Dragons vs. Drones

Dragons vs. Drones #1

by Wesley King

A young computer genius is chased by sleek, high-tech drones into a land populated by Godzilla-size dragons, setting off a war that only he can stop.
 
Marcus Brimley was just four years old when his CIA analyst father went missing and the world branded him a traitor. Eight years later, searching for clues to find his father and prove his innocence, Marcus breaks a complex code that sends him shooting through a storm into an alternate realm . . . but he didn't travel alone. When Marcus lands in this new world, Dracone, he finds that he has been followed by government drones. And they're out to destroy Marcus and all of Dracone.
 
While fleeing the drones, Marcus meets Dree, a 12-year-old Draconian girl who comes from a family of dragon riders. Dree explains to Marcus that while humans and dragons used to be friends, Dracone's new prime minister has turned them into enemies, with humans hunting dragons for sport and dragon-riding families like Dree's pushed to the poorer outskirts of the city.

But the drones are firing on both the dragons and the people of Dracone. Soon, Marcus and Dree discover that they must get help from the dragons if they want to stop an all-out war that will leave the incredible realm of Dracone decimated.

Genres: Fantasy, Young Adult, Science Fiction, Middle Grade, Adventure, Dragons, Childrens

288 pages, Kindle Edition

First published March 15, 2016

About the author

The author of fourteen novels and counting, Wesley King has received over twenty literary awards and seen his books published worldwide, optioned for film and television, and translated into numerous languages. King is best known for his collaboration with Kobe Bryant on the #1 New York Times Bestselling Wizenard Series, as well as the Edgar Award-winning OCDaniel, which was also a Bank Street Best Book of the Year and Silver Birch winner. The follow-up, Sara and the Search for Normal, won both the Violet Downey and Ruth and Sylvia Schwartz Awards. He also co-authored the YA romantic fiction novel Hello (from here) with New York Times bestselling author Chandler Baker. His next novel, Benny on the Case, will be released in April 2025. It is a JLG Gold Selection, has a Starred Review from PW and will be released simultaneously with an audiobook from Dreamscape. His adult debut novel is going to be announced soon.

He lives on a windy seaside bluff in Western Newfoundland, Canada.

Reviews

[Rachel Bea · Rating 4 out of 5]

Things I liked:
Dree was a strong young woman character. She had her flaws, but she was a fighter and she never wanted to give up. She had a dark mistake in her past that has haunted her and I liked how she dealt with it. She had a complicated relationship with her family after what happened, which I thought was realistic, and the story explored that conflict well.

Although there were some sparks of romance between Dree and Marcus, it was not about a romance, but instead developing a friendship between the two that wasn't always easy for them.

The dragons were awesome. There were many different kinds and they had their own cultures. I liked the dragons we got to know in the story. I want my own dragon :(

I liked the parallels between the two different worlds in how the humans would be violent and exploitative.

The battle scenes were cool. My heart broke every time a dragon died, though.

[Dana · Rating 3 out of 5]

Well yes, the title is stupid, but it held my interest for the whole book. If my library happens to obtain the second book, I'll continue but for now I'm okay. It does have a hefty cliffhanger just FYI.

Pros:
- Dree is a friggen badass. I loved her. She's a complex character for 12 years old and I loved her arc. She really steps into the person she's meant to be and I loved her relationships with her family as they were complex and different. I really appreciated that.
- Marcus was aight. He was a decent character and I did enjoy his complex feelings and character arc as well. I didn't feel quite as much for him because I don't think he was as thought out of a character; he felt one-dimensional.
- DRAGONS. I loved the dragons and their culture and their histories. I liked being pulled into their world and seeing how they interact with one another and the humans. It was so interesting!

Cons:
- Plot. It was confusing, somewhat difficult to follow, and jumped all over. I was into the plot until the last like 1/4th of the book when it got complicated.
- George. AKA Marcus's father. Did not like him, what he did, how they found him, anything to do with him. Nah.
- Baby Hybrid. That name is just so cringe and uninspired. Same with the fact that Marcus's favorite movie was Wizard of Oz? Just...... boring.
- Holy cliffhanger batman. Waaaay too over the top for me. I'd have liked SOME resolution, but instead it feels just unfinished.

