Review: Storm-Dragon by Dave Freer

On a storm-tossed world, an unlikely friendship may bring salvation – or damnation!

Vann’s World is a volcanic ocean planet still experiencing its birth throes. The mineral rich tides that surge up to the few tiny islands are far stronger than those on Earth; due to the rich volcanic soil and ocean, almost anything will grow on Vann’s World. But this very richness means that the native animals – especially the predators – are hungry all the time.

This is why the “tide-tiers,” where the water drops and then rises as the tide retreats from the islands and then returns, are the most dangerous places to be on Vann’s World. There are three tide-tiers full of native plant and wildlife that can and will eat humans. Smart colonists stay out of the tide-tiers when the tide returns.

Young Skut Harkkson is smart. But today has been Too Much to deal with, so he escaped to the tide-tiers because it was as close as he could get to the life he left behind. Now the tide is coming in and he has minutes to get back to land or he is dead.

Then a small, wordless voice calls for help….

The Story

Skut and his parents used to live on their own island farm, but when the Ghats from the planet of Ghatistan started a war, they and the other outlying farm families were repatriated to Highpoint Island for safety. Highpoint is the closest thing Vann’s World has to a capitol city but its main purpose is to be a tourist trap, so what bureaucracy the planet has as a result is strongest here. With so little land to live on, Vann’s World is sparsely populated, and the war has made tourism scarce.

This has not slowed the bureaucracy at all. Two rules implemented by the bureaucracy since the Ghat threat began directly effect Skut and his family: First, all children on Highpoint must go to public school. Skut and the other farm children used to be homeschooled, but on Highpoint, they are all mandated to be in public school. This puts Skut at the mercy of a female teacher who hates him and holds him back while letting the girls his own age bully him.

Second, because the bureaucracy has mangled the local economy to benefit themselves, Skut’s family and others are struggling financially. Kids Skut’s age are not allowed to work or have jobs that might help alleviate this burden; they must be in school, or else. Many farmers have left Vann’s World as a result, with the Harkksons among those who have remained, determined to go back to their farms when that is finally allowed.

Normally, Skut simply endures the bullies’ mistreatment, but today they have gone too far. So he has run off to the tide-tiers to clear his head. Having grown up around the tide-tiers, Skut knows how to navigate them when they are safe. They are not safe now, however; the tide is coming in and he needs to get out – yesterday! When a small voice that isn’t quite speaking words begs for help, though, Skut automatically diverts to offer aid. Who can leave anyone calling for help to die in the tide-tiers?

The creature who summons him is a small blue dragon that discharges electricity defensively when he and Skut meet a local predator. With help from Skut’s small gun, the two defeat the predator and make it to the surface safely. Skut chooses to hide the dragon lest the authorities find and destroy it. He takes it home but realizes he can’t keep it there for long, since his family can barely feed themselves. If he tells them about the dragon, they will make him put it back for this reason, despite the fact that it is too small to survive alone. Someone needs to protect it and care for it, but doing that with the bullies breathing down Skut’s neck is going to be a problem.

Soon, though, a new friend arrives to help with that issue. Ted “Podge” Green and his family are refugees from Metheglin, a world which was taken over by the Ghats. Highpoint was supposed to be their new start, but they find no more welcome here than Skut’s family has received on the island. Brought together by circumstance, Skut and Podge bond over the dragon and start finding ways to improve their families’ lives despite the bureaucratic red tape.

Then trouble comes to Vann’s World from the stars. Backed into a corner with time ticking down, the boys need to make a decision: do they fight for their world, their families, and their friendships? Or do they let the invaders take another planet hostage?

The Characters

Skut is a boy trying to keep sane in a world meant to drive him crazy. Continually penalized for being smart, he needs friends to help him stay on the right path. When those friends bring enough punch to make the bullies think twice and buy them all breathing space, Skut starts to flower into the level-headed farm kid he would have been from the start, if not for Highpoint’s smothering strictures.

Podge has seen the Ghats up close and personal, since they captured his family and killed his dog. Bullies are neither going to scare nor stop him; he has been scared by professionals. If he has to find a means to work around bureaucrats then he will, and he will manage to play innocent while he does it. Afflicted by post-traumatic stress, he nonetheless comes through for his friends and family when they need him most.

The Harkksons and Greenes are not stupid adults blithely going about their business, unaware that their sons are struggling. Rather, they are harried, worried parents – particularly the Harkksons – who cannot help their children because they have little time and less money to keep up with all the problems. They are holding on by their fingernails, and if they had to handle One More Thing, the entire house of cards would collapse. Once they have the help they need they are there for their sons at once, encouraging and protecting them with love and well-earned pride.

The World

Vann’s World is alive with danger and wonder. Mr. Freer’s background as a fisheries biologist makes his worldbuilding more realistic than most, creating a memorable and enjoyable experience. The manner in which he demonstrates how political decisions trickle down to affect children as well as their parents ought to earn him an award, as this is something many writers have lost sight of over the years. Add in the fantastic elements, and Storm-Dragon has enough meat on the bone to appeal to adults as well as children.

Politics

The inspiration for the Ghats is easy to recognize, as is the bureaucratic stupidity that puts the dragon and Vann’s World in danger. If you do not like reading about terrorists or the government corruption which emboldens them, you are better off skipping this book.

Content Warning

People die. Their deaths are not narrated in detail, but they do die. A dog was killed in the past but its death is not described in any notable manner. Other than that, the book is so PG it does not even graze the 13 part of the rating, making it accessible for very young children.

Who is it for?

Boys are the specific target audience, since Storm-Dragon was one of the first books that Raconteur Press released in their Boy’s Adventure line. Any parent struggling to find something for their son to read would be wise to pick up Storm-Dragon for him, as would any grandparent, aunt, or uncle who wants to encourage a grandson or nephew to begin reading. Boys are an under-served audience and Raconteur seeks to meet their needs, so if you want to help in that mission, consider asking your local library to purchase this juvenile novel. For older sci-fi fans and readers looking for a good story, the book is pure adventure fun that is not seen enough anymore, and it will hold an adult’s attention as well as a child’s. Fans of Dave Freer would be remiss if they did not buy and read this novel, or offer it to someone who has never read his work whom they wish to convert into a fan. Last but not least, those who want something fun to pass the time should purchase Storm-Dragon, especially as summer descends upon the Northern Hemisphere. What better book to bring to the beach than a story about boys rescuing a small dragon on an oceanic world?

Why buy it?

It is exciting, deeper than it looks, and it makes you think. The young at heart as well as the young in fact will enjoy it immensely. Why not buy it and add it to your collection today?