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Kar-Chee #2
Rogue Dragon
First edition.
Cover Art: Jack Gaughan
Jon-Joras came to Earth simply to oversee arrangements for a dragon hunt to amuse his king. These hunts were as much pageantry as sport - the dragons, brought to Earth centuries earlier as pets of an alien race, were powerful but slow-witted.
But sudenly the dragons had become dangerous - quick, deceptive, a menace to the nobles who hunted them. And Jon-Joras found himself caught in the middle of an uprising that could shake the powers that ruled the star-worlds!
Cover Art: Jack Gaughan
Jon-Joras came to Earth simply to oversee arrangements for a dragon hunt to amuse his king. These hunts were as much pageantry as sport - the dragons, brought to Earth centuries earlier as pets of an alien race, were powerful but slow-witted.
But sudenly the dragons had become dangerous - quick, deceptive, a menace to the nobles who hunted them. And Jon-Joras found himself caught in the middle of an uprising that could shake the powers that ruled the star-worlds!
142 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published January 1, 1965
1 person is currently reading
120 people want to read
About the author
Avram Davidson
431 books94 followersAvram Davidson was an American Jewish writer of fantasy fiction, science fiction, and crime fiction, as well as the author of many stories that do not fit into a genre niche. He won a Hugo Award and three World Fantasy Awards in the science fiction and fantasy genre, a World Fantasy Life Achievement award, and a Queen's Award and an Edgar Award in the mystery genre. Davidson edited The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction from 1962 to 1964. His last novel The Boss in the Wall: A Treatise on the House Devil was completed by Grania Davis and was a Nebula Award finalist in 1998. The Encyclopedia of Science Fiction says "he is perhaps sf's most explicitly literary author".
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
March 10, 2019
This is fantasy with a veneer of science fiction, the latter being more popular at the time this was published. Davidson was known as a writer of multiple genres, and his "SF" often had elements of fantasy.
This is rather ordinary for a good writer. But it is a quick pleasant read, just not up to the standards of his best known works. I recommend his short stories. This was originally published in The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction, not long after Davidson ended his time as editor. The copy I read was a first edition, aged and in the early phases of crumbling to bits.
This is rather ordinary for a good writer. But it is a quick pleasant read, just not up to the standards of his best known works. I recommend his short stories. This was originally published in The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction, not long after Davidson ended his time as editor. The copy I read was a first edition, aged and in the early phases of crumbling to bits.
October 30, 2016
Avram Davidson is a good writer... he turns a nice phrase. Ideas, however, sometimes are lacking.
This looked like a genre mashup at first.. with Earth as a Dragon Hunting ground in the far future, but what it was more than anything is a loose version of Alice in Wonderland, with Jon-Joras playing the part of Alice. Sadly, instead of cool mythical creatures, we get aliens that mind meld with Dragons and some generic poet thieves... interesting what he was trying to do, but it didn't quite work.
This looked like a genre mashup at first.. with Earth as a Dragon Hunting ground in the far future, but what it was more than anything is a loose version of Alice in Wonderland, with Jon-Joras playing the part of Alice. Sadly, instead of cool mythical creatures, we get aliens that mind meld with Dragons and some generic poet thieves... interesting what he was trying to do, but it didn't quite work.
February 10, 2025
3.5 stars. Rogue Dragon is an enjoyable, pulpy adventure story that employs a somewhat unique blend of science fiction and fantasy elements. A seemingly straight-forward attempt to arrange a dragon hunt on Earth for a galactic ruler sends his emissary on a chaotic adventure filled with close calls and multiple mysteries to uncover. The book is not overly long, the writing is crisp, and the story reaches a very satisfying conclusion. I would have loved this novel if I had read it as a younger child.
April 13, 2023
B+/A-
https://youtu.be/3APLDkgjd60 - video review of Rogue Dragon
I also very much enjoyed Rogue Dragon, although just a bit less than I enjoyed The Kar-Chee Reign. The book is set a few hundred years after the events of KCR, but I think the book was published before KCR (although I could be wrong about that).
Like with KCR, I raced through this book in around 2 days. I found the action and plot to be compelling and some of the twists and turns truly surprised me. It did occur to me that it’s quite possible that Davidson wrote this book without outline or planning first, as it reads like the narrator is figuring out what is happening and about to happen at the same time as a reader would.
The plot does repeat itself some. Also, the villains of the book (the feudal lords) are a bit too evil to be believable. The Kar Chee being so amenable and nice to humans was a strange turn that I’m not 100% sure made sense. This could be a possible plot hole.
The fact that there are so many experimental elements included in the book, such as stylized dialogue and there being no romance at all, was one of my favorite things about my reading experience. Overall the book is definitely an enjoyable read and well worth the short time it takes to read it.
https://youtu.be/3APLDkgjd60 - video review of Rogue Dragon
I also very much enjoyed Rogue Dragon, although just a bit less than I enjoyed The Kar-Chee Reign. The book is set a few hundred years after the events of KCR, but I think the book was published before KCR (although I could be wrong about that).
Like with KCR, I raced through this book in around 2 days. I found the action and plot to be compelling and some of the twists and turns truly surprised me. It did occur to me that it’s quite possible that Davidson wrote this book without outline or planning first, as it reads like the narrator is figuring out what is happening and about to happen at the same time as a reader would.
The plot does repeat itself some. Also, the villains of the book (the feudal lords) are a bit too evil to be believable. The Kar Chee being so amenable and nice to humans was a strange turn that I’m not 100% sure made sense. This could be a possible plot hole.
The fact that there are so many experimental elements included in the book, such as stylized dialogue and there being no romance at all, was one of my favorite things about my reading experience. Overall the book is definitely an enjoyable read and well worth the short time it takes to read it.
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews