The Dragonback Series Books 4 6

The final three novels in the Dragonback sci-fi saga from the #1 New York Times–bestselling and Hugo Award–winning author of Star Wars: Thrawn—“Enthralling” (Science Fiction Chronicle). Young fugitive Jack Morgan and alien K’da warrior Draycos are inseparable—quite literally. They’ve been together since a desperate Draycos was forced to bond with Jack as his host in order to survive. Now they’re traveling the stars trying to clear Jack of a crime he didn’t commit, bring down a conspiracy to destroy Draycos’s people, and generally stay alive . . . DRAGON AND HERDSMAN After nearly being caught, Jack and Draycos are rescued by Alison Kayna, a reluctant mercenary who steals them away to a planet where she plans to meet some friends. But when they get there they see something they never expected: a lost colony of K’da who have all but forgotten their pride and honor. DRAGON AND JUDGE Just when Jack thinks he has a lead to help Draycos on his quest, he’s kidnapped by a pack of aliens—not as a prisoner, but as a judge. Jack has no idea why they think he would, or could, know how to be a judge. But they soon reveal they want him specifically because Jack’s long-lost parents were once asked to do the same thing . . . DRAGON AND LIBERATOR Jack and Draycos have traveled a long way and been through a lot of hard times together, and now it looks like their journey may finally come to an end. Their hunt has brought them to the man at the heart of the deadly conspiracy against the K’da, and put him within their grasp. But before they can exact justice, they must stop him from unleashing a weapon of apocalyptic power . . .

Dragon and Herdsman, the fourth Dragonback adventure from award-winning author Timothy Zahn Jack Morgan has had it rough. He was orphaned at three, then lost his Uncle Virgil ten years later. But the plucky fourteen-year-old didn't know what rough was until he met Draycos, sole survivor of an advance force of alien refugees that had been brutally ambushed over the world where Jack was in hiding from the authorities. The K'da poet-warrior needed to bond with a host, or he would die; the reformed boy thief and con artist needed a friend, someone he could depend on as he tried to clear his name. Since then they've formed a unique team, determined to find and expose those responsible for the slaughter of Draycos's team. In the months since fate threw them together, they've been through a lot. But when Jack tries to hack the computer in an office of the notorious Malison Ring, their quest nearly ends in the jaws of that mercenary organization's trap. Luckily, Alison Kayna, a girl Jack had worked with as a reluctant mercenary for another outfit, comes to his rescue. Evading pursuit, they escape to the primitive world of Rho Scorvi, where she's planned a rendezvous with friends. But at the edge of Rho Scorvi's hundred-mile-wide forest, they make a shocking discovery: traveling with a group of the planet's native Erassvas is a small lost colony of Draycos's own race, the K'da. But unlike Draycos's people, these K'da--known as Phookas--are slow, lethargic, and unintelligent. When the Malison Ring tracks Jack's ship, the Essenay to Rho Scorvi, Jack realizes that unless he and Draycos and a reluctant Alison can lead the Phookas to safety in the forest, these unfortunate creatures will become the latest victims of the genocide that threatens to wipe out their entire race. Jack has already been a thief, a soldier, and a slave. Now he must become a herdsman, protecting the Phookas from danger as they travel deep into the unexplored forest. But even more importantly, he must protect from the mercenaries and Alison the dark secret of the herd and Jack's poet-warrior ally. Only if they succeed do they stand a chance of surviving Rho Scorvi to continue their quest . . . At the Publisher's request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management Software (DRM) applied.

The first three adventures in the Dragonback science fiction fantasy series from the #1 New York Times–bestselling author of the Thrawn series. Dragon and Thief: Young thief and con artist Jack Morgan is hiding out on an uninhabited planet after he’s falsely accused of a crime. But his solitude is interrupted when Draycos, a warrior whose reptilian race is being targeted for extinction, makes an emergency landing. The two will be able to survive, but only if they literally bond together . . . Dragon and Soldier: When all is well, Draycos looks like nothing more than a tattoo on Jack Morgan’s back. But when Jack’s threatened, the K’da warrior appears in his true, dragonlike form. Together they go undercover to investigate a mercenary outfit connected to the extermination of Draycos’s people, and it turns out Jack isn’t the only new recruit with a secret . . . Dragon and Slave: Following a lead, Jack becomes a slave on a Brummga alien estate where he must find out all he can while under the cruel watch of a vicious slave master who has no problem killing the help. Fortunately, Draycos always has his back.