Overall, this is a fun book for middle graders who have an interest in both coding and fantasy. It was a fun, quick read for reluctant readers. It would have been better if the ending wasn't such a large cliffhanger, but then it gets those reluctant readers to continue.

------

10/4/19 - You know, I'm not really sure about the title. Sounds, well, it sounds dumb. But the synopsis and the reviews make it sound really good so I'll bite.

[Jason · Rating 4 out of 5]

What a fascinating combination of fantasy and sci-fi. Marcus, a bookish computer nerd, on the hunt for his missing Dad finds himself in a strange world where he meets Dree, a tough as nails, expert welder and forge artist, and Dree's young dragon. Some unexpected drones followed Marcus on his journey and are now reeking havoc in the city of Dracone. Filled with wonderfully detailed descriptions of the history of the different dragon clans, plot twists, wry wit and completely engaging characters this was an unexpected delight, and a great story to kick off this series!

[Eco · Rating 4 out of 5]

The best of both worlds: fantasy and Science Fiction clashing between parallel worlds
Nonstop pace, excitement, and irritation to find out that it is a series and I need book 2

[NoUsernameForYou · Rating 1 out of 5]

🤦🤦🤦
When I first picked up this book, I thought it could either be really funny, or really stupid, or so stupid it's funny. It's neither. It's a dumpster fire. I think this is one of my least favorite books because it was so painful. Not as bad as Keeper of the Lost Cities, but still awful.

To sum it up in one sentence, this is ADHD in book form.

Basically:
- There were lots of tangents and expository flashbacks. Something would be mentioned in the beginning, but never come up until some "unforeseen" complication is needed. Despite the randomness, the plot was still extremely predictable. Even the climax was a tangent! The book ends, but doesn't really end because nothing started.
- The author had no idea how to do description. There were mountains wherever there needed to be a mountain, a lake, and a waterfall, all described as such. On page 211, when describing the Governor's Personal Guard: "Each man was at least six feet tall and very muscular." That description got me laughing, but not in a good way.
- It's very clear the author was flying by the seat of his pants through the entire book, because whatever happens is forgotten about in two pages.
- The characters were extremely 2D. There were many sciencey words that were thrown around and it seems the author was trying to describe something he knew absolutely nothing about. Dree saves her family from a drone attack, then stuffs them in a cave with no provisions at all and forgets about them for 90% of the rest of the book. She has such a connection to her little sister, but the readers cannot get invested because we never see her family past that attack.
- Dracone is supposed to be undergoing an industrial revolution of some kind, but the only thing they have is steel. They haven't invented gunpowder yet, but they're somehow making futuristic drones and running a whole futuristic operation in the basement? How can they equip the drones with guns but their soldiers are stuck with swords?? So Dracone is Renaissance but Smoke World.
- The drones. Or, rather, the lack of them. They show up twice: one for the inciting incident, and once for the climax. They're described as big or small, with heavy or light armor, red eyes, and their weapons consist of—I kid you not—light missiles, missiles, and heavy missiles, with light machine guns and heavy machine guns. *Confused look* What does that mean?? I know nothing about guns and even I am confused.
- To fight the drones, the protagonists decide that they need to make a "dragon-drone hybrid." That doesn't make sense, but the worst part is what they name it: Baby Hybrid. That is by far the stupidest name I have ever seen.
-The world is ending outside. Drones are killing everything. Meanwhile, the protagonists are secluded in a mountain for a month. All while being notified that the world is ending and they must hurry because they don't have time. The "no time" point becomes a simple excuse for not dragging the book even longer.
- The EEEEVIL Governor has the same problem as the drones when it comes to appearances. He shows up once in the first chapter, then once in the climax. And the climax is where we get to see how EEEEEEVIL he is. I am overwhelmed with all the SVBs (Shallow Villain Behaviors).
- The author uses the words "suddenly," "in an instant," "most well guarded place," "impenetrable," "impossible," and many other similar words multiple times describing different things. All of which turned out to not be so impossible or impenetrable. More info in the rant below.

