looking for the series years later.

It's funny how great stories stick with you for so long. I read the books in middle school, but after so many years I couldn't remember the title or author, just snippets of the stories that had stayed with me. A few years ago I came here and asked the exact same question in order to find the series again:
http://www.sffchronicles.co.uk/forum/47605-trying-to-remember-a-book-about-dragons.html

 

[erinsbooks]

Glad to have helped! When I get back to the States this summer, I'll have to stop by the library and read the series. Sounds like it's right down my alley!

 

[dwndrgn]

Just in case you want another book (that isn't the one you were looking for that you've already found) there is Mercedes Lackey's Joust which is similar and has nurseries.

Edit: Hello, dwndrgn, read the thread before answering...sometimes my silliness amazes even me.