Everand Logo

Welcome to Everand!

  • Discover millions of ebooks, audiobooks, and so much more with a free trial

    Only $11.99/month after trial. Cancel anytime.

    Highfire: A Novel
    Highfire: A Novel
    Highfire: A Novel
    Audiobook9 hours

    Highfire: A Novel

    Written by Eoin Colfer

    Narrated by Johnny Heller

    4/5

    ()

    Switch to ebook

    About this audiobook

    From the New York Times bestselling author of the Artemis Fowl series comes a hilarious and high-octane adult novel about a vodka-drinking, Flashdance-loving dragon who lives an isolated life in the bayous of Louisiana—and the raucous adventures that ensue when he crosses paths with a fifteen-year-old troublemaker on the run from a crooked sheriff.

    In the days of yore, he flew the skies and scorched angry mobs—now he hides from swamp tour boats and rises only with the greatest reluctance from his Laz-Z-Boy recliner. Laying low in the bayou, this once-magnificent fire breather has been reduced to lighting Marlboros with nose sparks, swilling Absolut in a Flashdance T-shirt, and binging Netflix in a fishing shack. For centuries, he struck fear in hearts far and wide as Wyvern, Lord Highfire of the Highfire Eyrie—now he goes by Vern. However...he has survived, unlike the rest. He is the last of his kind, the last dragon. Still, no amount of vodka can drown the loneliness in his molten core. Vern’s glory days are long gone. Or are they?

    A canny Cajun swamp rat, young Everett “Squib” Moreau does what he can to survive, trying not to break the heart of his saintly single mother. He’s finally decided to work for a shady smuggler—but on his first night, he witnesses his boss murdered by a crooked constable.

    Regence Hooke is not just a dirty cop, he’s a despicable human being—who happens to want Squib’s momma in the worst way. When Hooke goes after his hidden witness with a grenade launcher, Squib finds himself airlifted from certain death by…a dragon?

    The swamp can make strange bedfellows, and rather than be fried alive so the dragon can keep his secret, Squib strikes a deal with the scaly apex predator. He can act as his go-between (aka familiar)—fetch his vodka, keep him company, etc.—in exchange for protection from Hooke. Soon the three of them are careening headlong toward a combustible confrontation. There’s about to be a fiery reckoning, in which either dragons finally go extinct—or Vern’s glory days are back.

    A triumphant return to the genre-bending fantasy that Eoin Colfer is so well known for, Highfire is an effortlessly clever and relentlessly funny tour-de-force of comedy and action.

    Editor's Note

    Editor’s pick…

    If you’re looking for a fun page-turner with sassy dialogue and madcap adventure, give a listen to Eoin Colfer’s freewheeling, irreverent romp through the swamps of Louisiana with a super-sweary dragon and his teenage sidekick with daddy issues.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherHarperAudio
    Release dateJan 28, 2020
    ISBN9780062939074
    Author

    Eoin Colfer

    Eoin Colfer is the New York Times bestselling author of the Artemis Fowl series as well as two adult crime novels, Plugged, which was short-listed for the Los Angeles Times Book Prize, and Screwed. He lives in Ireland with his wife and two children.

    More audiobooks from Eoin Colfer

    Related to Highfire

    Related audiobooks

    Fantasy For You

    View More
    View More

    Related podcast episodes

    Related articles

    • Article

      Jay Kristoff

      Sep 8, 2021

      MOST NOVELISTS HAVE AT LEAST ONE book in a drawer that represents an early effort, a text that will never be offered up to a wider readership. In the case of Jay Kristoff, this book was a tale of bloodsuckers he wrote in 2008. “It was right at the ta

      3 min read

    • Article

      The Last Smile In Sunder City

      Jan 29, 2020

      RELEASED 6 FEBRUARY 352 pages | Paperback/ebook/audiobook Author Luke Arnold Publisher Orbit Fans of Black Sails will likely find the name Luke Arnold familiar. He played John Silver in the pirate series, as well as being a mainstay on numerous other