I took those points above from a rant I wrote just for this book. If you're one for rants, here you go.
It seems that the author went into that book with inspiration but no plan at all. The book kept jumping from one scene to another, with lots of tangents and expository flashbacks. Something would be mentioned in the beginning, but never come up until some "unforeseen complication" is needed. They had a part where Dree, the girl main character, went to the drone-kablooied ruins of her house and was captured by the governor's elite personal guards, the "deadliest in dracone". Why were they at her house? We don't ask these questions. The description really got me, though: page 211, "In an instant (the author really loves saying that, by the way, as if that makes it surprising), five spears were held to her stomach and throat, wielded by grim-faced soldiers. Their chest plates were marked with a red flame, and their helmets were arched and curved over their cheeks. Each man was at least six feet tall and very muscular." LARRY? I can't help laughing at how ridiculous that is.
So Dree was captured and taken to the Most Impenetrable Prison™ and stuck with a Totally Serious Torturer™. Do you know how long that mountain stayed Impenetrable™?
. . . Wait for it
. . .
. . .
Less than a chapter.
Three. Pages.
The author had no idea what his world looked like, either. It was either "mountains" or "beside mountains." When Dree's dragon, Lourdvang (whose name sounds Australian) gets injured, they retreat to a "particularly high and solitary mountain."
Oh, Lourdvang gets injured, but it sure doesn't look like it. It only says he was injured and they retreat for like five minutes for him to heal. Lots of things like that keep happening—at the start, Dree and her dragon accidentally fly over the Instant Death Fence™ and don't die but are instead taken to the Most Dangerous Hungry Dragon™. They get captured at night. When they escape from the Most Deadly Dragon™, it's sunset. But when Dree gets home, her family is like "oh, just in time." And the dialogue they had with the Very Hungry Dragon™ was half an hour at most.
It's very clear the author was flying by the seat of his pants through the entire book, and the editors probably knew it was a lost cause.
Despite the randomness, the plot was still extremely predictable. Dree goes on a solitary mission? Jarom: "she's going to get captured."
They're going back over the Instant Death Fence™ to talk to the Most Dangerous Dragon again? The Bloodthirsty Dragon is going to take pity on these Very Brave Heroes.
They're going to need a magical artifact and it's in the Most Guarded Castle Ever™? They're going to find the missing father.
The characters were also extremely 2D.
All Dree wants is for her family to be safe. But she rescues them from a drone attack and then stuffs them in a cave with no provisions at all and forgets about them for 90% of the rest of the book.
Marcus is from Earth. He's the Nerd Kid, with glasses and everything, and is also a Science Genius that uses many Sciencey Words. He won a Science Contest by coming up with a theory about how worm holes exist, and the second place winner "invented a conductor." Does the author even know what a conductor is?
Lourdvang has no character at all. He's grumpy (I guess? I think?) and cares about Dree (I think?). But through it all, Dree and Lourdvang hardly speak to each other. Lourdvang effectively plays the role of a third-wheel friend while our two Genius Heroes™ go have fun saving the world . . . Or not. And that brings us to my next point.
The drones. Or, rather, the lack of them.
They show up when Marcus accidentally falls into a puddle in a storm. Or so I think. Marcus was riding his bike and fell into a portal (which makes me wonder, why didn't his bike go with him? Dang it, another question). The drones supposedly followed him in. But they didn't come through the same entryway Marcus did. They just showed up in the sky, hung around until the two protagonists met, and then started firing on the poor people. Yeah, just the poor people. They're hardly people, after all . . .
After the inciting incident, we don't see them. At all. Not until the climax, and then the drones are minor inconveniences when faced with The EEEEEEEEVIL Governor and his EEEEEEEEVIL industrial revolution— which industrial revolution isn't much of a revolution at all, just Renaissance but smoke. Great.
The drones themselves are just as shallow as the plot when they do appear. They're described as big or small, with heavy or light armor, red eyes, and their weapons consist of—I kid you not—light missiles, missiles, and heavy missiles, with light machine guns and heavy machine guns.
To fight the drones, the protagonists decide that they need to make a "dragon-drone hybrid." Random, but okay. What they end up doing is taking a drone, making it look like a dragon, then putting dragonfire in there. Said fire‐fuel only runs out when it's convenient to the plot—or not so convenient, because it means absolutely nothing but the first falling-to-their-death scene (of at least four). And do you know what they name this "hybrid"? Baby Hybrid. That's by far the stupidest name I have ever seen. They put claws on it, which it doesn't need because it has boosters and guns, and those legs keep breaking. Just get rid of them. They also give it a head and the ability to breathe fire—and I just realized that they never used that ability. Why do fire when you have guns? Waste of time.
So they spend a lot of time building the hybrid. Time that they TOTALLY don't have. You have to remember, the drones came through the portal and are killing everything in their path! While the protagonist are secluded in their mountain, dragon scouts come back and report *even more* cities are burning! Oh no! People are dying! We have to hurry! Marcus's laptop only has a week of battery left on it, so they have a week to get this thing finished, right? This is going to be a quick story, right? Five days, right?
Four. Weeks. Later.
"Oh, by the way guys, your hybrid won't stand a chance against the drones, you need this All Powerful Artifact called the Egg to give it life."
They forget about that artifact for a few chapters. Then when they do remember it, it's right before the climax, where their hybrid takes on multiple drones by itself and saves the day. Twice. Three times, if you count that one time it blew up the Impenetrable Mountian Prison™. Remember that? It never comes up again. It was just a tangent. I'm sure that's shocking.
But you know what's even more shocking? The climax . . . Is a tangent. They go the the Impenetrable Super Well Guarded Fortress™ through the sewers . . . And I just realized that the stuff they brought with them to get into the sewers wasn't even used. They just walked in. Anyway, the find Marcus's father, of course, and I was almost disappointed that he wasn't the EEEEEEVIL Governor, he was actually just working for him. They go to this place to find the Egg, which they've been ADHD-style "looking for" for half the book. Oh, turns out it wasn't there. Oh, and the EEEEEVIL Governor is actually building the drones.
Wait.
What?
The futuristic drones that came through the portal from Marcus's world were actually made in Renaissance But Smoke world. And . . .they only opened fire when Marcus came through the Maybe Puddle Portal? What?
They have this whole showdown in the futuristic basement under the castle (which also doesn't make sense), where only two things happen: one, Baby Hybrid goes down in a blaze of glory, and two, we get to see the EEEEEEVIL Governor for the first time since the prologue, and we can really see how truly EEEEEVIL he is. Yeah, right. So evil. I was overwhelmed with all the SVBs (Shallow Villain Behaviors).
So after this "battle" in which nothing really happened, Marcus's father is rescued and reveals that he put the Egg on Earth. The book ends with the protagonists traveling to Earth.
So in conclusion, this book *refuses to put down the shovel it keeps digging plot holes with.*
This book took itself way too seriously. The author was flying by the seat of his pants the whole time. I could do better.
And you know what?
I will do better than this garbage.

