Jeff Weigel Andrew McMeel Fiction, CH? Fantasy/Graphic Novel Themes: Dragons, Girl Power ****
Description
Orphans Alanna and Hamel do their best to scrape a living from their late father's forge and the bounty of the forest. While foraging for food,
the young girl stumbles across a strange little lizard with wings - a dragon, straight out of legend! It leads her to a cave full of eggs, and an
adventure she never dreamed of... but, even as she revels in her discovery, the dragon slayer Sir Cedric pays a visit to Hamel, offering promises
of knighthood and glory.
Review
I read this when it was released online for free, but the full book includes additional material, notably an appendix of dragons and the flying
machine Dragonfly that figures into the story. The images are detailed and delightful, and the story's a nice adventure with some real
peril, even if the edges are slightly blunted (this is aimed at kids, after all.) Alanna's a decent protagonist, not above the odd mistake, but brave
and good-hearted. Her brother isn't always on her side, but what he does, he does out of love and concern for their future. Cedric's fairly
one-dimensional, though that's to be expected, I suppose. The dragons range from scaly puppies to threatening brutes of legend, though only when
properly provoked. It's fun and well illustrated, and has every hint of future adventures beyond the horizon. Definitely worth a look if you like
light, dragon-flavored adventure.
Rox has lived her whole life at her father's spaceship repair yard, working on junkers with her orphan best friend Zam. They dream of building a racer
from spare parts, maybe seeing the galaxy, but nowhere seems further from anywhere than their out-of-the-way asteroid home. Then the Quasar Torrent
touches down... and Rox and Zam end up on the adventure of their lives, when the Torrent turns out to be a pirate ship and the gifted girl
mechanics are "borrowed" by the crew in their quest of vengeance against the all-powerful Quarkcorp. Mysterious saboteurs, a mistrustful captain, and the
ruthless Quarkcorp ship Neutron Storm make this a trip the girls will never forget - if they survive.
Description
This is a lighthearted, imaginative space adventure for the younger sci-fi fan that doesn't sacrifice all of the grease under the fingernails. Rox and Zam
are both talented but untested in the wider world (or galaxy, rather), and find their excitement at working on a real spaceship and earning respect from (most
of) the crew at odds with their desire to return home... a conflict that becomes more personal for Zam as she discovers the cause of the multiple shipboard
malfunctions. With the exception of the captain Red Myk, none of the pirates are particularly mean or scary; they're all people who have been hurt by Quarkcorp's
stranglehold on galactic travel. Yes, character motivations can be a bit shallow and the adults tend to get outsmarted by the kids, but this is targeted at kids,
and even when they're being outsmarted none of the grown-ups come across as complete idiots; they just weren't raised in an interstellar junkyard, and don't
think like the girls do. (And, seriously, what kid reader doesn't dream of showing up the grown-ups in their lives and proving themselves like Rox and Zam?) An
afterword at the end briefly describes the author/artist's creative process. Quantum Mechanics blends girl power and technobabble with a certain sense
of wonder to create a story that may have blunted teeth but possesses a good heart.
