What do you think?
Rate this book
Dragonback #4
Dragon and Herdsman
Orphan Jack Morgan, after losing his Uncle Virgil, has bonded with Dracos, K’da poet-warrior who requires hours daily on his host's back to survive, and escaped with fellow mercenary Alison Kayna, to the primitive Rho Scorvi planet. But they find a small lost colony of Draycos’s own race, the Phookas, grown slow, lethargic, and unintelligent. Before a thief, soldier, and slave, Jack must become a herdsman to protect the Phookas from danger, and guide them deep into the unexplored forest.
Starscape 2007 edition includes 5 page Reader Guide with paragraph biography, several student activities and questions.
Starscape 2007 edition includes 5 page Reader Guide with paragraph biography, several student activities and questions.
304 pages, Paperback
First published May 30, 2006
9 people are currently reading
640 people want to read
About the author
Timothy Zahn
481 books8,526 followersTimothy Zahn attended Michigan State University, earning a Bachelor of Science degree in physics in 1973. He then moved to the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and achieved an M.S. degree in physics in 1975. While he was pursuing a doctorate in physics, his adviser became ill and died. Zahn never completed the doctorate. In 1975 he had begun writing science fiction as a hobby, and he became a professional writer. He and his wife Anna live in Bandon, Oregon. They have a son, Corwin Zahn.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 48 reviews
February 14, 2020
"Jack sighed. In Uncle Virgil’s world, people had always fallen into one of two categories: the ones he could use, and the ones he couldn’t. “Friendship,” “affection,” “trust”—those might as well have been alien words as far as he was concerned. Maybe Jack himself had been an exception. Then again, maybe he hadn’t. But things were different now, he reminded himself firmly. He did have a friend—Draycos—and he was going to make that friendship work."
This is book four in the YA Dragonback series. Jack plays “Oliver” to his Uncle Virgil’s “Fagan.”
Jack – a barely teenage thief and con artist who has to get by on his wit and ability to “read” those around him.
Draycos – A self-styled “warrior/poet” of the K’da species that is virtually unknown is Jack’s part of the universe.
By the fourth book a lot of other characters are thrown into the mix, but the two-dimensional/three-dimensional alien is the focal point.
"As a warrior of the K’da he’d had to face the possibility of death many times. But it was somehow always different each time it happened. And it wasn’t something he’d ever became used to. Especially when it would mean abandoning such a young and inexperienced host. Would Jack be able to manage alone? More important, would he be able to learn the location of the refugee fleet’s rendezvous point alone and be able to save the rest of the K’da and Shontine?"
Yes, Draycos is a dragon-shaped “tattoo” that can go from a two-dimensional form on Jack’s body to a three-dimensional terror at a moment’s notice. The when and where of that make up part of the plot’s tension.
Jack’s uncle, Virgil, was a robber, safe-cracker and con-artist who took care of Jack when his parents died. What that means is that Virgil made Jack into his cat’s paw and they lived a life of crime. Virgil holds to a con’s view of the world.
Early in this volume, Jack is rescued from a “job” gone wrong by Alison, a contemporary with whom he had a “history” (see earlier volumes). This particular part of the Dragonback saga sheds a little bit of light on Jack’s uncle and a bit more on Draycos’ race.
This is a good, but not great, YA series and this book is full of interesting filigree. There are new beasts and new weapons and lots of chase scenes, But at its core, it is just more details in Jack’s search for his “destiny” and the challenges that threaten his ability to successfully traverse adolescence.
This is book four in the YA Dragonback series. Jack plays “Oliver” to his Uncle Virgil’s “Fagan.”
Jack – a barely teenage thief and con artist who has to get by on his wit and ability to “read” those around him.
Draycos – A self-styled “warrior/poet” of the K’da species that is virtually unknown is Jack’s part of the universe.
By the fourth book a lot of other characters are thrown into the mix, but the two-dimensional/three-dimensional alien is the focal point.
"As a warrior of the K’da he’d had to face the possibility of death many times. But it was somehow always different each time it happened. And it wasn’t something he’d ever became used to. Especially when it would mean abandoning such a young and inexperienced host. Would Jack be able to manage alone? More important, would he be able to learn the location of the refugee fleet’s rendezvous point alone and be able to save the rest of the K’da and Shontine?"
Yes, Draycos is a dragon-shaped “tattoo” that can go from a two-dimensional form on Jack’s body to a three-dimensional terror at a moment’s notice. The when and where of that make up part of the plot’s tension.
Jack’s uncle, Virgil, was a robber, safe-cracker and con-artist who took care of Jack when his parents died. What that means is that Virgil made Jack into his cat’s paw and they lived a life of crime. Virgil holds to a con’s view of the world.
Early in this volume, Jack is rescued from a “job” gone wrong by Alison, a contemporary with whom he had a “history” (see earlier volumes). This particular part of the Dragonback saga sheds a little bit of light on Jack’s uncle and a bit more on Draycos’ race.
This is a good, but not great, YA series and this book is full of interesting filigree. There are new beasts and new weapons and lots of chase scenes, But at its core, it is just more details in Jack’s search for his “destiny” and the challenges that threaten his ability to successfully traverse adolescence.
January 3, 2021
I think this is my favorite Dragonback novel so far. It's a great outdoors adventure story and it ends with a big cliffhanger too! I sure didn't see that coming.
The climax in this one was really intense too. As I was coming near the end I could see I only had a few scant pages left to read and they were in the middle of a big mess...I just didn't see how could they solve it in the few remaining pages. But they did.
The Phookas are wonderful, especially Taneem. They were a big surprise in this book and one I admit I truly loved! But they also raise lots of new unanswered questions if you stop and think about it. How did they get onto that planet? Where did they come from? What will happen to the others? To Taneem?? Without them the story wouldn't be as interesting as it is.
I must say I didn't really like the surprise at the end but I guess one hopes it will all end up ok somehow in the end. Hard to believe I only have 2 more books in this series to read.
The majority of this story takes place outside in a woods - jungle type environment. It would be a great choice for anyone who wants to do the 2021 popsugar challenge - outdoors. Lots of action and danger. Fast moving story. Great characters too.
The climax in this one was really intense too. As I was coming near the end I could see I only had a few scant pages left to read and they were in the middle of a big mess...I just didn't see how could they solve it in the few remaining pages. But they did.
The Phookas are wonderful, especially Taneem. They were a big surprise in this book and one I admit I truly loved! But they also raise lots of new unanswered questions if you stop and think about it. How did they get onto that planet? Where did they come from? What will happen to the others? To Taneem?? Without them the story wouldn't be as interesting as it is.
I must say I didn't really like the surprise at the end but I guess one hopes it will all end up ok somehow in the end. Hard to believe I only have 2 more books in this series to read.
The majority of this story takes place outside in a woods - jungle type environment. It would be a great choice for anyone who wants to do the 2021 popsugar challenge - outdoors. Lots of action and danger. Fast moving story. Great characters too.
March 25, 2010
A few years ago Timothy Zahn met with some relatives and one of them suggested to him that he should try writing a young adult novel. At first he laughed and thought it was a fun joke. The idea kept nagging at him and he started thinking about a story idea that, if the main character was changed just a little bit, could be a great young adult story. Plus, all of his books are strictly PG in content anyway so it might be a natural fit.
