  | Full Text Reviews: Booklist - 02/15/2016 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 world—and maybe the dragons—from 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. - Copyright 2016 Booklist. School Library Journal - 02/01/2016 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 Publishers Weekly, Library Journal and/or School Library Journal used with permission. Bulletin for the Center... - 04/01/2016 Dragons face extinction on a parallel Earth because of military drones that are coming through a portal from our own planet. Marcus, searching for his father who disappeared eight years earlier, goes through the portal and finds himself quickly paired up with Dree, a girl who never backs down from anything. That’s a good thing, as Marcus and Dree are pretty much tasked with saving Dracone (the parallel world) from the U.S. government’s horrific plot to kill its human and dragon inhabitants and then pillage its rich resources. It’s also fortunate that Dree has a close relationship with a dragon, a keen eye for building and inventing, and a sharp knowledge of the land. The dragon/human relationship is worth the exploration—the mutual wariness that keeps them from fulfilling their great potential is troubling, and King offers hints as to how that close relationship devolved over time. Unfortunately, the dialogue is heavy and stiff, with banter that reads more like clunky sniping. In addition, the ultimate villain is cartoonishly unrealistic, robbing the book of urgency as he explains, in absurd detail, all of his elaborate plans to take over the world. Despite those weaknesses, dragon-focused readers may still find this an intriguing change of setting and genre. AS - Copyright 2016 The Board of Trustees of the University of Illinois. Loading...
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