Dragon Tale
Naomi Novik, Temeraire, 2006
This is the first in a series of fantasy novels set during the Napoleonic Wars. Novak re-imagines the period as a world where European powers fight each other with the help of dragons, much like airplanes in the great wars of the 20th century. These dragons come in all shapes and sizes, and have unique abilities (they can spit poison, breathe fire, etc) as well as being able to carry soldiers.
Captain Will Laurence is your average English boy raised at sea, with a golden future ahead of him in society and a vessel under his command. After a battle with a French ship, Laurence finds himself the owner of a dragon egg destined for Napoleon himself - a dragon unlike any seen before in Europe.
Apparently, the film rights have been bought by Peter Jackson. I wonder if the homoerotic subtext between captain and dragon will be left intact in the screenplay.