Planet Dragos: A Novella of the Elder Races

It’s been a couple years or so since the last story set in the North American Elder Race Territories and Dracos/Pia’s immediate sphere, but this story seems to pick up not long after that. I found it a little slow going getting into this new story, due in part to the time away and in part hating to see a happy couple having to fight their way back to that (even knowing that this will be the last Pia/Drogos centric story so they should be quite HEA after this). Someone or something always seems to be trying to wreck their lives and tear their family/world apart (and we know since we’ve been along to watch and cheer them on to victory each time). Once again, what should be a short & simple vacation trip turns out to go all wrong. Once it got started the story was interesting and I like where it ended up and the decisions that the couple made at the end of the book. While the story suffers the issues of most novellas (story/plot depth, character development, timing) due to the word count limitations, I’m not sure all those issues would have been truly resolved by making the story longer. It was nice to see Dragos working with Rune again and for him to make another “growth” step in his relations with those he’s close to as well as glimpses of some other past key characters in the Wyr. Over all it was an interesting story and the possibilities due to Pia & Dragos’ decision impact on the rest of the Wyr nation and elder races makes for a nice ending (and future). ARC courtesy of the author in exchange for a fair and honest review

4.5 stars--PLANET DRAGOS by Thea Harrison follows Dragos and, a very pregnant and grumpy Pia as they venture to Vegas for Rune and Carling’s wedding. Not only does Dragos have business to attend but ‘Death’s’ appearance pulls Pia onto the Vegas strip where she is no longer safe within the shelter of her mate. Kidnapped but not alone Pia will come face to face with an unknown enemy hoping to destroy all that is Dragos and the Elder Races. PLANET DRAGOS reveals upcoming changes for the Elder Races and the New York Demesne as Thea Harrison says good-bye, for now, to our leading couple. There are new leaders and players on the horizon but time and experience will be a necessary trial. The story line brings together and revisits with a number of characters introduced throughout the series as well as those featured in the Elder Race’s novellas. A quick read with an engrossing premise PLANET DRAGOS is a dramatic, reflective and passionate story line as we say a temporary good-bye to our reigning couple.

A Very Good Dragon In Planet Dragos, Thea Harrison gives readers another chapter in the mesmerizing world of the Cuelebres. As the final story with Pia and Dragos as the main viewpoint characters, this book was very bittersweet for me. Of the many fantastic characters Harrison has created, Pia and Dragos top the list. My only criticism of this novella, and it is a very minor one, is that I wish they had spent more time together in it. Had this not been the last book with them as the central characters, that would not have bothered me at all, and the last third of the book gives readers plenty of Pia/Dragos interaction (in and out of the bedroom). One of the incredible facets of Harrison’s writing is the complexity of her novellas without the stories feeling too forced or scattered. This remains true in Planet Dragos. Without giving too much away in terms of spoilers, here’s what is happening: the Wyr are gathering in Las Vegas to celebrate Rune and Carling’s wedding. Pia is at the end of her pregnancy with Stinkpot, and Dragos is distracted by a business deal and his feeling that something is not right in his world. Pia is kidnapped, which releases the Great Beast as he and his team try to discover the who, what, where and why of the act. The story introduces us to Azrael, a mysterious figure from Dragos’ past who looks a lot like him. Rune and Carling play significant parts here as well. Harrison wraps up some loose ends from previous books but lays the foundation for many other Elder Races stories, including Liam, Azrael, and Rune/Carling. What is very satisfying about this book is the further progress Dragos makes as he navigates the continuing unfamiliar territory of mate and father. His calculating nature does not deal well with uncertainty; he needs a plan. Over the course of the Pia/Dragos books, events have snowballed into a growing sense of dissatisfaction with his old self and life as he tries to figure out who he is as a father and husband. From the moment in Dragon Bound when he decides to downsize because, as Graydon tells Pia, she’s replaced his hoard, Harrison has been steering Dragos to this epiphany, and fans won’t be disappointed. In giving the couple a deserved break from the harrowing moments in their 2-year marriage, Harrison has left the door open for a new adventure. Though Pia and Dragos won’t be the main couple, I’m sure they will still play important parts in the stories of Liam, Stinkpot, Azrael, and other Elder Races characters that I hope are forthcoming. I think fans who love Dragos will be especially pleased with Azrael. So though bittersweet, because saying farewell to beloved characters is always hard, I highly recommend this book. As with most of the Cuelebre-centered novels, as I finished the last page, I had a smile on my face. Like Pia, I fall deeper in love with Dragos who (as she says in Dragon Bound), might be a bad man but is a very good dragon.