Warrior or Tattoo?

Dragon and Thief by Timothy Zahn, the first book in the Dragonback series.

Why did I read it?

I’ve signed up for a listserv from YALSA (Young Adult Library Services Association), where librarians and educators discuss books and ask questions. Recently, the Dragonback series showed up on the radar, and I remembered seeing the books as I shelved as a page, and as I keep the YA section looking spiffy.

What happened?

Just before the book opens, Jack Morgan, nephew of a thief, did a smuggling gig that went south; one of the containers had something in it when he took off, but was completely empty when he landed. Obviously, the people he was delivering to weren’t too happy about that. Hiding on a deserted planet, Jack witnesses a huge space battle ending in a damaged cruiser smashing into the planet below. When he goes to check out the wreckage, he is amazed to find a symbiotic alien, Draycos, who needs him as a host to survive. Draycos exists in a three-dimensional form, but can become two-dimensional when needed; basically becoming a living tattoo, that can then spring into a powerful warrior lizard. The damaged ship was the first in a refugee fleet. Draycos and Jack have to team up to clear Jack’s name and figure out how to warn Draycos’s people of the terrible enemy that was somehow aware that they were coming.

What did I like or not like?

I really enjoyed the idea of an alien that is very powerful and can become two-dimensional, but needs a fourteen year old kid to survive. The difference in ethics between a warrior and a kid raised as a thief also raises some interesting questions.