[Robin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Marcus, 12, has been searching for his missing father since he was 4 years old, refusing to believe George Brimley was a traitor to his country. During that time, he has noticed a freaky pattern in the dates of each year's biggest storm to hit Alexandria, Virginia - the day of the month has been counting down. Somehow, Marcus knows this is connected with his father's disappearance. This year, when a big storm blows up on the first of the month, Marcus pedals his bicycle right into the heart of it, heedless of swirling black clouds, flickering lightning, and the suspicious fact that a bunch of drones are chasing him. At the heart of the storm, he guts sucked into a parallel dimension, to a city called Dracone, where the drones immediately begin blowing stuff up, killing people, and attacking the dragons that, incidentally, exist there.

The dragons of Dracone come in four flavors: Nightwings, Sages, Outliers, and Flames. Some of them have been allies of mankind for a long time, but that time is now over. Francis Xidorne, the country's new prime minister, has decided to modernize his country, and that means doing away with the dragons and people who sympathize with them. The first person Marcus meets in Dracone is a member of the new underclass, a 12-year-old girl named Dree, whose father was a dragon rider before the regime changed. Stripped of their wealth, her family now lives in a waterfront shack, and Dree and her mother work hard to support her crippled father and the younger kids. Both Dree and Marcus have the same mysterious gift, or maybe it's a curse - their skin doesn't burn, but sometimes fire comes out of their fingertips. Dree also has a secret: the Nightwing dragon Lourdvang, whom she raised from a hatchling.