He decided to give it a try and began writing the Dragonback Bargain series of young adult books.
Timothy Zahn, I posit, was wrong in his decision. He was not wrong in thinking that young adult audiences were a natural fit for his stories. He was wrong in thinking that he needed to write differently than he usually did in order to sell to a younger audience. The first book in the series, Dragon and Thief, felt like a lecture. Every time there was a big word, rather than trusting the reader to look it up or figure it out in context the word was defined in the narrative. He tried to do it cleverly by having the character look up words for definitions or having a character explain things to other characters but it felt condescending.
With the subsequent books he has grown into the genre much more fully and has reverted to his natural self. Which is a good thing indeed. Zahn is always full of great twists, beautiful character arcs and unique aliens.
With Dragon and Herdsman he feels much more comfortable with the young adult genre and, in fact, the only things that really distinguish it from his other work is that the protagonist is only fourteen and the book is barely three hundred pages long.
Jack Morgan is an orphan, raised by his uncle, the famous con-man and thief, Virgil Morgan. Uncle Virgil dies suddenly, leaving Jack with his ship, controlled by the AI computer that Virgil implanted with his own personality matrix. The computer, Uncle Virge, has the same cynical, every man for himself, a lie is better than a hundred truths, kind of attitude that Uncle Virgil had. In Dragon and Thief Jack meets Draycos, a K'da warrior poet. The K'da are a group of aliens that look very much like dragons of earth legends. They are fierce fighters and have very sharp claws and teeth. They have one major weakness, however. They can only survive about six hours without a host. A K'da must revert to a two dimensional form on the surface of their hosts skin – appearing like a detailed tattoo. There is a plot to destroy all of the K'da and it is apparently tied up in the upper forms of government, some of the mercenary groups and even part of the management of Braxton Universis, a large shipping company.
In the next two books Jack and Draycos infiltrate a mercenary group and sell themselves as slaves in an attempt to find information vital to the survival of Draycos' species. Draycos, in the meantime, takes it as his personal quest to educate Jack, his new host, in the morals of a poet warrior. Namely, stealing, lying and cheating are not acceptable means of survival.
In Dragon and Herdsman Jack and Draycos meet up with Allison Kayna, a friend of Jack's from when he worked as a mercenary. They are both on the run from one of the mercenary leaders and Jack offers to give Allison a ride to a rendezvous location where she says some friends are planning to meet her.
On Rho Scorvi they find that her friends are late and that the natives, the Erasvas, maintain herds of Phookas – which look exactly like K'da. Draycos and Jack are shocked. Draycos suddenly faces the possibility that his species has not always been highly advanced and cultured, but are possibly herd animals.
The mercenaries follow them and Jack, Allison, and Draycos are forced to flee into the forest, taking the herd of Phookas and their Erasvas hosts with them. After all the mercenaries want to exterminate the K'da, what would they do if they found a whole herd of them?
The rest of the book is pure Timothy Zahn genius. There are twists and counter twists. Draycos is forced to face the disturbing possibility that his people are naturally unintelligent. He even contemplates at one point that maybe the Phookas would be better off dead than scraping the dirt for grubs and scratching the bark off of trees. Jack is slowly learning to think of others without Draycos prompting and despite insistence to the contrary from Uncle Virge. There is one beautiful moment where he actually chides Draycos on his feeling of disgust for the Phookas, tipping the balance of moral tutor/student on its head.
Timothy Zahn's characters always figure out clever ways of dealing with problems and clues are always present in the narrative so that it is possible for the reader to come up with the same plan, given the information presented. I love this aspect of his books. Whenever he mentions a certain kind of plant or a marking on the side of a box I get a little thrill of anticipation for what's to come.
Timothy Zahn writes science fiction that is very light on science. There is no explanation of how faster than light travel works, there are no physics lessons buried within the story. That is not to say that there is silly science – no technobabble here – his books just aren't about the science.
What they are about is characters dealing with difficult situations to the best of their ability, and growing from the experience. His characters are always believably normal with a limited range of skills. Jack is a brilliant lock-pick (both physical and electronic) and an accomplished liar and a great actor (good for cons) and has great charisma – he is a lousy soldier, and a terrible scholar, skills that are made up for by Draycos and Allison.
Dragon and Herdsman is an excellent book that kept me entertained. It's kind of a standard of Timothy Zahn that I expect to have a lot of fun whenever I read one of his books. He always comes through.
(8/10)
He decided to give it a try and began writing the Dragonback Bargain series of young adult books.
Timothy Zahn, I posit, was wrong in his decision. He was not wrong in thinking that young adult audiences were a natural fit for his stories. He was wrong in thinking that he needed to write differently than he usually did in order to sell to a younger audience. The first book in the series, Dragon and Thief, felt like a lecture. Every time there was a big word, rather than trusting the reader to look it up or figure it out in context the word was defined in the narrative. He tried to do it cleverly by having the character look up words for definitions or having a character explain things to other characters but it felt condescending.
With the subsequent books he has grown into the genre much more fully and has reverted to his natural self. Which is a good thing indeed. Zahn is always full of great twists, beautiful character arcs and unique aliens.
With Dragon and Herdsman he feels much more comfortable with the young adult genre and, in fact, the only things that really distinguish it from his other work is that the protagonist is only fourteen and the book is barely three hundred pages long.
Jack Morgan is an orphan, raised by his uncle, the famous con-man and thief, Virgil Morgan. Uncle Virgil dies suddenly, leaving Jack with his ship, controlled by the AI computer that Virgil implanted with his own personality matrix. The computer, Uncle Virge, has the same cynical, every man for himself, a lie is better than a hundred truths, kind of attitude that Uncle Virgil had. In Dragon and Thief Jack meets Draycos, a K'da warrior poet. The K'da are a group of aliens that look very much like dragons of earth legends. They are fierce fighters and have very sharp claws and teeth. They have one major weakness, however. They can only survive about six hours without a host. A K'da must revert to a two dimensional form on the surface of their hosts skin – appearing like a detailed tattoo. There is a plot to destroy all of the K'da and it is apparently tied up in the upper forms of government, some of the mercenary groups and even part of the management of Braxton Universis, a large shipping company.
In the next two books Jack and Draycos infiltrate a mercenary group and sell themselves as slaves in an attempt to find information vital to the survival of Draycos' species. Draycos, in the meantime, takes it as his personal quest to educate Jack, his new host, in the morals of a poet warrior. Namely, stealing, lying and cheating are not acceptable means of survival.
In Dragon and Herdsman Jack and Draycos meet up with Allison Kayna, a friend of Jack's from when he worked as a mercenary. They are both on the run from one of the mercenary leaders and Jack offers to give Allison a ride to a rendezvous location where she says some friends are planning to meet her.
On Rho Scorvi they find that her friends are late and that the natives, the Erasvas, maintain herds of Phookas – which look exactly like K'da. Draycos and Jack are shocked. Draycos suddenly faces the possibility that his species has not always been highly advanced and cultured, but are possibly herd animals.