      1 min read

    • Article

      The 22 Murders Of Madison May

      Jul 14, 2021

      ⏵ RELEASED OUT NOW! 336 pages | Hardback/ebook/audiobook ⏵ Author Max Barry ⏵ Publisher Hodder & Stoughton ➔ Why did Quantum Leap’s Dr Sam Beckett never find his way home? This multiverse-hopping sci-fi novel offers an answer: because travellers can

      1 min read

    • Article

      Styx: Master Of Shadows

      Feb 3, 2022

      Styx: Master Of Shadows
      1 min read

    • Article

      'Dread Nation' Is A Rollicking 'Gone With The Wind + Zombies' Adventure

      Apr 20, 2018

      But don't underestimate the latest YA novel by activist Justina Ireland – it's also a biting commentary on contemporary race relations in America.

      3 min read

    • Article

      Explore The Fantastic In Glasgow

      Nov 5, 2020

      The University of Glasgow School of Critical Studies has launched the Centre for Fantasy and the Fantastic. The new venture’s inaugural event was a free Zoom lecture on 16 September by fantasy author Ellen Kushner, followed by a discussion panel on f

      1 min read

    • Article

      Dark Blade

      Jul 17, 2019

      Dark Blade
      1 min read

    • Article

      Reissues

      Oct 9, 2019

      Pick of the paperbacks this time: Adrian Tchaikovsky’s CAGE OF SOULS ( , out now, Head Of Zeus). Set when the sun is dying and less than 100,000 humans survive in the last city, it centres on a rebel confined on an island prison in a predator-filled

      1 min read

    • Article

      The Bone Shard Daughter

      Sep 9, 2020

      RELEASED 10 SEPTEMBER 448 pages | Hardback/ebook/audiobook Author Andrea Stewart Publisher Orbit Books Epic fantasy has long had a thing for One True Kings. You know the drill: a dreadful tyrant is murdering people for fun and generally imperilling t

      1 min read

    • Article

      Editorial

      Aug 8, 2019

      ISSUE 25 — FANTASY AUTUMN 2019 There are no limits on fantasy. Yet, in literature it is so heavily steeped in genre it’s impossible not to think of warring kingdoms, dragons, unicorns, witches and other supernatural tropes. Fantasy with a capital F i

      1 min read

    • Article

      Twitch Reflex

      Nov 30, 2021

      Twitch Reflex
      2 min read

    • Article

      A Load Of Old Trope

      Sep 3, 2020

      A Load Of Old Trope
      6 min read

    • Article

      Birds

      May 26, 2023

      Birds
      2 min read

    Related categories

    Reviews for Highfire

    4/5

    194 ratings25 reviews

    What did you think?

    Tap to rate

    Review must be at least 10 words

    • 5/5
      Loved it & looking for more like this! I will have to read it again because nothing comes close. Great writing and characters were so vivid I loved, hated, worried and felt many other emotions with them all. This crazy Hellfire Dragon is like no other and needs a second book.
      Don't expect this to be like anything else Colder has written and he didn't disappoint again.
    • 4/5
      Lots of action, but only one named female character. There's so much masculinity in it. Enjoyed it otherwise.
    • 5/5
      Fresh and funny! What else is there to ask ?
    • 3/5
      Sorry but not the best book. Not written so I could believe it or myself in the action. . I mean as deading with a cell phone?
    • 5/5
      A laugh riot from beginning to end. I would recommend it to anyone who is a fan of Fantasy novels. Though it is definitely not a children’s story. Phenomenal!
    • 5/5
      This book was Mr. Colfer + life lessons, imagination crossroads and crackups, and a good old fashioned Good Guys vs. Bad. Vern, Squib, and Waxman are the perfect modern 3 musketeers... kinda. Okay, not really. But Vern, 3000yo dragon, and “Squib,” ~15yo hard trying son of a single mom who’s a saintly Cajun, make a team that may last a while, if Mr. Colfer knows what’s good for... us? Looking forward to more.
    • 5/5
      Reminds me of my most favourite book Colfer had ever written and no, not Artemis Fowl, but Airman. Not much of a plot, but a whole hoard of fun, especially thanks to Johnny Keller's swamp accent. Love it! Recommend it!
    • 5/5
      I became a fan of the Fowl series helping my daughter develop her love of reading and when I discovered Highfire I knew it would be a fun ride!