Between them, boy, girl, and dragon resolve to fight the drones that are destroying the poorer parts of Dracone, and that are also beginning to exterminate the dragons. Using Dree's genius as a welder and an inventor, Marcus' gifts as a computer whiz, and Lourdvang's ability to fly, they start a small rebellion that, through sheer spunk, spreads to include at least three dragon clans. Saving Dracone from the deadly drones will involve solving the mystery of Marcus' father's disappearance, seeking an object of great magical power that they believe is hidden in the world's most impenetrable fortress, and surviving action scenes packed with unbelievable excitement. Also, it will require a sequel, picking up on the other side of the portal between Dree's world and ours.

This is a fun, screwy adventure, full of magical thrills, high-tech gadgetry, and danger. The dialogue is snappy; the characters have a lot of emotionally grueling issues to work through; and it proves themes of black-helicopter paranoia, coexistence with sentient alien creatures, the impact of space-age technology on the environment, and family melodrama can be mixed with good results. It also shows how quickly a nervous nerd like Marcus can develop into a swashbuckling hero, once he's in his proper element; the image of him free-falling from the back of a drone that he has just disabled in mid-flight, screaming, "Anyone?" while dragons and drones battle each other around him, seems likely to be my most durable memory of this book. On the other hand, I felt a little let-down by the way Dree's family dropped out of the storyline. After setting up her devotion to her sister Abi, the book proceeds to make awkward excuses for keeping the sisters apart after a relatively early point in the plot. The family drama aspect of the story would be more interesting if the family were more present.

Wesley King is the Canadian author of The Vindico, The Feros, The Incredible Space Raiders (From Space!), OCDaniel, and Laura Monster Crusher, besides the sequel to this book, titled Enemy of the Realm, and the upcoming book The World Below, set for release in March 2018. His works have won several awards, including a 2017 Edgar Award for "best juvenile" (for OCDaniel).

[Karen Upper · Rating 5 out of 5]

ARC from Penguin Random House Canada
Dragons vs Drones is the newest fantasy release by author Wesley King. There are many books out there on dragons in various situations. However, I found Mr. King's approach on the subject of dragons to be uniquely refreshing found that this juxtaposition of alternate planes of existence to hold me in utter fascination! I loved how the strengths of Dree and Marcus complimented one another when it came time to solve the issues at hand. Dragons vs Drones is a high rockin' fantasy adventure had me captured and flying within its pages until the very end!!
Highly RECOMMENDED !!!

[Rachel Patrick]

I'm sorry, but the first paragraph of this synopsis mentions Godzilla, Eragon, and Transformers--I can't really resist that.

[Kison Selventhiran]

This book is about a boy (Marcus) whose father has been missing for eight years and has been working along the CIA. Marcus’s goal was to find his long lost dad. He finds himselfs in the midst of storms and finds himself in a portal to another dimension (Dracone). In Dracone he finds a twelve year old girl (Dree) and dragons. Dree comes from a family of dragon riders and is one herself. When Marcus finds himself in Dracone he soon realizes that he didn’t travel alone in the portal he brought along drones that were tearing Dracone apart. The drones were killing innocent people and killing dragons to. Soon Dree Marcus and laurdvarg (dree’s dragon) find out there the only ones who can stop the drones. After teaming up with Laurdvargs clan Marcus finds out his father had been to Dracone! After Marcus and Dree realize the only way they could stop the drones are to make a more powerful drone. After a couple weeks they complete the drone (baby hybrid) but the only way to make it powerful and guaranteed to stop the drones are to use the “egg” on the baby hybrid. Marcus and Dree sooner find out the egg was stolen and is kept in the whitehouse. Dree, Marcus and laurdvarg have to break into the whitehouse and retrieve the stolen egg only to find out that Marcus’s dad (George) was held captive by the president of Dracone. While marcus was on shock that his dad was here they seem to find out he was the one who created the drones but it was stolen by the president (Francis) and he was the one who stole the egg and hid it back in earth. Dree,Marcus and George escape the whitehouse and go to earth to retrieve the egg.



