Fourteen-year-old Jack Morgan has gone through a lot since he met Draycos, a dragon-like K’da warrior he saved when everyone else in Draycos’ scout fleet was killed in an ambush. Ever since, Jack and Draycos, who slips onto Jack’s back like a living tattoo, have been trying to track down the people responsible for the massacre. On the planet Brum-a-dum Jack gets hired to work on a plantation owned by a Brummga whose family has ties to mercenary groups. One of those groups might have been involved in the ambush.Jack’s a terrific thief, and managed to do a passable imitation of a mercenary, but those talents don’t help him much on the plantation. Here, he’s just one of many slaves, with little hope of finding the information he came for. But that’s not his biggest problem now. The slavemaster knows Jack’s no ordinary slave, and has his eye on him. Jack, who’s been in tight spots before, knows that can only mean trouble.On the heavily fortified grounds of the alien plantation, there’s no way to get out, and nobody to help him. Nobody, that is, except Draycos. Jack can only hope that’s enough.
Series |
Dragonback |
Volume |
3 |
Cover Price |
$5.99 |
No. of Pages |
320 |
Height x Width |
7.5
x
5.2
inch |
Original Publication Year |
2005 |
|
|
Dragon and Slave (2005) 306 pages by Timothy Zahn.
The third adventure in Zahn's Dragonback series begins with Jack Morgan wanting to infiltrate the computers of a slave trader on Brum-a-dum. To get inside the compound Jack becomes a slave. The first week or two Jack gets into a routine, getting to know a few of his fellow slaves. Waiting for an opportunity for him and his K'da warrior Draycos to get the information they need to be one step closer to finding the rendezvous point of the Shontine/K'da fleet, and saving them from an ambush.
Zahn depicts a bit of the hopelessness of the slave condition. The way they fall into the routine, not having to think for themselves. Jack is new to the situation and has his K'da warrior with him, but still has some of the despair hit him.
Zahn is one of my favorite authors and this story continues my appreciation for his writing. The action, characters, a good story, very readable, very enjoyable.