Sam and the Dragon

A Medieval Mars Story

Children - Preteen
115 Pages
Reviewed on 03/05/2015
Buy on Amazon

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    Book Review

Reviewed by Michelle Stanley for Readers' Favorite

Sam and the Dragon: A Medieval Mars Story is written by Donna McFarland . Sam lives on Mars with poverty-stricken Uncle Al and his family. When a mysterious dragon eats their goats, he and his cousin Ahnalin locate its lair. They find a strange box and valuable obsidian they can sell, but the acid spouting dragon appears and they escape with burns. Ahnalin suddenly becomes sick and Madame Susan, a healer, cures her with the box they found. She explains that the box came from Earth and teaches Sam its uses. He is curious about flying machines the people from Earth flew in when they colonised Mars, one thousand years ago before Mars reverted to a primitive society when its technology weakened. Villagers capture the dragon and want it killed, but Sam and Madame Susan try an experiment to keep the beast so they can study past civilization.

Sam and the Dragon: A Medieval Mars Story is very original and entertaining from the beginning. Donna McFarland developed a strong plot and followed through with her fluid writing structure. It is mildly amusing how people on Earth finally fulfil their dream to occupy Mars, only to have their industrious colony disintegrate over time. Sam is easy to like and is brave for his age, and Madame Susan displays a wealth of knowledge and skills which are unusual for villagers to acquire in their present era. The nice cover illustration depicts how bleak looking Mars is. Donna McFarland has written a great adventure book for preteens.