      It didn’t disappoint!!!

      The banter, the turns of phrase, the descriptions and the characters made for an exciting story. So much so that I eagerly await the next installment!
    • 5/5
      Colfer brings in a winner. This story was humorous, dark, and thrilling. I love the characters. For a guy from Ireland, Colfer writes Cajuns like he has spent some time in the swamps. He crafts a great antagonist, I couldn't stand him! Great book to add to any collection.
    • 3/5
      This was fun. I would read a sequel.
    • 5/5
      HighfireA NovelBy: Eoin ColferNarrated by: Johnny HellerOh my gosh! Colfer wrote a hilarious adult book that is just right! It has a snarky, booze, dragon, named Vern, hiding out in the swamps of Louisiana enjoying a boar now and then. He lives a good life with his gator minions and, other than being lonely for a dragon girl, he does ok. He avoids people until he gets himself into trouble by saving a teen from a crooked cop. Sure, he should've ate the kid but decided to let him live and the antics are on! It is funny, heartwarming, and just downright silly but I loved every minute! Unpredictable, great characters, and I hope this will be a series!I got the Audible version because Heller I knew would make the book POP and he did! He made it even better! Great pair - Colfer and Heller!
    • 3/5
      When we think dragons, we tend to think "medieval Europe". Castles, knights in armor, trebuchets. This is likely because most of the stories (both actual written legends and things like television and movies) people in the Western world are exposed to that involve dragons take place in that sort of environment, which becomes a bit of a self-perpetuating cycle. But there's no real reason to restrict the stories so. Why not dragons in Australia? In the Congo? During the Renaissance? Or even in the modern world?A dragon in today's world is at the heart of Highfire, Eoin Colfer's first fantasy novel for an adult audience. To be more precise, in the Lousiana bayous. The dragon's name is Vern (short for Wyvern), and as far as he knows, he's the last of his kind. Everyone else has been killed off, many by those knights I mentioned earlier. Vern survived by laying low, which is why he's found himself a small island in the middle of nowhere where he can enjoy watching TV in his favorite recliner and chugging vodka.He's not alone in the bayou, of course. Other area residents include Vern's longtime friend, Waxman, himself a creature with dragon blood, though human enough to pass. There's Regence Hooke, the deeply crooked sheriff who is plotting to take over and expand the local drug-running operation. He's got his sights set on a local nurse, Elodie Moreau, who is disinterested in whatever charms he thinks he's offering and otherwise busy being a single mother to her often-errant teenage son, Everett, called Squib. When Squib accidentally discovers Vern's existence, he becomes the dragon's errand boy (Vern can't exactly go make his own run to the liquor store, after all) and something resembling a friend...until Regence discovers him too. Conflict ensues!I had high hopes for this book going in. Colfer's Artemis Fowl series was a little too young for me, but my sister liked them and I would surreptitiously "borrow" them to read because I also really enjoyed reading them. They were great stories with both humor and pathos, so I thought we'd see more of the same here, but with more complexity and depth and possibly also things like drugs, sex, and swearing. But ultimately, it seemed like Colfer was more interested in the latter things and less in the former. I'm not shy about swear words in the slightest. Much to my own mother's chagrin, I love swearing. Even I was taken a little aback by the amount of swearing in this book, in a way that felt more gratuitous than earned. Also gratuitous, and presumably meant to be funny but not really working, was an ongoing bit about the dragon's genitalia. Those flaws would have been irritating but ultimately forgivable if the story and/or characters had worked better. But I never got invested in the twists and turns that the plot took, largely because I didn't care about the characters. Regence was just cartoonishly evil, and his constant escapes from lethal situations were another thing that I think was supposed to be funny but didn't land for me. Squib himself should have been a winningly scrappy underdog, but never really came alive. His name was the only thing not particularly generic about him. Vern is the one we spend the most time with, and while he was compelling enough, he needed more interesting characters to interact with. The book isn't awful, it has moments of charm and whimsy, but will almost certainly disappoint anyone who appreciated Colfer's previous work and was looking for more of the same kind of thing.