This book Dragons VS Drones is an amazing book. This book has many plot twists and woah moments which make this book very interesting. One of the biggest plot twist is that the president of Dracone was sending the drones in and destroying his own city. Also another big plot twist is that George was responsible for creating the drones but the plans were stolen by Francis. This book tells us that we can’t believe all we can hear and we can’t trust anyone. This is way I think overall Dragons VS Drones is an amazing book which everyone should read.

[Claire · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was such a unique setting and story that I not only read this book, but jumped right into the second one of the series as well. Definitely Div 2.
Marcus, is a serious science geek, awkward around girls, and lives with his "uncle" because his dad, a CIA operative, disappeared 10 years before under a cloud of suspicion. Marcus has been searching for him or evidence of what happened to him, for what feels like, his whole life.
Because of his research, Marcus is sucked into a ferocious storm and finds himself transported to a parallel Earth where dragons, magic, and it seems, technology (drones with AI) are battling for survival. Marcus is sure that his father must be in this world too, and is determined to stay and find him. The mysterious drones are destroying whole villages, and killing dragons. Right after he arrives in Dracone Marcus meets a girl whose father was a dragon rider, and who works as a welder to help support her family. Together they join the dragons to destroy the drones and save the world. Loads of action, a mystery to solve, and the characters are 14 - 16 years old.

[Noor Al-Shanti · Rating 2 out of 5]

I finished this book, but it took a lot of skimming and by the time we reached the end, with the "big showdown" with the bad guy I no longer really cared and the battle was just another thing to quickly skim. I mean... it wasn't bad, but a book about dragons and drones, fantasy and sci fi colliding, could have been so much better.

You'd think there would be a lot of world-building in a book like this, but the world didn't really feel very big or very interesting. It was just there as a background for this story, which was, at the end of the day, very paint by the numbers. A bunch of boxes were ticked for the purpose of being ticked, but they didn't really make me as a reader feel any excitement. Which is sad, because dragons, people who have internal fire, magic!

I think part of the problem was that it was written for a younger audience, perhaps. And also, I don't like portal fantasy so... yeah.

I did still finish it, so I guess it did something right, but it just wasn't anything too gripping.

[Brittney Perry · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.5, rounded down. Paused at the halfway mark or so.

Firstly, I don't think it's horrible, it's just really not my style. Mostly narration and it moves at a pretty slow pace. I thought for sure from the title and concept that it would be this fast, action-packed roller coaster, but it unfortunately is not.

I'm not a big fan of the writing style. He doesn't use commas in lists, so it looks like this: we need a shirt and shoes and pants and socks and a jacket. There's a lot of instances like this that irritated me.

Additionally, none of the computer stuff was accurate. You can't use HTML as a hacking tool in the way he does, and no part of him talking about code or how it works was right.

Overall, not the worst, but certainly not the best either. Might be worth the read if you aren't as into constant action.

[JoAnne Richards · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved it! Perfect. Characters are awesome. Other world building is wonderful! And it has all the elements of a fantastic adventure! Dragons that talk and you can ride. Slipping into another really cool but strange parallel world. And drones! Tech, like gaming. So many times I have used that same info to encouraged students to read this fantastic book. Look out reluctant boy readers - you might like it!

[Kim · Rating 3 out of 5]

I tried reading this in the mindset of a middle school reader and I still wasn't crazy about it. Storyline was ok, lots of adventure, and a good set up for book 2. In all, not a bad book, just not my cup of tea.

[Abbie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Read my review at Bookish Adventures.

[Cole · Rating 4 out of 5]

I thought this book was very good. I think it was cool to see Dragons and Drones fight I cant wait to read the second book.

[Andria · Rating 4 out of 5]

New take on the old dragon topic. World created and shown beautifully.

[Karlene · Rating 1 out of 5]

Read for work. Really dumb book, but I see why kids may like it. I think a 4th grader could read it. I think we will put it in circulation at the library.

