59. Dragon’s Blood by Jane Yolen (Young adult fantasy) 292 p.

On Austar IV, a former prison planet, where humans breed and train dragons for the fighting pits, a 15-year-old bond servant named Jakkin is determined to be a dragon trainer himself one day. The only way to earn enough gold to buy out his bond and become a trainer is to steal a dragon hatchling and train it to fight in the pits.

This was a really fast read, even taking into account that it’s less than 300 pages long. That’s not a bad thing, since the smooth, easy prose and fast-paced plot are two of the reasons I got through it so quickly, but it could definitely have been made longer with a bit more detail or character development, or a slightly more complex plot. The story was a bit too straightforward for a young adult novel, and the main conflicts were resolved too easily. Those things made the story seem like one intended for a younger audience, though they didn’t diminish my enjoyment.

I loved Jannik’s dragon: watching it grow up, learn, bond with him. And Jannik was a good character, but I like his love interest, Akki, even better. She’s more mature and experienced than Jannik, which is very believable for a 15-year-old girl. And thank goodness, Yolen lets her be independent and stubborn without saying so explicitly, or calling her tough or wild or spunky. (Can you tell I gave up on a bad romance novel right before I started reading this?)

This wasn’t my favourite book ever, but I’m glad I read it, and I look forward to enjoying the rest of the trilogy.

Pages read: 16,559

Tags: 50 Book Challenge 2008, 888 Challenge, A ~ Z Reading Challenge, Jane Yolen, Pit Dragon Chronicles