The mercenaries follow them and Jack, Allison, and Draycos are forced to flee into the forest, taking the herd of Phookas and their Erasvas hosts with them. After all the mercenaries want to exterminate the K'da, what would they do if they found a whole herd of them?
The rest of the book is pure Timothy Zahn genius. There are twists and counter twists. Draycos is forced to face the disturbing possibility that his people are naturally unintelligent. He even contemplates at one point that maybe the Phookas would be better off dead than scraping the dirt for grubs and scratching the bark off of trees. Jack is slowly learning to think of others without Draycos prompting and despite insistence to the contrary from Uncle Virge. There is one beautiful moment where he actually chides Draycos on his feeling of disgust for the Phookas, tipping the balance of moral tutor/student on its head.
Timothy Zahn's characters always figure out clever ways of dealing with problems and clues are always present in the narrative so that it is possible for the reader to come up with the same plan, given the information presented. I love this aspect of his books. Whenever he mentions a certain kind of plant or a marking on the side of a box I get a little thrill of anticipation for what's to come.
Timothy Zahn writes science fiction that is very light on science. There is no explanation of how faster than light travel works, there are no physics lessons buried within the story. That is not to say that there is silly science – no technobabble here – his books just aren't about the science.
What they are about is characters dealing with difficult situations to the best of their ability, and growing from the experience. His characters are always believably normal with a limited range of skills. Jack is a brilliant lock-pick (both physical and electronic) and an accomplished liar and a great actor (good for cons) and has great charisma – he is a lousy soldier, and a terrible scholar, skills that are made up for by Draycos and Allison.
Dragon and Herdsman is an excellent book that kept me entertained. It's kind of a standard of Timothy Zahn that I expect to have a lot of fun whenever I read one of his books. He always comes through.
(8/10)
February 15, 2013
K'da poet-warrior Draycos requires time like a tattoo every six hours on his host, orphan Jack Morgan 14, and tries to teach the former thief con-artist his honorable ethics. When former fellow student Alison demonstrates her superior mercenary training and rescues them from an ambush, she provides fuel credits to planet Rho Scorvi. Fat lethargic native Erassvas have K'da lookalike symbiotes, dumb mute Phookas rooting for grubs. After the Uncle Virge intelligence pilots their spaceship Essenay down in a blazing explosion to silence, Jack herds the docile animals to safety in the unexplored forest, while enemy Colonel Frost sends soldiers against them.
In the series, a boy takes on different roles, to mature from the selfish amoral attitude of his Uncle Virgil, guardian since the age of three, to the sacrificial ethics of his alien mentor. Whatever the dangers from wild or humans, brains and tactics take precedence over impossible brute force. While running, they evade, trick, and ambush. Our side tries not to kill; Frost has orders to take (only) Jack alive.
Odd spellings and names are thankfully few. Like the "bellwether" green scaled flock leader is nicknamed "Greenie", could not double tusk "horn-headed plant-eaters .. roundish bodies .. mouselike faces" p194 be dubbed "Hornies"? Everything is original and unpredictable, believable twists, co-operation rather than deus ex machina saviors. The ending is an ambiguous terrifying cliff-hanger, pulls the rug out. Who can we trust?
So many questions keep adding on from the beginning, so few books left. I too wondered why Essenay sounds like initials S and A. In previous books, ship was called "Uncle Virge" for the artificial intelligence pilot based on swindler Uncle Virgil, keeper of secrets. Alison asks why the ship is so fancy, costly, and upgraded - we believe, like Jack, that guardian Virgil was expert at his profession. Does that have something to do with the big bad Neverlin from Braxton Universis corporation chasing Jack to get his uncle? Why are do vicious Valahgua want to wipe out the K'da and their host Shontines? How can Jack help Draycos save the approaching threatened refugee ships from the Death Rays?
The Study Guide appendix is designed for teacher adaptation more than individual exploration. What is Latin "tabula rasa"? Blank slate in nature vs nurture. To "Have you ever acted as a herdsman to others in your life?", answer "no" is easiest, adds nought. Activities - draw, write, debate, discuss - mostly require class, peers, audience.
Typos: only in Guide. Tsk. Those pesky sans serif fonts make If look like It.
p303 3. jack is Jack
p304 15. "It yes" is "If yes"
16. "if .. ought he to have allowed her" is "if .. should he have allowed her"
In the series, a boy takes on different roles, to mature from the selfish amoral attitude of his Uncle Virgil, guardian since the age of three, to the sacrificial ethics of his alien mentor. Whatever the dangers from wild or humans, brains and tactics take precedence over impossible brute force. While running, they evade, trick, and ambush. Our side tries not to kill; Frost has orders to take (only) Jack alive.
Odd spellings and names are thankfully few. Like the "bellwether" green scaled flock leader is nicknamed "Greenie", could not double tusk "horn-headed plant-eaters .. roundish bodies .. mouselike faces" p194 be dubbed "Hornies"? Everything is original and unpredictable, believable twists, co-operation rather than deus ex machina saviors. The ending is an ambiguous terrifying cliff-hanger, pulls the rug out. Who can we trust?
So many questions keep adding on from the beginning, so few books left. I too wondered why Essenay sounds like initials S and A. In previous books, ship was called "Uncle Virge" for the artificial intelligence pilot based on swindler Uncle Virgil, keeper of secrets. Alison asks why the ship is so fancy, costly, and upgraded - we believe, like Jack, that guardian Virgil was expert at his profession. Does that have something to do with the big bad Neverlin from Braxton Universis corporation chasing Jack to get his uncle? Why are do vicious Valahgua want to wipe out the K'da and their host Shontines? How can Jack help Draycos save the approaching threatened refugee ships from the Death Rays?
The Study Guide appendix is designed for teacher adaptation more than individual exploration. What is Latin "tabula rasa"? Blank slate in nature vs nurture. To "Have you ever acted as a herdsman to others in your life?", answer "no" is easiest, adds nought. Activities - draw, write, debate, discuss - mostly require class, peers, audience.
Typos: only in Guide. Tsk. Those pesky sans serif fonts make If look like It.
p303 3. jack is Jack
p304 15. "It yes" is "If yes"
16. "if .. ought he to have allowed her" is "if .. should he have allowed her"
September 1, 2022
4.5 stars - In this fourth book of the series, Jack and Draycos visit a distant planet with their friend, Alison Kayna. They discover a herd of creatures called Phooka that appear similar to K'da like Draycos. However, the creatures are insentient, unintelligent, slow, and behave like animals with no language. Draycos wonders if his people, the K'da, could have evolved from this lower animal form. He questions what that could mean for his species in the future.
The mercenaries from the Malison Ring track Jack and Draycos to the planet, forcing them all to flee into the dense forest. Jack must herd the Phooka through miles of dangerous terrain to save them from being slaughtered by the mercenaries.
This book took the whole series to another level. There are so many questions about the Phooka and what they are capable of. Draycos is really agitated by the idea that the entire history of his species could be a lie.
Alison and Jack begin to trust each other a little bit more, and Alison becomes an integral part of their plans. But there is still that little nagging question: Is Alison really on their side? She obviously has her own plans and objectives that she is keeping secret, so why is she really teaming up with Jack and Draycos?
