Dragons vs. Drones Series, Book 1

January 1, 2016
Magic and technology square off as fire-breathing dragons on a parallel Earth face extinction from heavily armed military drones designed on this one. Sure that he's on the track of his long-missing father, techno-whiz Marcus falls through a portal into the land of Errenia just as mysterious drones armed with missiles and machine guns appear to "decimate" (a word the author is fond of misusing) the city of Dracone's poorer sections and take the ongoing genocide of the mountain-dwelling dragons to a new level. In this series opener, Marcus joins forces with Driele, a tough young female dragon-riding blacksmith/inventor. They first craft a drone to fight on the side of the dragons, then fly through multiple aerial dogfights to rescue Marcus' dad, cope with well-telegraphed revelations about Marcus' ancestry, and face a bad guy who, typically, explains at length how he's using stolen our-Earth technology to achieve his evil schemes. Though King tucks in occasional boy-girl and human-dragon banter to lighten the load, the novel sinks beneath the weight of labored explication ("Marcus was a different person when he had a mission: he was focused and passionate and optimistic") and maladroit writing ("The explosion was incredible"; "smells...wafted over her nose"; ."..the school was now a flaming heap of metal and concrete"). Neither the premise nor some decently limned dragons give wings to this pedestrian clunker. (Fantasy. 11-13)

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February 1, 2016

Gr 4-7-Marcus's father disappeared without a trace eight years ago while working for the CIA. He was quickly branded a traitor, causing heartache and isolation for his young son. Still convinced that his dad is alive and innocent, Marcus uses all of his skills as an advanced and gifted coder to unlock the mystery of his disappearance. Extremely conscious that his every movement is being tracked by government drones, he is fixated on weather patterns that he believes are linked to his father's vanishing. When he purposefully puts himself in the center of a horrific storm, the last thing Marcus expects is to be transported to a parallel world called Dracone. In this strange place, he meets Dree, a girl with unusual gifts of her own and a dragon companion to boot. Horrified that the drones have followed him to this new land, the two join forces with the dragons to battle the drones and perhaps reveal the whereabouts of Marcus's father. King delivers an effective amalgam of science fiction and fantasy in this first entry in a series. The book will hold strong appeal for kids who are into coding and all things tech. VERDICT A smart purchase for libraries looking to augment their tween sci-fi collection.-Amy Nolan, St. Joseph Public Library, St. Joseph, MI

Copyright 2016 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

February 15, 2016
Grades 4-7 Marcus Brimley and Driele Reiter are two sides of the same inventive, fiery coin. Marcus hails from modern-day Arlington, Virginia, and sometimes accidentally sets things on fire when he is angry. Dree is a metalsmith's apprentice in the medieval world of Dracone, where dragons exist and are universally hated. On the quest for his father, a nine-years-lost CIA operative, Marcus breaks down the wall between their worlds and meets Dree. But strange, extremely powerful drones seem to have come through with him, and it's up to Marcus to save Dree and her worldand maybe the dragonsfrom a plethora of evils. King's first series (starting with The Vindico, 2012) was widely enjoyed, and this new story has much of the same energy. Marcus and Dree are fun, interesting leads, and this mash-up of fantasy and sci-fi is excellently done. Middle-grade readers will devour this and rejoice that the ending leaves room for a sequel.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2016, American Library Association.)