Burn by Patrick Ness

Sarah's father has sunk to the low of hiring a dragon for his farm. It's not exactly illegal, but only a few ever risk it. But the dragon that turns up is Russian. And this is 1957, the middle of the Cold War.

I've read several Patrick Ness books, and they vary wildly. Release was very odd; it had an 'everyday' storyline and a 'mystical' storyline that really didn't integrate very well. I was worried going into this one.

But it's much better done. There are various storylines, but they tie together beautifully. The 'urban fantasy' slides into an exploration of the many worlds theory without losing anything. Some of the mysticism at the end was a little esoteric, but it didn't hurt the story at all. This was easy to read and I really wanted to know what was going to happen next.

Patrick never really repeats himself; everything he writes is new. Although this hasn't knocked A Monster Calls off the top of my favourites list, it's well up there. I'll be looking forward to his next one.

Oh, and while both covers are great, I think the UK one pips it this time. Look at that!

"They've got something planned," Miss Archr said. "Most likely the spae race. Everyone wants to be the first ones in orbit or on the moon."

"And they can bomb us from there," Jason said.

"Not necessarily," Sarah said. "Space could be hopeful, couldn't it? A place where maybe it doesn't matter if you're American or Russian."

"Or dragon," Jason added.

"You think they want to go into space?"

"Who knows what they want?" Miss Archer said, but her friendly smile also contained a pointed invitation to gossip aimed directly at Sarah.

"Does everyone know?" Sarah asked.

"Frome isn't that big," Miss Archer said.

"Unfortunately," Jason said.

"Is it going to be a problem that our dragon is blue?"

"Is he actually Russian?" Miss Archer asked. "Does he speak to you? What's his accent like?"

"He sounds like a dragon. They don't really have countries, do they? Except the Wastes? Even if we call them Russian or Canadian. Besides, it seems like he's been here long enough to just be American."

"That argument didn't work for my parents," Jason said.

Sarah frowned. "Do you think there could be trouble?"

"I always think there could be trouble," Miss Archer said. "That way I'm never surprised."

"That's probably less of a comfort than you think," Sarah said.

UK Cover                  US Cover

On a cold Sunday evening in early 1957, Sarah Dewhurst waited with her father in the parking lot of the Chevron gas station for the dragon he’d hired to help on the farm…
Sarah Dewhurst and her father, outcasts in their little town of Frome, Washington, are forced to hire a dragon to work their farm, something only the poorest of the poor ever have to resort to.

The dragon, Kazimir, has more to him than meets the eye, though. Sarah can’t help but be curious about him, an animal who supposedly doesn’t have a soul, but who is seemingly intent on keeping her safe.

Because the dragon knows something she doesn’t. He has arrived at the farm with a prophecy on his mind. A prophecy that involves a deadly assassin, a cult of dragon worshippers, two FBI agents in hot pursuit—and somehow, Sarah Dewhurst herself.