Drogon v Smaug: George R. R. Martin Feels Intimidated By J. R. R. Tolkien’s Creation Due to an “Intellectual Advantage” That Smaug Has Over Drogon
- George R. R. Martin acknowledged that Drogon wouldn't stand a chance against Tolkien's Smaug, who is larger and more intelligent.
- Martin has often credited Tolkien with influencing his work, especially in handling magic and world-building.
- Although Tolkien's works often end with happy endings, Martin likes to dive deeper into the complexities of power and rule.
The writer of A Song of Ice and Fire, George R. R. Martin, is no stranger to creating epic fantasy worlds. His books are known for complex characters, political plots, and dragons that inspired shows like Game of Thrones and House of the Dragon.
On the other hand, there is J. R. R. Tolkien, who can be considered the great-grandfather of modern fantasy literature. His The Lord of the Rings series set the standard for fantasy world-building and is still popular among readers.
George R. R. Martin’s Honest Take on Drogon vs. Smaug
Both authors have created iconic dragons in their works. Martin’s Drogon, who was the personal mount of Daenerys Targaryen in Game of Thrones, and Tolkien’s Smaug from The Lord of the Rings. But who will win if these two creatures fight against each other?
In an interview with 92NY Plus, George R. R. Martin opened up on this topic. Talking about an online debate about Drogon vs. Smaug, he said that Drogon won’t have any chance against Smaug.
Basically, no. Drogon is a very young dragon and still barely large enough to get Dany into the sky. Smaug is gigantic, not to mention that Smaug talks and would probably have an intellectual advantage.
Martin stayed honest about his creation. He looked at the situation logically, as Drogon was still a young dragon compared to the ancient and massive Smaug. Besides that, the ability to speak will give Smaug an extra edge in their battle.
But Martin did have a competitor for Smaug in his universe. He said in the interview,
But Balerion could give Smaug some trouble; they’re more equivalent in the size and ferocity department.
Balerion was the legendary dragon who was ridden by King Aegon I Targaryen and was much older and bigger than Drogon. In his blog, Martin mentioned that his dragons share similarities with Eragon and How to Train Your Dragon‘s dragons, but Tolkien’s dragons are evil.
Martin also talked about how he sees dragons in general. His dragons don’t talk and are not as smart as humans, but they are wild animals that can be trained but are never fully tamed, kind of like wolves or bears.
J. R. R. Tolkien’s Influence on George R. R. Martin’s Work
George R. R. Martin has always admitted how much J. R. R. Tolkien has influenced him. He has said many times that he and other fantasy writers owe a lot to Tolkien.
In an interview with IGN, Martin revealed how he took lessons from The Lord of the Rings before writing Game of Thrones.
When I started writing Game of Thrones, one of the things I did was to look at Lord of the Rings and see what Tolkien did and tried to take some lessons from it. A big lesson was his handling of magic. You know, I think a lot of epic fantasy has too much magic. But Middle-earth is suffused with a sense of magic, it’s always on the peripheral and it’s used to set the stage.
Tolkien has also influenced Martin in world-building. In his 92NY Plus interview, Martin said that after Tolkien, readers expect “a fully realized ‘secondary world'” and he took the same approach in creating Westeros.
However, Martin also likes to put his own spin on things. He believes Tolkien gives a happy ending where Aragorn rules wisely for a hundred years, but Martin wants to dig further into the hows and whys of the rule.
There are also some similarities in names between their works. Martin’s character Samwell Tarly is kind of like Tolkien’s Samwise Gamgee, even if they seem different on the surface. Despite all the differences, both stories share a pretty traditional story about a returning king who is needed to save the kingdom.
While Martin’s world might be bloodier and more complicated than Tolkien’s, it is evident that The Lord of the Rings author left a big mark on how Martin created his own fantasy world.
The Lord of the Rings trilogy is available to stream on Prime Video, Netflix, and Max
All seasons of Game of Thrones are available to stream on Max.