There is also something weird going on between Jack and Draycos. They seem to almost read each other's thoughts because they work so closely together. But are they really sharing thoughts in some telepathic way, or is it just that Jack is starting to believe in Draycos' honorable warrior ethic? Draycos seems to be getting stronger and smarter, and Jack is much more confident and mature. Are they influencing each other in some mystical way? I love that this book opens up a lot of new questions to be answered as the series progresses.
There are so many clever plot twists as they are dodging the mercenaries, skulking through the forest and avoiding their carefully planned ambushes. They get into some really sticky situations with bullets flying everywhere, but they are so resourceful and smart to figure out ways to use the enemies' weapons against them. It's really exciting and full of action!
I love all the characters, the plot, the themes, the writing style! Everything about this book is just so delightful. I can’t wait to read more from the series!
The mercenaries from the Malison Ring track Jack and Draycos to the planet, forcing them all to flee into the dense forest. Jack must herd the Phooka through miles of dangerous terrain to save them from being slaughtered by the mercenaries.
This book took the whole series to another level. There are so many questions about the Phooka and what they are capable of. Draycos is really agitated by the idea that the entire history of his species could be a lie.
Alison and Jack begin to trust each other a little bit more, and Alison becomes an integral part of their plans. But there is still that little nagging question: Is Alison really on their side? She obviously has her own plans and objectives that she is keeping secret, so why is she really teaming up with Jack and Draycos?
There is also something weird going on between Jack and Draycos. They seem to almost read each other's thoughts because they work so closely together. But are they really sharing thoughts in some telepathic way, or is it just that Jack is starting to believe in Draycos' honorable warrior ethic? Draycos seems to be getting stronger and smarter, and Jack is much more confident and mature. Are they influencing each other in some mystical way? I love that this book opens up a lot of new questions to be answered as the series progresses.
There are so many clever plot twists as they are dodging the mercenaries, skulking through the forest and avoiding their carefully planned ambushes. They get into some really sticky situations with bullets flying everywhere, but they are so resourceful and smart to figure out ways to use the enemies' weapons against them. It's really exciting and full of action!
I love all the characters, the plot, the themes, the writing style! Everything about this book is just so delightful. I can’t wait to read more from the series!
July 7, 2017
Things really pick up in this one, as our heroes re-encounter Allison (the girl from the Mercenary company in the 2nd book), and end up on a forest planet running from the Maison Ring company as they try to save what appear to be a lost group of K'da that have sorta devolved into herd-like animals.
There are LOTS of new bits to the story, including exploring the nature of the K'da relationship with his host, and lots of moral musings on what makes a person (or dragon) a person.. very cool stuff, and far more deep and thought provoking then the earlier books.. this seems to really kick off what the story is meant to be about.
With the (not unexpected) twist at the end, the last two books should make for an exciting ending to the series.
There are LOTS of new bits to the story, including exploring the nature of the K'da relationship with his host, and lots of moral musings on what makes a person (or dragon) a person.. very cool stuff, and far more deep and thought provoking then the earlier books.. this seems to really kick off what the story is meant to be about.
With the (not unexpected) twist at the end, the last two books should make for an exciting ending to the series.
October 20, 2019
The plot twists and turns in the exciting fourth book in the dragon back series. Jack and Draycos head to Rho Scorvi to drop off Alison, and in doing so find something that twists drayco's view of himself and his fellow k'da. This book is heartwarming, suspenseful, and exciting. You will find yourself unable to stop as jack embarks on an amazing journey across an unknown world to save himself, a helpless tribe, and an entire race. This book is 301 pages long.
March 31, 2019
Fourteen year old boys still don’t make good plans. After escaping from the Brummgan slavers, the Chookook family, with a healthy dose of good fortune, Jack infiltrates another mercenary organization in order to steal their files. This time, Jack and Draycos know where to look because of an act of mercy that Draycos insisted upon back in Volume 1: Draycos took a few seconds to prop up a man he had disabled so that the mercenary wouldn’t burn to death upon the ground heated by the crash of his ship.
In doing so, Draycos instantiates something very much like the jus ad bello criteria of the Catholic Church that govern just conduct in war.
What Catholic military doctrine does resemble is the criteria that well-run civilian police forces articulate regarding the use of deadly force. As the nightly television news will tell you, rules of this sort often work imperfectly. However, they do make sense for any law-governed society in which the authorities, too, can be held responsible for their actions.
So far as I know, Zahn isn’t Catholic. I guess that he simply used medieval chivalric ideal as an example for Draycos, and in some typically thorough research, brought this along for the ride. What I can’t even begin to guess is whether he developed it into a more modern rendition on his own, or if he used another source.
Reading something like The Song of Roland with the eyes of an early twenty-first century American, it is hard to avoid the impression that Roland is a bit of a chump. Roland’s last stand is certainly dramatic, but he could have blown that horn earlier and saved everyone a lot of trouble. But his knightly honor wouldn’t let him call for help carelessly. To do so would be to admit weakness, which would shame him in the eyes of his peers. Roland is mostly concerned with defending his honor, defined as mutual respect among a society of equals [warriors]. If your peers don’t see or recognize this kind of honor, it very much doesn’t truly exist.
Draycos’ ideas of honor on the other hand, are a little more practical than Roland’s. Draycos is perfectly willing to retreat without shame in the face of a superior force, or seek to avoid combat when defeat is more likely than victory. He is, on the other hand, is acutely interested in defending abstract ideals, even when no one is looking, even when it actively works against his obvious interests. This is guilt culture, rather than shame culture, in the context of war. In the Christian West, chivalry was one of the stages by which shame cultures with a warlike bent turned into guilt cultures with an interest in defending the weak and defenseless, even when they mean you harm.
In the twelve or so centuries since Hruodland, captain of the Breton Marches, made a last stand that was told for a thousand years, Catholic thinking on war has tended toward a police model, where minimum force is used to achieve the objective at hand. This is very much the model Draycos uses, except that in his culture, he personally combines the prerogatives of judge and jury and executioner in one, which is a bit unsettling to Jack, and probably would be to most of Zahn’s readers, modern Westerners, who are accustomed to a separation of powers model.
However, Western thinking on war by those who actively practice it doesn’t necessary track well with the development of Catholic Just War doctrine. Victor Davis Hanson made the argument that going back to the Classical Greeks, the Western way of war was to seek decisive battle which destroyed the enemy [or at least his ability to fight]. What this looks like shouldn’t be at all unfamiliar to any educated Westerner, because it is how we [the Allies] waged World War II.
We crushed our enemies, until they had no recourse. We burned their cities, without remorse. I’m not talking about nuclear weapons either, which don’t actually rise to the level of the enormity I am talking about. This was what Jerry Pournelle called WARRE. Warre to the knife, fire bombs, nuclear weapons, death and destruction. I am not sure that Hanson made his argument in quite the way he meant to, but I think it is true that the West has a tendency to do this.
Draycos, despite being on the losing end of an interstellar war, is too high minded to embrace the scorched earth tactics of his enemies. Even though that war involved the death of something like 90-95% of his people. We were not so generous to our enemies.
