Dragon Steel

Dragon Steel is a fantasy novel by American author Laurence Yep. It was first published in 1985 and is the second book in his Dragon series. In Dragon Steel, Yep decided to expand on the dilemma faced by exiled dragon princess Shimmer, that of how to govern, since she had been exiled from the Inland Sea at a relatively young age by dragon standards. He based her on experiences on a study of historical rulers, both those who had ruled poorly, and those who had "risen to the expectations of their people". He also based the undersea dragon kingdom of Sambar XII on the "real ocean", inspired by the undergraduate courses in marine biology and oceanography he had taken at UC Santa Cruz. The story picks up where Dragon of the Lost Sea left off. Coming off their victory over the witch Civet, Shimmer and her human companion Thorn discover inner turmoil among the dragon kingdoms amidst increasing tensions between the humans and the dragons, gaining a new ally in the process.