The Dragon Masters
| first edition of The Dragon Masters | |
| Author | Jack Vance | 
|---|---|
| Language | English | 
| Genre | Science fiction | 
| Publisher | Ace Books | 
| Publication date | 1963 | 
| Publication place | United States | 
| Media type | Print (Paperback) | 
The Dragon Masters is a science fiction novella by American author Jack Vance. It was first published in Galaxy magazine, August 1962, and in 1963 in book form, as half of Ace Double F-185 (with The Five Gold Bands). It won the Hugo Award for Best Short Story in 1963. The story describes a human society living under pre-industrial conditions that has bred lizard-like intelligent aliens to function as warriors, and an encounter with a ship from the alien planet, containing both the same aliens, and humans bred by them for similar purposes.