That highmindedness is put to the test here, in Dragon and Herdsman, when Jack and Draycos, fleeing from angry mercs who caught them in the act, stumble upon a colony of Draycos’ people on a remote world. Except, they aren’t really his people, in the cultural sense. These phooka are physically the same as Draycos, but in isolation, they have regressed to a state of mute inactivity, unable to speak, and ignorant of the proud glories of K’da history.
Draycos is stunned and appalled to find his brethren reduced to such a state. Draycos’ sense of honor, like cast iron, can be strong, but also brittle. It is especially endangered when a core assumption, like the inherent nobility of his people, is undermined. Fortunately, Jack’s more pragmatic [self-serving even] sense of ethics provides cushion and flexibility in the same way that a blade can be made more durable by combining hard steel for the edge with mild steel for the spine, taking the best properties of both.
For Jack and Draycos, the process by which this works is not simply conversation and time. They are each becoming more like one another, so much so that Jack is starting to have some of Draycos’ warrior’s spirit [and tactical knowledge], while Draycos now has the resiliency born of living life in the shadows. The phooka are likewise slow of body and of mind because the hosts they found on remote Rho Scorvi are dimwitted and indolent.
There is something special about Jack and Draycos, and in some way their meeting was providential. And now we have another piece of the puzzle as to why this might be.
In doing so, Draycos instantiates something very much like the jus ad bello criteria of the Catholic Church that govern just conduct in war.
What Catholic military doctrine does resemble is the criteria that well-run civilian police forces articulate regarding the use of deadly force. As the nightly television news will tell you, rules of this sort often work imperfectly. However, they do make sense for any law-governed society in which the authorities, too, can be held responsible for their actions.
So far as I know, Zahn isn’t Catholic. I guess that he simply used medieval chivalric ideal as an example for Draycos, and in some typically thorough research, brought this along for the ride. What I can’t even begin to guess is whether he developed it into a more modern rendition on his own, or if he used another source.
Reading something like The Song of Roland with the eyes of an early twenty-first century American, it is hard to avoid the impression that Roland is a bit of a chump. Roland’s last stand is certainly dramatic, but he could have blown that horn earlier and saved everyone a lot of trouble. But his knightly honor wouldn’t let him call for help carelessly. To do so would be to admit weakness, which would shame him in the eyes of his peers. Roland is mostly concerned with defending his honor, defined as mutual respect among a society of equals [warriors]. If your peers don’t see or recognize this kind of honor, it very much doesn’t truly exist.
Draycos’ ideas of honor on the other hand, are a little more practical than Roland’s. Draycos is perfectly willing to retreat without shame in the face of a superior force, or seek to avoid combat when defeat is more likely than victory. He is, on the other hand, is acutely interested in defending abstract ideals, even when no one is looking, even when it actively works against his obvious interests. This is guilt culture, rather than shame culture, in the context of war. In the Christian West, chivalry was one of the stages by which shame cultures with a warlike bent turned into guilt cultures with an interest in defending the weak and defenseless, even when they mean you harm.
In the twelve or so centuries since Hruodland, captain of the Breton Marches, made a last stand that was told for a thousand years, Catholic thinking on war has tended toward a police model, where minimum force is used to achieve the objective at hand. This is very much the model Draycos uses, except that in his culture, he personally combines the prerogatives of judge and jury and executioner in one, which is a bit unsettling to Jack, and probably would be to most of Zahn’s readers, modern Westerners, who are accustomed to a separation of powers model.
However, Western thinking on war by those who actively practice it doesn’t necessary track well with the development of Catholic Just War doctrine. Victor Davis Hanson made the argument that going back to the Classical Greeks, the Western way of war was to seek decisive battle which destroyed the enemy [or at least his ability to fight]. What this looks like shouldn’t be at all unfamiliar to any educated Westerner, because it is how we [the Allies] waged World War II.
We crushed our enemies, until they had no recourse. We burned their cities, without remorse. I’m not talking about nuclear weapons either, which don’t actually rise to the level of the enormity I am talking about. This was what Jerry Pournelle called WARRE. Warre to the knife, fire bombs, nuclear weapons, death and destruction. I am not sure that Hanson made his argument in quite the way he meant to, but I think it is true that the West has a tendency to do this.
Draycos, despite being on the losing end of an interstellar war, is too high minded to embrace the scorched earth tactics of his enemies. Even though that war involved the death of something like 90-95% of his people. We were not so generous to our enemies.
That highmindedness is put to the test here, in Dragon and Herdsman, when Jack and Draycos, fleeing from angry mercs who caught them in the act, stumble upon a colony of Draycos’ people on a remote world. Except, they aren’t really his people, in the cultural sense. These phooka are physically the same as Draycos, but in isolation, they have regressed to a state of mute inactivity, unable to speak, and ignorant of the proud glories of K’da history.
Draycos is stunned and appalled to find his brethren reduced to such a state. Draycos’ sense of honor, like cast iron, can be strong, but also brittle. It is especially endangered when a core assumption, like the inherent nobility of his people, is undermined. Fortunately, Jack’s more pragmatic [self-serving even] sense of ethics provides cushion and flexibility in the same way that a blade can be made more durable by combining hard steel for the edge with mild steel for the spine, taking the best properties of both.
For Jack and Draycos, the process by which this works is not simply conversation and time. They are each becoming more like one another, so much so that Jack is starting to have some of Draycos’ warrior’s spirit [and tactical knowledge], while Draycos now has the resiliency born of living life in the shadows. The phooka are likewise slow of body and of mind because the hosts they found on remote Rho Scorvi are dimwitted and indolent.
There is something special about Jack and Draycos, and in some way their meeting was providential. And now we have another piece of the puzzle as to why this might be.
March 30, 2013
Please vote on list Best Timothy Zahn Novels
4.5 stars. Not quite as good as the previous 3 entries in the Dragonback series but still great. This one focuses more on character development and exploring the relationship between K'da and their hosts, rather than advancing the overall plot of the series. That's not a bad thing though because I was still engaged throughout the novel, and it was cool seeing Jack's character continue to develop. I also liked learning more about the K'da with the introduction of the Phookas. Loved the twist at the end, looking forward to reading the next book.
4.5 stars. Not quite as good as the previous 3 entries in the Dragonback series but still great. This one focuses more on character development and exploring the relationship between K'da and their hosts, rather than advancing the overall plot of the series. That's not a bad thing though because I was still engaged throughout the novel, and it was cool seeing Jack's character continue to develop. I also liked learning more about the K'da with the introduction of the Phookas. Loved the twist at the end, looking forward to reading the next book.
July 4, 2023
These books are such a nice breath of fresh air. #4 finally brings back an Epilogue character, and explores more the nature of the K'da symbiotic relationship--and in a way that I was really excited to see. The story is pretty nonstop, and I read it in two solid sittings. The epilogue-y section is again really ominous, and the whole book had me guessing at things that probably won't be answered until endgame. Two more to go!
February 28, 2014
The fun continues! This book is more of a side quest in the series, but it's still really good to read, and we learn more about the K'da people. A character from earlier in the series also makes a reappearance.
