SummaryDragon and Thief, the first novel in the Dragonback series,
was named an American Library Association Best Book For
Young Adults. The second novel, Dragon and Soldier is
another fast-paced, compulsively readable SF adventure
featuring an odd couple of reluctant partners on an unusual
quest. Draycos, a golden-scaled draconic K'da poet-warrior, was on
a scout fleet ship when it was attacked, with him the lone
survivor. Forced to find a new symbiotic humanoid host, he
found Jack Morgan. Jack has been on his own, making his way
by shipping interstellar cargo on the ship he's inherited
from his Uncle Virgil, a con-man and thief who met with a
fatal accident. Draycos has vowed to uncover those behind a
vast conspiracy to wipe out his people, while Jack is
determined to find out who framed him for a crime he didn't
commit. Virgil, who survives as "Uncle Virge" in the ship's
computer, is against their plan. But Draycos once saved
Jack's life, so Jack feels an obligation to this strange
creature who can slip onto the boy's skin, pressing against
it like a living tattoo. Knowing that mercenaries were
involved in the ambush that killed Draycos's fleet, Jack
enlists in a mercenary outfit that practically enslaves
adolescent recruits. But the soldier's life isn't exactly what Jack had
bargained for, especially when a mysterious girl is
recruited into his group. Strange things are happening, and
people and events are not always as they seem.
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