Dragonsbane

Name: Dragonsbane
Author: Barbara Hambly
ISBN: 9780345315724

core novel 1985 Winterlands

Record

First published	1985
Original language	EN
Work type	novel
Canon status	core
Reader rating	3.97 (8,828 ratings, collected 2026-09-14)
Page count	352
First-edition ISBN	9780345315724

Synopsis

Dragonsbane, the first novel in Barbara Hambly's Winterlands series, is set in the decaying Northlands, a once-prosperous region reduced to poverty by isolation and the constant threat of raiders and monsters. The witch Jenny Waynest and Lord John Aversin, the only man known to have slain a dragon, are approached in their home by Gareth, a young southern noble who is later revealed to be the kingdom's prince, asking for their help against a dragon terrorizing the southern capital of Bel. In exchange for slaying the dragon Morkeleb the Black, the king promises to send troops north to defend the Winterlands from the bandits ravaging it.

Where it sits

Universe: Winterlands
Series: not part of a registered series (standalone work within its universe)
Author: Barbara Hambly

Awards (verified)

Locus Award (Best Fantasy Novel), 1986: finalist; 3rd place; per the no-cutoff Locus-poll convention. sfadb also lists a 25th-place appearance in its 1987 listing for the same novel; left unregistered as a probable hardcover/paperback double-count, not independently resolved.
Mythopoeic Award (Adult Literature), 1986: nominated

Notes

Winterlands #1. Originally published as a standalone novel; no sequel was announced or planned at the time.

Neighbouring works

Publication order and internal chronology are tracked as two separate orderings and are never conflated: a book's place in one says nothing about its place in the other.

Publication order, within Winterlands (standalone work): position 1 of 6: next Dragonshadow (1999)

Sources

← Winterlands dossier · All universes

Part of the Library. Fields without an identified source are omitted, never guessed.