February 28, 2024
As Jack continues to try to help Draycos, the dragon-like symbiont that uses him for a host, track down who killed his people, the pair's next attempt to track down information lands them in a cell. But when they're broken out by an unlikely rescuer, Draycos is shocked and dismayed to find a primitive herd of his own race on the planet they escape to.
Though this installment of the series didn't really further the overall plot much, the discovery of the Phookas (the primitive K'da) was an intriguing enough departure for me, considering that Draycos was supposedly the first of his kind to come to the area. Though in the end, I'm not entirely sure what Zahn was going for with these creatures or if they will come into play at all in the future, the progression from completely primitive to something more drives the story well enough. I'm definitely no fan of Alison Kayna's now (she's the one who rescues them early in the book), and really hope to learn more about her and soon. However, the next book looks like it will also be quite the departure, which is baffling, considering that there's only one book left in the series after that. Fortunately, the books are fairly quick and simple reads, especially for sci-fi, because at this point, all I can do is keep going and hope that the next book has at least some answers after all. I don't mean to imply that this book was bad, though, since I did give it 4 stars. Maybe just not as satisfying as I would hope for at this point in the series.
Though this installment of the series didn't really further the overall plot much, the discovery of the Phookas (the primitive K'da) was an intriguing enough departure for me, considering that Draycos was supposedly the first of his kind to come to the area. Though in the end, I'm not entirely sure what Zahn was going for with these creatures or if they will come into play at all in the future, the progression from completely primitive to something more drives the story well enough. I'm definitely no fan of Alison Kayna's now (she's the one who rescues them early in the book), and really hope to learn more about her and soon. However, the next book looks like it will also be quite the departure, which is baffling, considering that there's only one book left in the series after that. Fortunately, the books are fairly quick and simple reads, especially for sci-fi, because at this point, all I can do is keep going and hope that the next book has at least some answers after all. I don't mean to imply that this book was bad, though, since I did give it 4 stars. Maybe just not as satisfying as I would hope for at this point in the series.
March 16, 2024
As the other books, this is YA. Jack is 14 years old, flying around the galaxy in the ship the used to be his con-man Uncle Vergil's. Vergil is dead, but the AI running the ship is based on his personality. In the first book in the series, Jack became the host of a K'da Dragon Warrior. The K'da can exist as a 2 dimensional tattoo on the body of their host or can be three dimensional and interact with the outside world. The K'da, Draycos, is the sole survivor of the forerunners of a race that was forced out of their home and moving to a new planet, which had been sold to them. They were escaping another race of evil beings who had a weapon called Death which was all powerful.
In this book, Jack and Draycos discover a group of K'da who have used a species of gatherers for hosts and appear to have lost all their intelligence and need to be herded by Jack as he tries to find the location that the fleet of K'da ships will emerge from hyperspace in order to try to prevent them being ambushed.
In this book, Jack and Draycos discover a group of K'da who have used a species of gatherers for hosts and appear to have lost all their intelligence and need to be herded by Jack as he tries to find the location that the fleet of K'da ships will emerge from hyperspace in order to try to prevent them being ambushed.
January 28, 2021
Check out my blog, One Man Book Club
The Value of a Star: Ratings Explained
STOP EVERYTHING!!!
Are you telling me there's a ScyFy series written by the king of Star Wars novels about an orphan with his own AI-controlled spaceship AND who has a symbiont relationship with a dragon warrior-poet who lives on his back as a giant golden tatoo?
Yes. Yes I am.
The story was a blast, and I'm a sucker for dragons. Slightly unfortunately, I found the Dragonback series to be well written for the demographic it's targeted for--upper middle grade--but not so well written for my grown up expectations. The writing and plot were both terribly simplistic. Conclusions to conflicts were resolved with unrealistic ease. The characters discovered or revealed a new skill that saved the day exactly when it was needed. The ebooks had an annoying number of misspelled words and misplaced punctuation. BUT, as I usually find with fun middle-grade stories, once I realigned expectations, I sat back, kicked-off my shoes, and enjoyed the story.
By the end of book 6 I was perfectly happy with the resolution and how things were tied up. The annoying things stayed annoying, and there was much more fiction than science. But the 13-year-old nerd in me was too happy to be reading about a quick thinking, 14-year-old thieving conman, his AI powered spaceship, and an awesome poet-warrior dragon living in a tatoo on his back!
Do you have a 13-year-old nerd somewhere inside of you? Or maybe you are a 13-year-0ld nerd! Either way, I bet you're going to enjoy this fun space romp. I did!
No content issues at all.
Best for 12 and up.
Happy Reading!
The Value of a Star: Ratings Explained
STOP EVERYTHING!!!
Are you telling me there's a ScyFy series written by the king of Star Wars novels about an orphan with his own AI-controlled spaceship AND who has a symbiont relationship with a dragon warrior-poet who lives on his back as a giant golden tatoo?
Yes. Yes I am.
The story was a blast, and I'm a sucker for dragons. Slightly unfortunately, I found the Dragonback series to be well written for the demographic it's targeted for--upper middle grade--but not so well written for my grown up expectations. The writing and plot were both terribly simplistic. Conclusions to conflicts were resolved with unrealistic ease. The characters discovered or revealed a new skill that saved the day exactly when it was needed. The ebooks had an annoying number of misspelled words and misplaced punctuation. BUT, as I usually find with fun middle-grade stories, once I realigned expectations, I sat back, kicked-off my shoes, and enjoyed the story.
By the end of book 6 I was perfectly happy with the resolution and how things were tied up. The annoying things stayed annoying, and there was much more fiction than science. But the 13-year-old nerd in me was too happy to be reading about a quick thinking, 14-year-old thieving conman, his AI powered spaceship, and an awesome poet-warrior dragon living in a tatoo on his back!
Do you have a 13-year-old nerd somewhere inside of you? Or maybe you are a 13-year-0ld nerd! Either way, I bet you're going to enjoy this fun space romp. I did!
No content issues at all.
Best for 12 and up.
Happy Reading!
December 20, 2017
Zahn, Timothy Dragon and Herdsman, 299 p. Tom Doherty Associates – 4th in the Dragonback series.
When one of Jack Morgan’s schemes to get information about the K’da enemies fails, he is joined in flight by Alice Kayna from his mercenary days. The group flees to a planet where they discover primitive K’da, Phooka, which they must protect also they also try to escape their enemies. Ambushes, sneak attacks, stealthy moves and quick thinking help this book move along.
As this is the fourth book in the series, I hope we are nearing the end, as only one major plot point was revealed and that one was a surprise for the last couple of pages of the book. Jack is resourceful enough and Dracos is smart enough that I could wish for a little more. Not the best of the series. In fact, the author has yet to top number one!
MS, HS – ADVISABLE (but only if you already own the series)
When one of Jack Morgan’s schemes to get information about the K’da enemies fails, he is joined in flight by Alice Kayna from his mercenary days. The group flees to a planet where they discover primitive K’da, Phooka, which they must protect also they also try to escape their enemies. Ambushes, sneak attacks, stealthy moves and quick thinking help this book move along.
