Dragon's Blood
by Jane Yolen


This is the first novel in the Pit Dragon Trilogy that continues with Heart's Blood. The author has also written a Young Merlin Trilogy and a Tartan Magic trilogy, as well as a Starscape book entitled Briar Rose.

Picture the planet Austar IV, a dry forbidding world, and at one time a penal colony. One of the things mankind found on this nasty ball of sand and rock was a nearly extinct species--real dragons. And through breeding and training, the species has been revived--and a new form of popular entertainment, pit fighting and the gambling industry that surrounds it, has become the basis of a whole planet's economy.

Today (assuming "today" is sometime in the 26th century) it is a Protectorate, neither a full member of the Galactic Federation nor an independent world. Besides the pits andthe baggeries (don't ask) and the stew-shops, pretty much the rest of the planet is given over to dragon farms where the big, hot-blooded, winged worms are carefully bred, trained, and cared for.

Another holdover from the old days of the penal colony is the distinction between bond and free. Only now it is a more fluid distinction. Everyone who is "in bond" wears a bag around his neck, and when that little bag is filled with coins, he can buy his freedom and become a "master" himself.

One such bondboy is Jakkin, who works on a dragon farm belonging to one of the great dragon breeders of the time, Sarkkhan. Jakkin's ambition is to steal a dragon's egg (which isn't technically wrong, since very few of the eggs actually have a baby dragon in them), raise and train his own dragon, and enter it in the pits so he can buy his freedom and become his own man.

But this is complicated. It means sneaking around in the dead of night, covering up his tracks in the sand lest others find the oasis where his "snatchling" lives, finding food for the little beast, and figuring out how to turn a wild baby dragon into a trained fighter. It helps that he can communicate with it telepathically. But what doesn't help is that a girl named Akki, who stirs confusing desires in Jakkin, also knows his secret. Or that a sharp-eyed, really really mean old trainer has a grudge against him. Or that there are other winged lizards besides dragons, who would like to have his precious snatchling for breakfast...

This is an exciting and colorful fantasy tale with a charismatic young hero who could give Harry Potter a run for his money. BUT I think this book falls more in the category of "young adults" than "children's literature." Be advised, anyway: there is some mild sexual content, and the story also depicts drug use and somewhat graphic violence.

Robbie Fischer
Arizona USA

Recommended Age: 14+

11/17/04

Click here to return to The Book Trolley main page.

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


 
What are you looking forward to this summer?

 

LeakyCon Portland
QuidCon 2013
Joe Moses One Man Showses Tour
LeakyCon London

 

June 2003 - CBBC Newsround reports that 7,000 copies of Order of the Phoenix are stolen prior to its release, sparking controversy over the security of the books and the likelihood of a spoiler leak.
 
 

Question : Who is the author of Fantastic Beasts and Where To Find Them?
 
Rolf Scamander
Newt Scamander
Xenophilius Lovegood
 

Professor Kettleburn, our Care of Magical Creatures teacher, retired at the end of last year in order to enjoy more time with his remaining limbs.

Albus Dumbledore
Prisoner of Azkaban, Chapter 5, Page 93
J.K. Rowling said the Grangers and Potters were originally supposed to be neighbors in Godric's Hollow
 
 
Jason Isaacs' Birthday
June 6, 2013

OoTP (book) 10 Year Anniversary
June 21, 2013

Dudley Dursley's Birthday
June 23, 2013

LeakyCon Portland
June 27-30, 2013

Dobby's Birthday
June 28, 2013
Username :
Password :
 Sign Up
 Forgot Password ?
 
 
V-Day2013 Option II   VDay2013   holidays2012   MuggleNet OWL Exams  
April Fool's Day 2012   GilderoyVDay   Happy Holidays 2011   Pottermore: Slytherin  
Pottermore: Hufflepuff   Pottermore: Ravenclaw   Pottermore: Gryffindor   Quidditch World Cup  
Halloween 2011   DHnagini   DHelderwand   DH2cast  
DH1Trio   DH Voldemort   DH_Trio   Deathly Hallows - Hermione  
Burning Hogwarts   Wizarding World   Draco   Half-Blood Prince Trio  
Harry   Hermione   LEGO Harry Potter  
 
 
  Twitter   Facebook   RSS   Tumblr