Given how much I've seen this advertised on twitter, I thought I'd best have a read of it.
Brannigan is a fireman, five days from retirement, when he discovers that he is a Smoke Eater, one of the few people able to breathe the smoke and fire produced by the dragons which have invaded the world.
Dragons have ravaged most of the USA, leaving individual cities as small feudal kingdoms run by their mayors, separated by vast ashy wastelands. These dead zones are occupied only by dragons and wraiths, the murderous ghosts left behind those turned into crispy corpses. Which means that Brannigan is conscripted immediately into the Smoke Eaters, humanity's only defence against the dragon foe.
He's not very pleased about it to be honest with you. Especially when his problems keep mounting up. Over the course of the novel, he has to deal with an angry public, violent ghosts, dragons burrowing up from beneath him, lizard-worshipping Canadians, a robot uprising and a mayor who's a bit of dick. This does tend to result in a plot that is frequently scaled up (pun intended), and it does occasionally feel like it's getting away from you. Lot of action and movement in it, but some of it could do with a little more time to strike home.
It has an excellent cast of characters however, from drill sergeant nasties, to belligerent old Captains, with youthful rookies and a slightly too horny roommate. The best scenes of the book feel a bit like a novelisation of the Starship Troopers film, with good camaraderie and extravagant power suit battles. Would probably be quite an enjoyable summer blockbuster.
Definitely a fluffy book for all that, not being much of an emotional heavyweight, but sits nicely in a similar niche to things like Terminal Alliance that aren't too worried about taking themselves seriously. Good bit of fun.
Tagged: Book Urban Fantasy Working joes Novel Print