As this is the fourth book in the series, I hope we are nearing the end, as only one major plot point was revealed and that one was a surprise for the last couple of pages of the book. Jack is resourceful enough and Dracos is smart enough that I could wish for a little more. Not the best of the series. In fact, the author has yet to top number one!
MS, HS – ADVISABLE (but only if you already own the series)
December 12, 2024
The 4th book of the Dragonback series feels like a slide in a different direction but also sets up for the last two books of the series.
While the book happens in just a few days (or maybe even a week or so), the pacing of the book feels like a breather from the rest of the series. Maybe it's because of the setting or watching Jack take a different approach to things, but I enjoyed seeing a different side to Jack. It's also a good coming-of-age book as well. Not everyone knows what they want to do when they are older - so the best way to learn is to try it out.
The discovery of the Phookas clearly was to introduce more K'da to the series. While I enjoy Draycos, it's interesting to see the vast difference between him and the others of his race. His opinions on the Phookas does show how others are treated differently by others based on some sort of characteristic.
I also have opinions on including Alison more in the series. She is not really a likeable character, but I will have to read the rest of the series to see if that is intentional or not.
Overall, this book felt both slower than the other books yet had plenty of action. I can't wait to see where the series goes.
While the book happens in just a few days (or maybe even a week or so), the pacing of the book feels like a breather from the rest of the series. Maybe it's because of the setting or watching Jack take a different approach to things, but I enjoyed seeing a different side to Jack. It's also a good coming-of-age book as well. Not everyone knows what they want to do when they are older - so the best way to learn is to try it out.
The discovery of the Phookas clearly was to introduce more K'da to the series. While I enjoy Draycos, it's interesting to see the vast difference between him and the others of his race. His opinions on the Phookas does show how others are treated differently by others based on some sort of characteristic.
I also have opinions on including Alison more in the series. She is not really a likeable character, but I will have to read the rest of the series to see if that is intentional or not.
Overall, this book felt both slower than the other books yet had plenty of action. I can't wait to see where the series goes.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
August 13, 2022
Just read his biographical notes, looks like I missed Timothy Zahn at Michigan State by a month or two... small world. Anyhow, I am enjoying this series, which would really appeal to young boys. Not that girls wouldn't enjoy it too, but... it's hard to find good literature that would engage boys and keep them reading. Without farts. (mostly)
May 15, 2024
The ending!!!! I wasn't expecting that twist 😳. I loved this book, I had put the series on pause late last year so to finally pick up the next book was a welcome break from fantasy with some science fiction. More and more seems to be uncovered and there's only 2 more to go. Looking forward to seeing where the next two end up.
January 1, 2019
I enjoyed the setting of this novel a lot, and I loved the return of Alison! I love the little flashes of foreshadowing and later plot development we get, too. I'm excited to see how all of it ties together in the end, but I have to wait for my hold at the library to come through!
March 8, 2019
I love this book... But the ending! GAH! The ending messes me up trying to figure it out.
April 20, 2020
I’m loving this series. Each book has a surprisingly unique plot arc while still fitting in with the greater plot and character arcs. So fun!!!
July 12, 2021
I didn't feel connected to any of the characters in this book. Towards the end, I caught myself just sort of skimming it, waiting for it to get better. Overall, just very boring.
March 2, 2022
Probably my favorite so far of the series - lots of added mysteries and a cliffhanger ending.
March 5, 2022
This one was a little less plausible—the discovery of the Phookas? and also, Alison is just a little too slick. But he continues to come up with fun twists.
October 13, 2023
Best in the series so far
December 13, 2025
Good. For teens or tweens. I ended up looking up a synopsis of the following book so I would have closure, as this ends definitely mid-adventure. It's good, just a little unsurprising to me.
June 5, 2008
So, after my last post, I realized that I kind of liked the idea of going through a book by each of my top five authors. And since I had just done a YA Leguin novel, it seemed only fair to follow it with another YA novel; this time, I went to Timothy Zahn, specifically back to his Dragonback series.
For those who don’t feel like playing catch up: the Dragonback series is a Young Adult Science fiction series by Timothy Zahn, which follows the adventures of a young con artist/thief named Jack Morgan, and the alien warrior Draycos who has become bonded to him. Their bond is a literal, physical one; Draycos’s people, the K’da, are symbiotic creatures, incapable of surviving for long without a host to attach themselves to. When Draycos bonds with Jack in a moment of desperation, he drags Jack into a world of adventure and intrigue.
After their first adventure together, Jack and Draycos begin a long, galaxy wide quest to figure out who attacked the scouting party Draycos was part of, and why, before the rest of Draycos and his people are annihilated.
The latest book, Dragon and Herdsman, sends Jack and Draycos on an unexpected wilderness expedition, after an attempt to hack into the database of the Malison Ring mercenary company. Rescued by his former mercenary companion Alison Kayna, Jack gives her a ride to a nearby planet, only to be ambushed and forced into hiding by the arrival of a group of Malison Ring soldiers.
Ambushes and mercenaries aren’t the only thing that Jack finds on Rho Scorvi—he also discovers the Phooka, a race of creatures that bear a striking resemblance to the K’da, but lacking any apparent intelligence. On the run from the Malison ring mercenaries, Jack must also become a herdsman to a race of creatures that may be some sort of remnant of Draycos’s people.
Like many of Zahn’s books, and the Dragonback series in particular, this is fast-paced space opera at it’s height. Jack and Draycos are propelled through the wilds of Rho Scorvi with very little opportunity to catch their breath—but enough time to do some interesting introspections about the nature of Draycos, the K’da, and the Phookas. There’s a bit more development of Alison, who promises to be an interesting character in her own right, and a great deal of development of Jack, a character who gets (appropriately) more interesting with each novel in this series.
For an adult reader, this isn’t really a challenging read, nor is it necessarily deep and thoughtful. But it is fun, exciting, and filled with some great plot twists (the book ends on a great twist/pseudo-cliffhanger). If you enjoy Zahn’s work, or are just looking for a fun, light read, there are a lot worse places to start than this.
For those who don’t feel like playing catch up: the Dragonback series is a Young Adult Science fiction series by Timothy Zahn, which follows the adventures of a young con artist/thief named Jack Morgan, and the alien warrior Draycos who has become bonded to him. Their bond is a literal, physical one; Draycos’s people, the K’da, are symbiotic creatures, incapable of surviving for long without a host to attach themselves to. When Draycos bonds with Jack in a moment of desperation, he drags Jack into a world of adventure and intrigue.
After their first adventure together, Jack and Draycos begin a long, galaxy wide quest to figure out who attacked the scouting party Draycos was part of, and why, before the rest of Draycos and his people are annihilated.
The latest book, Dragon and Herdsman, sends Jack and Draycos on an unexpected wilderness expedition, after an attempt to hack into the database of the Malison Ring mercenary company. Rescued by his former mercenary companion Alison Kayna, Jack gives her a ride to a nearby planet, only to be ambushed and forced into hiding by the arrival of a group of Malison Ring soldiers.