    • 5/5
      I really enjoyed this book and I absolutely adore Eoin Colfer BUT let me backtrack a bit. When I originally asked to review this book it was a simpler time. This was pre-pandemic and before all of the other ordeals we have found ourselves facing within the span of 2 seasons INCLUDING (but not limited to): the threat of Murder Hornets, square dancing hurricanes, protests, rioting, and Meth alligators (which is somewhat apropos here). Yes, times were easier and a bibliophile was likely to leisurely request, read and review on a whim. Then came Covid-19 and our world was changed overnight and, sadly, with no relief in sight. Couple all of this with the tensions and anxiety such an environment cantrigger and voila, you have the makings of a newly minted agoraphobic hermit sporting a new state of being born of high octane terror and a dollop of hopelessness. The world was not the only thing to change, I fear I changed as well. BUT please excuse my digression... I only wanted to set the stage.Back to the review at hand...I will admit that I LOVED Eoin Colfer's Artemis Fowl series (all 7 books plus 2 novellas), they are in my top 5 favorite middle grade reads! So, when I saw that he once again penned another publication, this time with an adult target audience in mind, I HAD to have it. The day I was given the ARC I was ecstatic. I finished the book I was currently reading at record pace and then dove right into Highfire... AND... I was extremely underwhelmed. I thought "this can't be right, I must be in the wrong headspace for this kind of story right now" so I put it down to come back to later and every time I revisited, I promptly put it back down again. Fast forward a (mumble mumble) number of months, plus a broken tablet with the ARC on it, and I felt like squelching on my deal to review this book... weren't these obstacles a sign telling me to let it go and simply bale?? Should I just bury my head under a pillow and wait for this wretched year to end?? Well as it turns out the answer was NO... good thing too because it seems that I just needed to enjoy this one auditorily and thus the Audiobook came to the rescue!This (audio)book is not your average Colfer tale. It still bares his signature: elaborately luxurious world building plus his beautifully tangible characters, add in his penchant for unique premises and your product is a work of art that is sure to please a wide variety of readers! His characters are so well crafted that you can imagine them perfectly, clear as day, jumping right off the page... errr... speaker(?!?) and landing right smack into your (messy, reclusive) life. You'll either love them or abhor them but either way you'll FEEL something.The book's namesake Highfire, or simply Vern (Wyvern), is not your run of the mill dragon. He is a Flash Dance tee shirt wearing, oil and Vodka guzzling, ornery recluse of a thing that may or may not be the last of his kind. He has no qualms about blessing some swamp folk (or villages of old) with his fiery breath. After a millennia he is (reluctantly) trying to learn how to coexist and actually care about Humans, or one particular human to be exact. He is trying to stop letting his past horrors, complete with folks always at the ready to wrangle up an angry mob, define Humans as a species. This is especially true with his begrudgingly bequeathed "friend" Everette (Squib) Monroe. I enjoyed Squib's character more than I thought I would and I loved the parts with his mother Elodie in them. I was smitten with Squib's adoration of his mother and the special, unshakable, bond they shared. Oh, then there were the alligators. They don't play a staring role but it is definitely good to have friends/subjects in low places.True to Colfer form, the characters are the best part of the book although his atypical premise came in a close second. I loathed the antagonist more than I disliked a dastardly villian in a long time and could not wait to see how he, Hook, would meet his demise. Thankfully my question was answered and done so with style.Overall:I couldn't believe the 180⁰ my attitude took... From the first time I picked up the book (nearly writing it off altogether) to getting the audiobook and relishing every second with it, my whole perspective and mindset did an abrupt about-face. My advice is: if you are having a hard time getting into this one as well, I highly recommend persevering OR do what I did, get the audiobook... it was well worth the time... you'll laugh, cringe and cheer.Great book!!~Enjoy*** I was given a copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review ***
