Dragons Wild: Robert Asprin

The beginning of a brand new series by the author of the PHULE’S COMPANY, THIEVES WORLD, and MYTH ADVENTURES novels …

A low-stakes con artist and killer poker player, Griffen McCandles drifted through college, earning himself the nickname “Grifter”. Wealthy and attractive, he always took for granted that there’d be a family job waiting for him after graduation. He just never suspected what his family really was …

But everything changed for Griffen when his mysterious Uncle Malcolm dropped the bomb and told him the news: that Griffen and his sister, Valerie, are dragons … almost purebred ones to boot … and that they will shape-shift when they reach physical maturity.

Needless to say, once Griffen’s “secondary characteristics” kick in, he’ll no longer need a cigarette lighter.

At first Griffen is skeptical and doesn’t believe his uncle because, after all, Uncle Mal has always been a little strange … but Griffen starts noticing the changes that his uncle predicted and figures that he has little time left to figure out how he’s going to survive as a dragon.

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 …

Voodoo queens and animal controllers and drug lords oh my!

I do have to say that I love Valerie … absolutely adore her, in fact. The woman is so adaptable and mercenary when necessary, yet can have fun in the most gruesome of circumstances. I wouldn’t be surprised to find out that she’s made out of rubber, the girl bounces back so quickly from some of the things that Asprin puts her through.

I don’t know entirely what to think about Griffen’s two girlfriends though. They both seem to get along famously with Valerie (and Valerie seems to have a good nose for bullshit), they both have had some surprises for Griffen in the past. From how the start of this series is going, Mai bodes to have much more surprises for him in the future, some possibly of the not-so-good variety, especially as it seems that just by her conniving there seems to be yet another life-threatening incoming conflict aimed at him coming from the Eastern front.

And for those curious Myth fans out there, no, there was not the one mention of Dragon Poker.

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ISBN: 978-0-441-01470-5
Publication date April 1, 2008, through Ace