“The adventure and danger levels crackle” (Booklist) in the second book of the Dragonback saga by the #1 New York Times–bestselling author of Star Wars: Thrawn. Even though he’s been on the run from the law for a while, young Jack Morgan never wanted a bodyguard. But that’s what he got when a desperate alien named Draycos bonded with him for survival. When all is well, Draycos looks like nothing more than a tattoo on Jack’s back. But when Jack’s threatened, the K’da warrior appears in his true, dragonlike form. Now, Jack’s indebted to his new symbiotic friend for saving his life, and feels obligated to help Draycos fulfill his vow to discover who’s behind the plot to eradicate his kind. All they know for sure is that whoever annihilated the fleet of K’da refugee ships used mercenaries to do their dirty work. To investigate, Jack signs up with a merc outfit known for using teenagers to fill their ranks. But life in the military is far more unpleasant than Jack bargained for—and it turns out he’s not the only new recruit who isn’t what they appear to be . . .

Fourteen-year-old orphan Jack Morgan is hiding out. In a spaceship. Falsely accused of a crime, he pilots his Uncle Virgil's spaceship to a remote and uninhabited planet hoping to escape capture. When another ship crashes after a fierce battle, Jack rescues the sole survivor-- a K'da warrior names Draycos. It turns out Draycos can help Jack clear his name. All they have to do is team up. No problem, right? Until Jack learns that Draycos is not your average alien...in Timothy Zahn's Dragon and Thief. Ages 10 and up At the Publisher's request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management Software (DRM) applied.

Death-row inmates are used for a lethal mining operation—but one is innocent—in this science fiction novel by a #1 New York Times–bestselling author. Only the recently dead can helm the “deadman switch” to pilot a ship through the Cloud, a mysterious solar entity that shields the Solitaire solar system and its valuable heavy metals. Two convicted murderers are routinely sacrificed for this task—one to enter the system, one to exit. Gilead Raca Benedar is a Watcher, employed by the wealthy head of an intergalactic mining company as a human lie detector of sorts. When Benedar is sent to Solitaire, with its metal-rich moons, to assist with the acquisition of its valuable mining rights, he and the crew are able to make it to Solitaire safely, and all goes well. That is, until Benedar’s Watcher powers show him that the second convict they are traveling with—the one meant to helm the deadman switch on their return journey—is innocent.

A gripping first-contact adventure for fans of James Cameron’s Avatar from the #1 New York Times–bestselling author of the Star Wars: Thrawn series. At twenty-two, hotshot Matthew Raimey has his whole life ahead of him, but a tragic accident quickly changes everything. He’s left feeling hopeless—until he receives a proposition to be part of a new project for SkyLight International: Project Changeling. It’s not the easiest transition, but eventually Matt is spending his days unlike anyone back on Earth could imagine—swimming through the toxic yet beautiful atmosphere of Jupiter, in the body of a Qanska, an enormous alien resembling a cross between a manta ray and a dolphin. Even stranger, Matt is happy again. But his second chance at survival doesn’t come without a cost. Behind this project is a mysterious oligarchy of rich and powerful individuals who run the solar system, and they didn’t place Matt on Jupiter out of mere kindness. They’re monitoring his every move, and preparing to collect what they came for . . . “The direction Manta’s Gift ultimately takes is inventive and unexpected. . . . Zahn plays out his suspense as deftly as always, building a tense situation and ultimately defusing it in believable and pleasing ways.” —Locus “Zahn is ingenious in his plotting and well versed in keeping things moving. Manta’s Gift leaves the reader feeling very satisfied.” —Analog Science Fiction and Fact “The author of Angelmass brings a new twist to a classic tale of human-alien encounter, combining fast-paced action and hard science with personal drama. A good choice for most sf collections.” —Library Journal “Another thoroughly literate sf yarn from Zahn.” —Booklist

Walking the Dragon's Back features 96 pages that are filled with a fun storyline, vocabulary, discussion questions, and more to engage transitioning readers and strengthen their comprehension skills. Each World Adventure Chapter Book dives into a specific country, and readers tag along for the adventure as they encounter memorable monuments, places, culture, and history. As the story's characters venture throughout each country, they address topics such as family, friendship, and growing up in a way that the reader can relate to. Great for independent or group reading, each book in the World Adventure Chapter Book series features 96 pages filled with complex sentences and chapters. With minimal illustrations, readers must rely on the descriptive text to understand the setting, the characters, and the plot of each book. Each book contains several detailed episodes, all centered on a single plot that will challenge the reader.