The Dragon Lord is a historical fantasy or sword and sorcery novel by American writer David Drake.

He drafted the novel for the Robert E. Howard character Cormac mac Art, who lived in Arthur's time.

He wrote it in 1977–78 and after substantial edits at the request of the editor at Berkley Books, it was published as a hardcover in 1979.

The two travel together for three days and arrive at Lough Ree where a pagan shrine has been converted to a chapel manned by a priest and a large, mentally retarded student, Fergus.

Veleda helps Mael back to land but Fergus drowns and a lake monster drags the priest away.

With the skull Merlin creates a small dragon (a wyvern) which he hopes to grow and teach to be obedient.

Mael and Starkad take their places in Arthur's army and are marched northwards to the walled town of Leicester.

They spend the night there, meet with a wounded Dane veteran and defeat two Herulians after they killed a family while pillaging.

Victorious, Arthur immediately sends Mael and Starkad away to tell Merlin to release his dragon.

Lancelot is depicted as a Roman with a grudge on barbarians who serves as Arthur's chief adviser and Master of Soldiers.

"[3] A reviewer at swordandsorcery.org, Ryan Harvey, compared it to Robert E. Howard pastiche, and wrote "some prolonged sequences...turn out as nothing more than cul-de-sacs, neither adding nor detracting to the narrative."