What do you think?
Rate this book
The Aurykon Chronicles: Books 1 to 5
The Aurykon Chronicles, Books 1 to 5 is a contemporary American tale about a northern Californian teenager, Mack Thomas. He undertakes a fantastic five-year journey that transforms, imperils, and matures him.
Through conversations with Pappy, his wise old grandfather and mentor, Mack discovers the truth about the causes of danger in the world:
•debt is overwhelming and the economy will fail;
•central banks and governments destroy the proper functioning of free markets through manipulation and intervention;
•Gold and silver are suppressed as true money, while extremes of paper and digital currency printing ruins economic stability and drives inflation;
•democratic governments are corrupt and transitioning to totalitarianism;
•civil liberty and personal freedom are increasingly suppressed;
•societal tension is extreme—racial, religious, and political;
•gun control is contentious and irresolvable;
•law enforcement agencies are being militarized to suppress the citizenry;
•the dark purpose of the War on Drugs perpetuates the police state and extreme levels of incarceration;
•terrorism is a false narrative, spreading a legacy of war;
•military interventionism is now a dangerous global norm, risking world war;
•and why it will all inevitably collapse in the worst geopolitical and macroeconomic conflagration in human history.
Mack struggles with his grandfather’s dystopian predictions about the fate of America. Despite Pappy’s logic, Mack thinks the old guy is crazy. Financial collapse and severe depression? The end of democracy and personal freedom? The rise of totalitarianism? The fall of the Empire? Nuclear war?
Surely not.
This is a speculative fiction story in which Mack secretly raises an orphaned infant alien, Aurykon, in Mendocino County wilderness. This inter-dimensional being proves to be a challenging handful for a naïve, young, single parent. You see, Aurykon matures to a super-intelligent, super-powerful, and—after five years in Mack’s care—super-large individual. He stands twenty feet tall, is bulletproof, breathes fire, and has a forty-foot wingspan. Yes, Aurykon is a magnificent, golden-tinged dragon—and he’s not yet fully grown.
Mack and Aurykon are inseparable best friends. That’s fortunate, for when they cross to an alternate dimension to return the dragon to the planet Shukra, his original home, the humans there have driven their geopolitical and macroeconomic affairs to the brink of catastrophe—a most dangerous place. Mack witnesses and nearly succumbs to the inevitable consequences of the same human greed and profligacy that plague Earth. Pappy’s predictions prove plausible.
Fear not, during his travels Mack encounters Princess Bibianna. Although this royal beauty is supposedly unobtainable, she ultimately makes all his troubles worthwhile.
The Aurykon Chronicles weaves elements of factual circumstances with a genre mix of science fiction, fantasy, mystery, and coming-of-age. The tale’s underlying premise (geopolitical and macroeconomic irresponsibility of governments and elite individuals) enlightens new adult readers while entertaining them with a rollercoaster hero’s journey. The story is a series of five novella-sized “Books,” each being a phase of Mack and Aurykon’s awesome tale of discovery:
Book 1: California Dragon
Book 2: Mendocino Mayhem
Book 3: Minaurian Exploits
Book 4: Desperate Measures
Book 5: The Gauld War
Read this exciting compilation to discover the dark truth about the real world, while joining Mack and his dragon pal on a fantastic intergalactic voyage.
Through conversations with Pappy, his wise old grandfather and mentor, Mack discovers the truth about the causes of danger in the world:
•debt is overwhelming and the economy will fail;
•central banks and governments destroy the proper functioning of free markets through manipulation and intervention;
•Gold and silver are suppressed as true money, while extremes of paper and digital currency printing ruins economic stability and drives inflation;
•democratic governments are corrupt and transitioning to totalitarianism;
•civil liberty and personal freedom are increasingly suppressed;
•societal tension is extreme—racial, religious, and political;
•gun control is contentious and irresolvable;
•law enforcement agencies are being militarized to suppress the citizenry;
•the dark purpose of the War on Drugs perpetuates the police state and extreme levels of incarceration;
•terrorism is a false narrative, spreading a legacy of war;
•military interventionism is now a dangerous global norm, risking world war;
•and why it will all inevitably collapse in the worst geopolitical and macroeconomic conflagration in human history.
Mack struggles with his grandfather’s dystopian predictions about the fate of America. Despite Pappy’s logic, Mack thinks the old guy is crazy. Financial collapse and severe depression? The end of democracy and personal freedom? The rise of totalitarianism? The fall of the Empire? Nuclear war?
Surely not.
This is a speculative fiction story in which Mack secretly raises an orphaned infant alien, Aurykon, in Mendocino County wilderness. This inter-dimensional being proves to be a challenging handful for a naïve, young, single parent. You see, Aurykon matures to a super-intelligent, super-powerful, and—after five years in Mack’s care—super-large individual. He stands twenty feet tall, is bulletproof, breathes fire, and has a forty-foot wingspan. Yes, Aurykon is a magnificent, golden-tinged dragon—and he’s not yet fully grown.
Mack and Aurykon are inseparable best friends. That’s fortunate, for when they cross to an alternate dimension to return the dragon to the planet Shukra, his original home, the humans there have driven their geopolitical and macroeconomic affairs to the brink of catastrophe—a most dangerous place. Mack witnesses and nearly succumbs to the inevitable consequences of the same human greed and profligacy that plague Earth. Pappy’s predictions prove plausible.