[Katie Robles · Rating 3 out of 5]

Neat idea

[Sandra Witt · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very exciting beginning and middle. Ending drug out a little. Ready to read the 2nd book to see how they win the war.

[K.C. · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was very interesting. A different take on what you would think it is. I liked it but not enough for more.

[Angel · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very good mesh of fantasy and sci-fy. Love all of the characters %100. Wesley king is becoming a favorite of mine!

[Dan Seitz · Rating 3 out of 5]

Decidedly for middle grade readers and you'll see everything coming, but it pulls off its premise without laughing at it.

[Ruth · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was slow for me to get into and I thought I might DNF, but by about 1/3 in I was hooked. Can't wait to read the next one.

[Dylan.L · Rating 5 out of 5]

My favorite part was when we were introduced to the Dragon

[Becky B · Rating 3 out of 5]

Marcus is a computer geek whose father disappeared eight years ago and whose memory was tarnished by being declared a traitorous spy by the CIA. Marcus has never believed that his father was a spy, but he has noticed that the storm his father disappeared in reappears in a predictable pattern. This year, he's going to use it to find out where his father went.
Dree is an apprentice at a forge trying to keep her family fed since her father's crippling accident. But she's hiding two major secrets, one she is a dragon rider. And two, she is the friend of a dragon she's hidden and cared for since she found him as a youngster. Humans and dragons were historically friends, and Dree comes from a long line of dragon riders. However, after dragons attacked a human village a decade ago the local ruler decided the friendship was over and started encouraging humans to actively hunt dragons. The dragons either fled or started retaliating.
And then strange machines appear in the sky bent on destroying all humans and dragons. A strange boy named Marcus appears at the same time and seems to know how the machines work. Can Dree trust him? And how will they stop the drones from destroying Dree's world?

It took me quite a while to get into this story. Granted, I've been quite busy of late and it's eaten into my normal reading time so that didn't help. The premise held great promise. I love dragon stories and I'm a huge sci-fi fan too, so the mash-up was exciting. And for the most part it was ok. It just seemed to lack a certain spark for me. I had trouble connecting with either main character, partly because they only get every other chapter till they meet. And then once they do meet I liked how they combined their talents but wasn't sure that was the best approach. But what solidly bumped this down to three stars was the climax. I totally saw a way for this whole plot to be wrapped up in just this book and when I realized it was not going to end that way I was quite frustrated. It totally could have been a one book story. At one point they find the mainframe of the computers used to control the drones where Marcus' father is also being held prisoner...BUT THEY DIDN'T DESTROY THE COMPUTERS!!! They try going for the bad guy and completely ignore the fact that the drones won't work without the stuff that controls them. *insert face palm* The whole thing could have been wrapped up right there, but no, they ignore the computers and decide instead they need to go to Earth and get the Egg so they can do things the hard way. I'm totally fine with series, but if there are more books I prefer a more solid and compelling reason for more story. I will probably read the next book, but I won't be waiting on tenterhooks at the bookstore waiting for it to come out.

Notes on content: No language issues. No sexual content. There are several deaths and injuries mentioned. The drones are using machine guns and bombs on people. The kids mention seeing people go down because of bullets, though no blood is described. Know the kid you hand this too since it contains much more death and destruction than the average middle grade book.

[Thomas Norstein · Rating 4 out of 5]

There's... There's a sequel right?

*checks Goodreads*
Enemy of the Realm
YES!

Despite having this on my to-reads list, I didn't actually realize Wesley King wrote this book until after I was half-way through. I was pleasantly surprised by this book. I think that this may be my favorite Wesley King book so far, tied with . He always manages to bring some unique twist into a world while maintaining an awesome sense of humor.

We follow two characters in Dragons vs Drone. Marcus, a science nerd wh0's father is believed to be a traitor. And Dree, a poor Draconian girl with a gift of welding and fire. In Dracone, due to the new government, dragons have become prey rather than friends. Dree has a secret; a Nightwing named Lourdvang. Marcus and Dree live in parallel universes, until one day, Marcus gets transported to the world of Dracone. Unfortunately, he was followed by drones who seek to destroy all dragons.