Ambushes and mercenaries aren’t the only thing that Jack finds on Rho Scorvi—he also discovers the Phooka, a race of creatures that bear a striking resemblance to the K’da, but lacking any apparent intelligence. On the run from the Malison ring mercenaries, Jack must also become a herdsman to a race of creatures that may be some sort of remnant of Draycos’s people.
Like many of Zahn’s books, and the Dragonback series in particular, this is fast-paced space opera at it’s height. Jack and Draycos are propelled through the wilds of Rho Scorvi with very little opportunity to catch their breath—but enough time to do some interesting introspections about the nature of Draycos, the K’da, and the Phookas. There’s a bit more development of Alison, who promises to be an interesting character in her own right, and a great deal of development of Jack, a character who gets (appropriately) more interesting with each novel in this series.
For an adult reader, this isn’t really a challenging read, nor is it necessarily deep and thoughtful. But it is fun, exciting, and filled with some great plot twists (the book ends on a great twist/pseudo-cliffhanger). If you enjoy Zahn’s work, or are just looking for a fun, light read, there are a lot worse places to start than this.
May 11, 2018
Reader thoughts: The plot against the K'da really starts to become clear in this book as loose ends are connected and as the stakes in the race against time just keep climbing.
Alison Kayna reappears and begins to play a major role, which is way cool. Her secretive and sinister character is an appropriate backdrop to Jack's thief-turning-honest-hero outlook and Draycos's awesome poetwarrior ethic. We get to see Draycos being awesome and Alison being sneaky and Jack being all-around earnest.
We also learn more about k'da (did they come from phookas or vice versa?) and who is after Jack and who is working with the evil Valaghua.
I love the fight scene in the forest. Jack uses the enemy gun technology against them. They use phookas as decoy k'da. Draycos pretends to be a snake and also makes a spring trap out of a tree and scares off a kodiak bear. And all the while, Jack and Draycos have to keep the phooka herd safe, and they have to keep Alison from learning anything she's not supposed to know.
Oh, and I love the scene with Taneem and Jack and the water at the end, when she jumps off the plan and lands on his arm. It's brilliant.
Again, like with the other books in this series, they are even more awesome after you've read them a few times.
Writer thoughts: These books escalate. Not only do the books get better the more you read them, but they get better and better as you get further into the series. So, every time I return to these, I love them even more. (No, we will NOT compare fictional books to the Bible, but I will compare them to The Legend of Eli Monpress in that regard).
I've read a few series where the first book was the best, where the author almost seemed burned out after a book or two, used up all the good ideas about those characters. Some series have the same level of awesomeness (whether good, bad, or medium) all the way through. Some series are like this one, where you tell your friends that, "Yeah, the covers are terrible, and the first book is only 8 stars out of 10, but the whole series should be 11 stars out of ten!"
Alison Kayna reappears and begins to play a major role, which is way cool. Her secretive and sinister character is an appropriate backdrop to Jack's thief-turning-honest-hero outlook and Draycos's awesome poetwarrior ethic. We get to see Draycos being awesome and Alison being sneaky and Jack being all-around earnest.
We also learn more about k'da (did they come from phookas or vice versa?) and who is after Jack and who is working with the evil Valaghua.
I love the fight scene in the forest. Jack uses the enemy gun technology against them. They use phookas as decoy k'da. Draycos pretends to be a snake and also makes a spring trap out of a tree and scares off a kodiak bear. And all the while, Jack and Draycos have to keep the phooka herd safe, and they have to keep Alison from learning anything she's not supposed to know.
Oh, and I love the scene with Taneem and Jack and the water at the end, when she jumps off the plan and lands on his arm. It's brilliant.
Again, like with the other books in this series, they are even more awesome after you've read them a few times.
Writer thoughts: These books escalate. Not only do the books get better the more you read them, but they get better and better as you get further into the series. So, every time I return to these, I love them even more. (No, we will NOT compare fictional books to the Bible, but I will compare them to The Legend of Eli Monpress in that regard).
I've read a few series where the first book was the best, where the author almost seemed burned out after a book or two, used up all the good ideas about those characters. Some series have the same level of awesomeness (whether good, bad, or medium) all the way through. Some series are like this one, where you tell your friends that, "Yeah, the covers are terrible, and the first book is only 8 stars out of 10, but the whole series should be 11 stars out of ten!"
July 30, 2022
This is the first Dragonback novel that I can honestly say that I enjoyed front to back, all the way through. It was engaging, funny, intense, and had some great fight scenes. I’ve complained in the previous books that they never get closer to their goal, and here is no exception, but the story was so good that it didn’t matter. While it’s true that Draycos gets the best of the mercenaries a little too often, it’s also fair to say that he’s great at what he does. The Phookas were a great addition to the story, as they gave the main characters some much needed growth. It’s interesting how the symbiosis works, especially that it might go both ways, and a person can awaken a K’da. The trek through the forest could have been yet another dull romp around scenery, but the author manages to keep it interesting, with different methods to deal with the ambushes. It’s a good thing Jack is wanted alive, because they had many chances to kill him. The one thing I didn’t like about this book was the last segment, which seems like an unnecessary twist and could potentially ruin an otherwise excellent character. We’ll see.
October 29, 2014
At the conclusion of the last book, Jack picked up a passenger: none other than the enigmatic Alison. Agreeing to drop her off at an out of the way location turns into a chore far bigger than he could have anticipated when the mercenaries he's been tracking down decide to pay him a visit. Left without a ship and in the presence of aliens with a disturbing resemblance to Draycos, Jack takes on the role of a herder to guide everyone to safety.
Draycos has most of the moral issues this time around, which was a surprising yet refreshing change. The Phookas seem to be K'da, if one discounts the fact that they're scarcely better than cows at thinking. Draycos is offended by their stupidity, and acts on emotion as often as his warrior's creed. Jack is still developing a conscience, much to his own chagrin---and Draycos may have more to do with that than either of them suspect.
The plot continues to thicken at the fourth book in . . . the cliffhanger at the end finally did something relevant to the book it was inside . . . and that is an awful, awful way to let me know I got to the last book the library has. Thankfully, the next book comes out at the end of this month, so I'll be able to jump right in as soon as the library gets a copy. If I can hold off buying it for that long.
. . . Alison is nothing as predictable as she seems, although I'm still certain she was lying about her past, and I'd be interested to see what she doesn't want to tell Jack, besides the obvious. Highly Recommended.
Draycos has most of the moral issues this time around, which was a surprising yet refreshing change. The Phookas seem to be K'da, if one discounts the fact that they're scarcely better than cows at thinking. Draycos is offended by their stupidity, and acts on emotion as often as his warrior's creed. Jack is still developing a conscience, much to his own chagrin---and Draycos may have more to do with that than either of them suspect.
The plot continues to thicken at the fourth book in . . . the cliffhanger at the end finally did something relevant to the book it was inside . . . and that is an awful, awful way to let me know I got to the last book the library has. Thankfully, the next book comes out at the end of this month, so I'll be able to jump right in as soon as the library gets a copy. If I can hold off buying it for that long.
. . . Alison is nothing as predictable as she seems, although I'm still certain she was lying about her past, and I'd be interested to see what she doesn't want to tell Jack, besides the obvious. Highly Recommended.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 48 reviews