Dragonback

The first novel in the Dragonback series. Jack Morgan is dealing with more trouble than any young man deserves. Raised to be a professional thief and con artist by his late uncle Virgil, he's survived on his uncle's spaceship with the help of an AI program. But when he's accused of a crime he actually didn't commit, Jack is forced to flee to a remote, uninhabited planet where he can stay off the radar for a while. His solitude is soon interrupted when a ship crashes on Jack's hideout after a terrible space battle. There's only one survivor: a warrior called Draycos, whose reptilian race is being targeted for extinction. The good news is that if Jack helps Draycos, the odd creature might be able to help clear Jack's name. The not-so-good news is that to survive, Draycos must bond-physically and mentally-with a sentient being to use as his "host." And it looks like Jack is the only sentient being around . . .

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 . . .

Fugitive Jack Morgan and dragonlike alien Draycos have become literally inseparable. After Jack rescued him from a crash, the K'da warrior, who must have a host to survive, took residence on his back as a biomorphic tattoo, in return protecting the boy from harm. While Jack tries to clear his own name of a crime he didn't commit, he also helps Draycos uncover a conspiracy to destroy his race. After narrowly escaping service with a band of mercs, Jack and Draycos know that whoever wants the K'da dead was involved with a Brummga alien-brutish beings known to be tough as nails . . . and dumb as rocks. To get more information, Jack's "sold" into slavery on a rich Brummga estate, where he has to find out all he can from the computer system while under the cruel watch of a vicious slave master who has no problem killing the help. It's not going to be easy. But, as always, Draycos has his back . . .

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 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. 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 . . .