The Iron Dragon's Daughter

by Michael Swanwick

First published 1994

Jane toils in the dragon factory, assembling the mechanical beasts that serve as flying war machines. The work is brutal and the conditions are harsh, but she has known no other life. Then one day a dragon speaks to her directly, its voice cutting through the noise of the assembly line. It offers her something she has never dared to imagine: freedom from her bondage and the power to take revenge on those who have enslaved her. Jane seizes the opportunity to escape, but her flight from the factory is only the beginning. She discovers that the world beyond the factory walls operates on rules she never understood. The same forces that kept her enslaved shape the entire structure of reality itself. To truly be free, Jane must do more than run. She must tear down the very foundations that support this world.

Genres: science-fiction, dystopia, adventure, fantasy

Vibes: dark, suspenseful, thought-provoking

Tropes: found-family, rebellion

Setting: Dragon Factory

464 pages · Paperback · Weidenfeld Military

Content warnings: violence

More by Michael Swanwick

Readers who liked The Iron Dragon's Daughter also liked

View on Siftivo