I love the dragons that King has created. Nightwings, Flames, Sages and Outliers. I do hope that in the next book, we get to know the Outliers a bit better since they're mostly treated like extras so far. Lourdvang is hilarious.

"I don't know. I was just calling it that in my head all along, and so I programmed that name into the processor. What do you think?"
"It's stupid," Lourdvang rumbled.

I've gotta agree with him on that. Baby Hybrid is a pretty stupid name.

The thing that bothered me the most in this book however, was the programming knowledge. Being a programmer myself, it made me laugh when Marcus said he used HTML for hacking into media databases. HTML, Hyper Text Markup Language, is hardly a hacking language. You'd need some JavaScript knowledge from that. Based on Marcus's past programming experience, there is no way he'd be able to program Baby Hybrid. I understand that King didn't want to go into too much detail on the programming aspects, but seriously, please don't make programming sound like it's a walk in the park.

Overall though, fantastic story. Wonderful worlds, great characters and a strong story-line. I'm looking forward to the next book! (I wouldn't mind a trilogy ;))

[Rosemary · Rating 3 out of 5]

In a land called Dracone, Dree labors away as a welder. Her family was once nobility; her father, a dragon rider, until their fortunes reversed. Now, dragon riders are considered traitors, dragons hunted for their fangs and scales, and Dree’s father spends his day as a shadow of the man he once was while Dree and her mother work to scrape together a living for their family.

In our world, Marcus, the son of a CIA analyst who disappeared when he was only 4 is desperate to find out what happened to his father. He’s told by the government that his father was a traitor; his mother died when he was a baby. Raised by his father’s best friend – who seems to know more than he’s letting on – Marcus has been studying weather patterns that may lead to some answers. The only problem is, he’s being watched by government drones.

When Marcus breaks a code that sends him into an alternate world, he meets Dree and discovers a world like nothing he’s ever known. But the drones have followed him and are wreaking havoc on the Draconian citizens. Can Dree and Marcus forge a peace between humans and dragons to save themselves from an evil plan to destroy the land?

Dragons vs. Drones is a fantasy novel that’s part fantasy and part tech/sci-fi thriller. It’s been called “Eragon meets Transformers”, which is a pretty accurate description. We’ve got dragons, and we’ve got codebreaking. STEM fans, there is some pretty intense discussions of welding/metalworking and coding/hacking here, so it’s a good book to give the kids in your life who love to play around at the computer, fool around with their own Raspberry Pi, and dream about dragons, swords and magic. Magic and science co-exist here, broadening the audience, and there are both male and female main characters, for anyone who still flinches at “boy books” vs. “girl books” (I’ve got a few in my library). There’s quite a bit of world-building on both worlds, and the ending provides a promise for a sequel.

Some timely topics to discuss in a group setting include government surveillance, deforestation for industrial progress, and ethics of hunting/endangered species.

A good addition to science fiction and fantasy collections.

[The Keepers of the Books · Rating 5 out of 5]

8 years earlier, Marcus Brimley's CIA father disappeared under mysterious circumstances and was labeled a traitor. Determined to prove his father's innocence Marcus uses his genius math skills to crack the mystery. He soon becomes obsessed with the specific, unusual weather patterns that were occurring at the time of his father's disappearance. When Marcus goes into what he thinks is an identical storm to the one 8 years earlier, Marcus rides into the storm. He ends up in a parallel universe inhabited by dragons. Unfortunately, the CIA's drones follow him in. To save the dragons of Dracone, he'll have to enlist the help of Dree, a girl with unusual gifts, and dragons to fight the drones. Will he find out what happened to his father? Will he stop the CIA from destroying the dragons?

The plot is complex with lots of twists and turns. The main characters are well developed and engaging. The author does a great job of pulling the reader into Marcus' world. This fun, action-packed fantasy adventure is perfect for reluctant readers and/or dragon fans.

This book was featured on The Keepers of the Books' Weekly Reads 1 episode. For more reviews, recommendations, and online librarian advice, visit us at: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCK3v.... You may also find a copy of this review on kissthebook.blogspot.com

[Amy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Reviewed for School Library Journal 3/12/2016:
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