Fear not, during his travels Mack encounters Princess Bibianna. Although this royal beauty is supposedly unobtainable, she ultimately makes all his troubles worthwhile.
The Aurykon Chronicles weaves elements of factual circumstances with a genre mix of science fiction, fantasy, mystery, and coming-of-age. The tale’s underlying premise (geopolitical and macroeconomic irresponsibility of governments and elite individuals) enlightens new adult readers while entertaining them with a rollercoaster hero’s journey. The story is a series of five novella-sized “Books,” each being a phase of Mack and Aurykon’s awesome tale of discovery:
Book 1: California Dragon
Book 2: Mendocino Mayhem
Book 3: Minaurian Exploits
Book 4: Desperate Measures
Book 5: The Gauld War
Read this exciting compilation to discover the dark truth about the real world, while joining Mack and his dragon pal on a fantastic intergalactic voyage.
688 pages, Paperback
Published October 27, 2017
About the author
Ron B. Saunders
1 book5 followersLibrarian Note: There is more than one author in the Goodreads database with this name.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
March 12, 2019
I don’t usually read fantasy fiction series, but after reading The Aurykon Chronicles, I want to be like Mack and climb on my best-friend dragon’s back and do a light-crossing through space too. Author Ron B. Saunders makes the rich meticulous details all so plausible. But this is not a children’s story at all because within the epic tale are deep political ramifications foreshadowing what we currently face for humanity’s future in our own world. The scope and depth of this book will stay with you for a long time.
November 22, 2017
The Aurykon Chronicles Books 1 to 5 by Ron B. Saunders, is a surprising and entertaining combination of the fantasy genre with an exploration of modern politics and societal change. Aimed at Young Adult readers, the story will meet their expectations with adventures involving fantasy standards such as intergalactic travel through time and space, dragons, other worlds, battles, and supernatural characters and events. At the same time, it will cause them to question and explore current North American and world issues.
As protagonist Mack Thomas searches for answers to questions of truth raised by his grandfather's dystopian predictions about events in present-day America, he travels, with the dragon he has secretly raised in the Californian wilderness, to the dragon's home planet in an alternate dimension. Though in some ways the planet is quite different to Earth, he discovers in the people there--including a beautiful princess--some startling similarities to humanity's conflicting tendencies back on Earth to greed and evil, and generosity and love.
Weaving fantasy with exploration of modern issues might seem a daunting quest--and yet author Ron Saunders has masterfully done just that in this saga. Saunders spent 3 years researching modern political and societal issues, with an emphasis on modern America, but with application to world issues as well. At the same time, his understanding and love of the fantasy genre, and thus his ability to write in it convincingly, create a story that will be very attractive to Young Adult readers--and will be both entertaining and eye-opening to teen and adult readers as well.
Divided into 5 sections, the 661 page story can be read over a period of time, yet the exciting flow of the story will no doubt cause many readers to want to read the entire book in a short time period. Enjoy--and consider!
As protagonist Mack Thomas searches for answers to questions of truth raised by his grandfather's dystopian predictions about events in present-day America, he travels, with the dragon he has secretly raised in the Californian wilderness, to the dragon's home planet in an alternate dimension. Though in some ways the planet is quite different to Earth, he discovers in the people there--including a beautiful princess--some startling similarities to humanity's conflicting tendencies back on Earth to greed and evil, and generosity and love.
Weaving fantasy with exploration of modern issues might seem a daunting quest--and yet author Ron Saunders has masterfully done just that in this saga. Saunders spent 3 years researching modern political and societal issues, with an emphasis on modern America, but with application to world issues as well. At the same time, his understanding and love of the fantasy genre, and thus his ability to write in it convincingly, create a story that will be very attractive to Young Adult readers--and will be both entertaining and eye-opening to teen and adult readers as well.
Divided into 5 sections, the 661 page story can be read over a period of time, yet the exciting flow of the story will no doubt cause many readers to want to read the entire book in a short time period. Enjoy--and consider!
August 12, 2017
An exciting fantasy adventure of boy+dragon that I really enjoyed. I haven't read many dragon stories (well, probably none), so I was interested to see how Saunders would establish the bond between Mack and Aurykon and how it would develop. It's a wonderful story with some twists that I *thought* I saw coming, but when they happened I was surprised. Well done!
March 13, 2018
Well, the author was up front about the book being a way for him to share his political views. Sadly, the story, about a boy and a dragon, might have potential, the constant lectures were pedantic. The dialogue was stilted, especially when the author tried to fashion a “southern” US character. The slang and idioms were unnatural and clumsy, painful to read. Having lived in various regions of the US, I find the novel’s characters to be little more than stilted stereotypes.
If you have a Libertarian or nationalist political viewpoints you may enjoy the lectures. If these concepts weren’t written as lectures, but in a creative or subtle fashion, they would serve to enhance rather than detract from the dragon story.
Reading it for the “fantasy fiction” aspect alone will not be rewarding. That story, by itself, has potential. The dialogue and shallow characters need a lot of work.
If you have a Libertarian or nationalist political viewpoints you may enjoy the lectures. If these concepts weren’t written as lectures, but in a creative or subtle fashion, they would serve to enhance rather than detract from the dragon story.
Reading it for the “fantasy fiction” aspect alone will not be rewarding. That story, by itself, has potential. The dialogue and shallow characters need a lot of work.
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews