Dragonmaster

August 1, 2005
Following his Dragonmaster Trilogy (Last Battle, etc.), Bunch continues the story of Hal Kailis in this first installment of his latest series, which entertainingly injects a medieval, authoritarian fantasy world with air warfare. Hal, at a young age already a veteran vagabond, graduates from the thrill of an impromptu ride aboard a dragon and employment with a small dragon-ride air circus, to conscription with an army that's enlivened by sorcery. Bunch lays out the customary lengthy war scenes, and when the army assembles large groups of dragons, Hal is ready to ride. Though he hails from a common family, he rises quickly through the ranks with his natural talents. The author successfully weaves early twentieth century-style warfare into this fantasy world-with the slightest leap of imagination, the reader associates these screeching, twisting dragons with the fighter planes of the first world war. As pilot, Hal lacks only the dangling flaps of a goggled helmet. In this endless war, dragons battle, riders fall and Hal becomes a flying ace. Military SF and fantasy fans will relish the action-packed plot and Hal's derring-do.