    • 4/5
      Vern is probably the last dragon in the world and he has foudn a life for himself in the swamps of Louisana with some help from his friends. Now he's dealing with a young man who has issues and a Constable who is abusing his role and maybe he has to deal with the human world more than they want to deal with him.Full of humour and good fun I enjoyed the read.
    • 4/5
      Highfire by Eoin Colfer is one rollicking good read! When young ‘Squib’ Moreau witnesses a murder on the bayou (of his new employer, no less), and nearly bites the dust when the killer realised there has been a witness to the dastardly deed, he is rescued by an unlikely saviour. Enter the dragon- one Wyvern, Lord Highfire. Vern is the last of his kind, and values his privacy. When a ruckus on the swamp rouses him to investigate, he ends up saving Squib. But that only opens up more problems. Despite Squib’s assurances that he will keep Vern’s secret, the dragon decides it’s better to kill the witness after all. A lucky break allows Squib to escape. Not that Vern can’t find him. The two end up striking a deal though, thanks to the intervention of a mutual friend- Waxman. Waxman, who is far more than he seems, and is Vern’s only friend. Squib ends up as a gopher for the dragon in exchange for a) his own life and b) protection from Regence Hooke, the crooked constable whose murderous crime he witnessed. This book cracked me up. It’s a far cry from the Artemis Fowl books, though it has the same cheeky humour. Colfer does a masterful job with keeping the language and tone befitting of the setting. It was easy to fall in love with all of these characters, even Regence and Ivory, villains though they be. My favourite parts were the dragon lore, and insights into Vern’s physiology. While Vern isn’t technically a Wyvern, save by given name, the reason behind the definition of ‘wyvern’ in the story world was hilarious. (Vern is a dragon, with six appendages. Wyvern of mythology are dragons with two wings and two hindfeet. No forefeet. Think Game of Thrones). I loved the combustion mechanics and how Vern needed to replenish by drinking oil. ***Many thanks to the author and publisher for providing an egalley in exchange for a fair and honest review. Reviewed for the Tulsa Book Review.
    • 3/5
      I received an advanced reading copy of this novel through the Library Thing Early Reviewers program.Eoin Colfer writes fantasy fiction primarily for the young adult audience, but this book is most decidedly not for children.  Nevertheless, the book is about an ancient dragon Wyvern, Lord Highfire ("Vern" for short) who has retired to the Louisiana bayou where he reclines in his La-Z-Boy wearing a Flashdance t-shirt and drinking vodka while watching Netflix. A series of incidents bring him together with a teenager named Everett "Squib" Moreau, who has a penchant for trouble but is trying to do his best. Squib eventually becomes Vern's assistant or "familiar" despite the latter's mistrust of humans.Squib has the misfortune that the corrupt and sociopathic constable Regence Hooke is insistent on dating Squib's single mother.  Squib gets into deeper trouble when he witnesses Hooke murdering a rival.  Hooke learns of Vern from following Squib and comes up with a plan to use the dragon to take out a New Orleans crime lord and take control of drug and arms trafficking.  Parts of this book are a delightful blend of fantasy and gritty, everyday life on the Louisiana bayou.  I especially enjoy the growing relationship between Squib and Vern.  Unfortunately, Colfer seems to revel in detailing Hooke's cruel and psychotic mind.  It gets to the point where Hooke feels like he's the main protagonist of the story and he's not someone I want to spend a lot of time with.
    • 5/5
      I recieved this book through the Early Reviewer program. Vivid characters bring this story of a lone wyvern hiding out in the Cajun swamps to life. Fun and full of action, I'm hoping for a sequel even though this story wraps up nicely. 4.5 stars.
