The Saint of Dragons
by Jason Hightman

Simon St. George has spent his entire life, as far as he remembers, at the Lighthouse School for Boys. He is hurt by the way all the other boys believe he is a poor orphan who is allowed to stay at the school out of charity. He knows, but cannot prove, that his parents are alive and paying his tuition. Only, this doesn’t make him feel any better, because it only means that his parents don’t want him around. He wouldn’t know them if he met them.

Which is why, when two different men show up at the Lighthouse School for Boys and claim to be Simon’s father, he isn’t sure which one to believe. He was starting to incline toward the rich-looking man in white, when the other guy – a wild, unkempt man with bad manners and an abrasive personality – pulls him onto the back of a horse and rides off into a foggy Halloween night.

If you’re trying to imagine Simon’s shock at this point, forget it. Bigger shocks are yet to come, like a new lifestyle onboard a Ship with No Name that sails with the aid of magical machines, while Simon gets to know his father – a dragon hunter named Aldric, who claims that Simon is the last of the line descended from the original St. George. Their mission together is to destroy the last of the dragons on earth – dragons who have learned to hide in the midst of the human population, stealing and hoarding and preying.

They begin by saving a beautiful woman from a fiery fate, and from there embark on a globetrotting battle against a conspiracy of fire-worms that could destroy the whole world. It all goes a bit fast for Simon, whose education so far has done little to prepare him for shooting crossbows, swinging swords, and vanquishing creatures full of ancient cunning and malice. Each dragon has its own interesting quirks, but the most dangerous dragon is the one who drives a wedge between father and son, and lures the boy to a gathering of unprecedented power and evil.

This is a funny, action-packed, fast-paced adventure with a bit of romance and a memorably rocky father-son relationship. The dragons are flamboyant (er, no pun intended), the magic is interesting, and there is charm and suspense to spare. What the story lacks in detail and credibility, it makes up with a modern fairy tale’s flair for deliberate absurdity and the unexpectedly realistic way the main characters never seem to say what they need to say to each other. For even while they are racing to save the world, the biggest monster Simon and Aldric have to vanquish exists between them.

Robbie Fischer
USA

Recommended Age: 12+

If you would like to contact Robbie, you may do so here.