The end of Game of Thrones — not to mention the long gap between installments of George R. R. Martin's A Song of Ice and Fire — has left a smoldering, dragon-shaped hole in the hearts of fantasy fans. Dragons have been a staple of fantasy literature since The Lord of the Rings, and everyone from Ursula K. Le Guin and Anne McCaffrey to Robin Hobb and Naomi Novik have expanded upon the collective mythology of our favorite giant lizards. There's something primal about the appeal of dragons: their beauty, their majesty, their mystique, their bottomless symbolism. But what will fill the current void in dragon fandom? Luckily, this year so far has seen a raft of new, dragon-centric novels that explore these creatures on an epic scale — sometimes traditionally, sometimes radically, but all with fire-breathing fabulousness.
Jason Heller is a Hugo Award-winning editor and author of the new book Strange Stars: David Bowie, Pop Music, and the Decade Sci-Fi Exploded. He's on Twitter: @jason_m_heller