dodecahedron wrote:Ouroboros - is this from Greek mythology? the name sounds kind of greek.
Sorry it took so long- here's a bit of info.
During the first big Tolkien wave in the 60's, one publisher trying to cash in on the interest pushed a book as being "similar". This was "The Worm Ouroboros" by E.R. Eddison (written in 1922). This is a kind of cyclic heroic tale that starts anew once it's finished- hence the byline "the worm Ouroboros that swallows its own tail". I read it at the time but don't remember much other than that it was a big disappointment.
There are other literary dragons of course, e.g. Fafnir the guardian of the Nibelungen gold whose blood lent Siegfried invulnerability. The German children's book author Michael Ende created at least 2 remarkable characters. His "Never Ending Story" was at least as big a hit as Tolkien among the college crowd in the 70s (and is
highly recommended today too- don't be put off by the film(s)). The dragon there is "Fuchur", the white dragon of luck. Mainly for "real" children is the delightful "Jim Knopf and Lucas the Locomotive Driver". The dragon there is "Frau Mahlzahn" (Mrs. Molar) who is primarily a nasty teacher who turns out to be (oh wonder) a dragon.
Fuchur is probably the most "tolkienesque" of the bunch, although Fafnir was probably the prototype. Anyway- this is getting a bit off topic, so I'll stop.
G