Kirsten Reviews: Dragons Wild by Robert Asprin
Dragons Wild by Robert Aspirin
Dragons #1
First in a brand new series from the "New York Times" bestselling creator of the Myth and Phule novels.
A low-stakes con artist and killer poker player, Griffen "Grifter" McCandles graduated college fully expecting his wealthy family to have a job waiting for him. Instead, his mysterious uncle reveals a strange family secret: Griffen and his sister, Valerie, are actually dragons.
Unwilling to let Uncle Mal take him under his wing, so to speak, Griffen heads to New Orleans with Valerie to make a living the only way he knows how. And even the criminal underworld of the French Quarter will heat up when Griffen lands in town.
Dragons Wild is the first in a series of books, by the late Robert Asprin. It should be noted that although Asprin has passed away, there are several more books in the series, should readers be interested. That is fortunate, as it’s clear that this book’s plot is set up to be continued in future sequels.
Anyone who’s enjoyed other works by Asprin may or may not enjoy this book, the Phule series stands out from the rest, and at times, this book feels as though it is trying to do too much, even for a book introducing a new universe and a wide array of characters.
The premise is that Griffen McCandles, college graduate, and slacker has a job interview with the uncle who paid for Griffen’s schooling. But rather than being told he will be paid to schlep paper in an office, Griffen learns that he and his sister are actually dragons. While this isn’t a revelation that Griffen or his sister Valerie take seriously, others do, and soon there is an assassin out to get him and he and Valerie have been relocated to New Orleans.
Asprin obviously had a great love of New Orleans, and that familiarity and affection show through, as the city is a character in and of itself. At some points, it feels that one could plan a trip around some of the details slotted into the story, but whether that’s distracting or not will depend on the reader.
As with all his books, Asprin’s characters find themselves in situations that are dangerous or inconvenient and solve them in unconventional ways. This makes for a plot that often goes in more circuitous directions than one might expect, but overall, there is very little in the way of actual peril, as Griffen and other characters feel as if they can roll with just about anything that is thrown at them. Again, there are more books in this series, and if readers are interested in Asprin’s style of storytelling and dragons, they may enjoy them all.
(Received a copy from the publisher)
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