    • 4/5
      Quite enjoyed this. Loved the character of Vern and was rooting for the bad guy to get his comeuppance!
    • 4/5
      Eoin Coifer—the renown author of the Artemis Fowl series—is back with a rollicking swamp-drenched story about a dragon who doesn’t quite give a damn. The setting is a spectacular one. Being from Louisiana myself, it is obvious how perfect a tale can be set on the bayou. Wherein we meet a foul-mouthed, vodka-drinking dragon and the vile folks that revolve around him. In the midst of all this chaos is a boy named Squib who teeters on the edge of good and bad. Lessons are learned and others aren’t, and it’s hard to have a better time than Highfire.
    • 4/5
      Eoin Colfer’s “Highfire” is a hilarious, high-octane caper in the Louisiana bayou with a troublesome kid named Squib. Due to a run-in with a sociopathic killer cop, Regence Hooke (who is creeping on Squib’s mom), our unlikely young hero accidentally befriends an ancient dragon, Wyvern “Vern,” who was once titled Lord HighFire but now relishes the comforts of modern consumer society while lounging in his shack in the swamp. From his damp but cozy hideout, the canny old dragon can stream Netflix, drink premium vodka, and order just about anything and get it delivered promptly—provided he has an intermediary like Squib, who’s good at slipping through the bayou undetected. Vern may, in fact, be the last dragon, but no one knows for sure. In a delightful plot twist, it turns out that Vern’s not the only ancient mythical creature even in this particular bayou. Squib’s nemesis, the villainous Regence Hooke, yearns to make more creatures extinct than just dragons in his quest for power. Telling part of the story from the villain’s perspective is always chancy, but Colfer neatly pulls it off, in a style reminiscent of Greg Iles in the Penn Cage series. The dialogue is topnotch. The novel’s pace is mostly leisurely, but the final chapters are written full throttle, like a thriller.A change of pace for the author, who is the author of the juvenile fiction series Artemis Fowl, this book is certainly not suitable for young readers, but if adult readers can overlook profanity and violence to delve into a novel with delightful characters and lots of heart, HighFire is a beguiling fantasy with Cajun spice. I received an advanced readers copy of this book from HarperCollins and was encouraged to submit a review.
    • 4/5
      This is a creative fantasy whose chief characters are a spirited teen aged boy (Squib), a dirty policeman and what seems to be the world's last living dragon named Vern. The action takes place in rural Louisiana near New Orleans. At the start Vern hates all humans but a time passes he and Squib become allies and friends. There are many unique characters that add a lot of color and enhancement to the book. I think this book would make a good movie or series but this is no Pete's Dragon.
    • 3/5
      Colfer has been a favorite author of mine since I was a teenager, and Highfire certainly didn't disappoint. With a very original storyline and an impressive use of back-swamp vernacular, this book is worth a read. That said, it definitely is an adult novel with plenty of body-humor, choice words, and adult themes. Not a bother to me, but I wouldn't hand it to a kid who's run out of Artemis Fowl books and wants to read more of Colfer's work.
    • 4/5
      This adorable book for adults is hilarious, satirical, insightful, and a rollicking good read.The main protagonist is Vern (short for “Wyvern, Lord Highfire”), an antihero [i.e., a central character in a story, movie, or drama who lacks conventional heroic attributes] who fits in perfectly with his swampy environment in fictional Petit Bateau, Louisiana. Vern spends his endless days drinking Absolut Vodka, chomping on Pringles, and watching reality television. He gets food, alcohol, and cable tv thanks to his go-between to the human world, Waxman, a nearby houseboat-dweller who is Vern’s only friend. But when Waxman has to leave for a while, Vern needs a new “familiar” to see to his needs, and Waxman recommends Everett “Squib” Moreau.Squib is fifteen and “leaning toward” being a good boy. He works hard to help support his momma Elodie, who is a pretty nurse currently pursued by the corrupt town constable, Regence Hooke. Hooke is about as evil as you can get, but with an awareness that he is a psychopath (and proud of it!). Hooke has plans to take over the drug running business from the New Orleans capo who pays off Hooke and other dirty cops throughout the area. He has visions of being a billionaire with Elodie by his side. (Elodie has special appeal for Hooke on account of having rejected him.)Vern agrees to take on Squib as his familiar but only because he will indeed need one with Waxman not around. Vern's first instinct was to kill Squib because Squib found out Vern existed. That information was dangerous to Vern. Vern is, after all, as far as he knows, the only living dragon left in the world, and there are plenty who, if they found out about Vern, would like to boast of killing him. What if Squib tells anyone about Vern, or worse yet, posts a video of him on social media? But Waxman argued:“Vern, Lord Highfire as was. The older I gets, the more I realize that we is all just souls. All souls in different bodies. . . . Some souls are assholes and some ain’t. Maybe it seems like there is an inordinate amount of human assholes, but that’s just percentages. And I do believe this specimen of a boy is a good soul.”Vern reluctantly buys into Waxman's argument, and just as reluctantly grows fond of Squib, as Squib grows attached to Vern. When Hooke, spying on Squib, finds out about his new job and more importantly, the nature of Squib's new boss, Hooke comes up with a plan to eliminate Squib once and for all - Squib being a barrier to snaring Elodie. Hooke thought maybe he could even use Vern to vanquish the local mob and take it all for himself.What follows is an improbably hilarious wild and violent showdown between the forces of good and evil, with the outcome never certain.Evaluation: While this story certainly includes brutality and meanness, it also features endearing characters, unconditional love, touching friendship, satire, loads of humor, and all the elements of a great “fish tale” - or in this case, dragon tale. It’s a bit like a Carl Hiaasen book, but with a lot more warmth. There is plenty of deeper meaning too, such as the most obvious point that external appearance should not be an indicator of who is "human" and who is monstrous. I found the coming-of-age, father/son aspects especially appealing. Highly recommended!
    • 2/5
      The story sounded like a fun read, but I did not like the writing style.I had to stop after the first few pages due to it being so choppy, and the vernacular in which it was written made it hard to read.Maybe someone familiar with that region and the local's euphemisms would like it, but I did not.
    • 5/5
      Original!Eoin Colfer once again pulls literary magic out of the box! His wicked sense of humor permeates this most unlikely story.Put together one badass Dragon, last of his kind, formerly Wyvern, Lord Highfire, of the Highfire Eyrie, now just called Vern, and a bayou tatty, wise-ass Cajun kid with the handle Squib and you have one hugely amusing story of life in the bayou swamps around Louisiana. As Vern our former dragon Lord puts it, now he's "king of jack shit in Mudsville, Louisiana." Vern's living conditions are not the only thing that's changed. Now "Vern was mostly ketogenic, high fat, low carbs, apart from his beloved breakfast cereals...Unfortunately, it meant the beer had to go, but he got by on vodka. Absolut was his preferred brand. A little high on alcohol but easiest on the system." He also practices mindfulness as a way to cope with his down moods.After a series of setbacks Vern takes on Squib as his general supplier. That's when things become so much more interesting. Squib's mother has caught the eye of the local rogue law enforcement Captain, and that means Squib is under observation as well. One thing of course leads to another.(The banter between Vern and Squib reminds me a tad of that between Steven Brust's assassin Vlad Taltos, and his small dragon like companion, the jhereg Loiosh.)With a Dragon lord, New Orleans drug lords, a crazy ex marine, rogue lawman with the handle Regence Hooke, the story reads like Peter Pan gone feral.The one liners don't stop coming. The tone is self deprecating. The Dragon Lord has seen better days. His wardrobe is eye catchingly kitsch and includes a Flashdance T-shirt. Squib and his mother are delights. What more can I say? I was amused the whole way through! In fact I feel a further read coming on to take in and fully appreciate Colfer's wonderful sense of the ridiculous. A HarperCollins ARC via NetGalley