Tag: Vern

Is there greater treasure?

  By

Greater Treasures book tour banner

As promised earlier this month, today, I’m spotlighting Karina Fabian’s latest DragonEye story, the novella Greater Treasures.

Being a private detective in the border town of the Faerie and Mundane worlds isn’t easy, even for a dragon like Vern. Still, finding the wayward brother of a teary damsel in distress shouldn’t have gotten so dangerous. When his partner, Sister Grace, gets poisoned by a dart meant for him, Vern offers to find an artifact in exchange for a cure. However, this is no ordinary trinket—with a little magic power, it could control all of mankind. Can Vern find the artifact, and will he sacrifice the fate of two worlds for the life of his best friend?

To begin with, this novella is more serious than the earlier DragonEye novels. Yes, Vern still has his wry humor (I was particularly amused by the filet minion line), but he doesn’t find nearly as much funny when his partner’s lying in the hospital, dying. So the tone’s slightly different.

However, if you are a fan of classic movies — specifically, if you love The Maltese Falcon, which this novella is based on, you will love it. The homage to the Falcon is even remarked upon in the novella itself, with (for example) a mention of how Cambridge Ramada is reminiscent of Sydney Greenstreet playing Casper Gutman.

The novella highlights some of the tension between Faerie and Mundane, as well as showing that bigotry and prejudice don’t have a magic cure. Some of the characters are old and familiar; some, this is the first time they’re seen. All fit well in the world Karina Fabian has created, wher St. George really did defeat a dragon, on the other side of the Interdimensional Gap.

It’s a quick read and an enjoyable one, and it’s definitely going on my short list for Hugo nominations next year.

If you haven’t already become acquainted with Vern and his human partner, Sister Grace, you can find Greater Treasures in Kindle and print formats.

Information on the novels in the series can be found at the following links:
Live and Let Fly, which is discussed here on my blog.
Magic, Mensa and Mayhem, which is also reviewed here on my blog.

If you’d like to see more of Vern and Karina’s posts, as well as enter drawings for e-books, check out the rest of the book tour.

Greater-Treasures-Ebook

karina106

Vern’s Warehouse Dogs

  By

Greater Treasures book tour banner

As promised earlier this month, today, I’m spotlighting Karina Fabian’s latest DragonEye story, the novella Greater Treasures.

Being a private detective in the border town of the Faerie and Mundane worlds isn’t easy, even for a dragon like Vern. Still, finding the wayward brother of a teary damsel in distress shouldn’t have gotten so dangerous. When his partner, Sister Grace, gets poisoned by a dart meant for him, Vern offers to find an artifact in exchange for a cure. However, this is no ordinary trinket—with a little magic power, it could control all of mankind. Can Vern find the artifact, and will he sacrifice the fate of two worlds for the life of his best friend?

And now for a few words from the dragon himself:

Vern’s Warehouse Dogs
By Karina Fabian

I have dogs. I know that sounds weird for a dragon. I never had dogs before I came to the Mundane world. Even among humans, dogs don’t have the status in Faerie that they do here. But I’ve found them to be useful creatures.

While my warehouse is a reasonably comfortable lair, it’s not what I’m used to. Too many entrance points, too exposed. Too many humans–even worse, too many Mundane humans who don’t know how to respect the dragon. Sneaking in for a photo, hoping to swipe a scale, or thinking I’m going to leave my treasure nice and exposed–seriously? (Not that it’s not a good idea, but since my run-in with St. George, I’m not allowed to trick and eat treasure-hunters.) Nice thing about a mountain cave is I can find a quiet spot where I can let my guard down. Not so with the warehouse, but with a dog to keep watch, I can relax knowing that they’ll sound the alarm should any Mundane try to sneak around.

Hot Dog came with the warehouse. He was a nasty piece of work, made meaner by the months of neglect that followed the death of his master–the only human able to control him. The owner’s wife gave the warehouse and all its items to the Church in part because she didn’t want to deal with the mongrel, but couldn’t bear to have it “put down.” Guess she hoped for a miracle. She got me. A few minutes with his neck between my jaws and we came to an understanding. After that, he picked up fast that any human I respected, he’d better respect, too. We had a good year together before I ate him. (It was early in my career and cases were few and far between. Like I said, Hot Dog and I had an understanding.)

Now I have a couple of Labradorish mutts, Riff and Raff. They have a big bark, but friendly temperaments. Back when I didn’t have reliable heat, we kept each other warm on winter nights. More prosperous times and the fact that Grace loves them mean they’ve stayed off my menu for the past ten years. They’re getting gray around the muzzle. I may have to eat them someday, but when I do, it’ll be an honor and not just a luncheon.

If you haven’t already become acquainted with Vern and his human partner, Sister Grace, you can find Greater Treasures in Kindle and print formats.

Information on the novels in the series can be found at the following links:
Live and Let Fly, which is discussed here on my blog.
Magic, Mensa and Mayhem, which is also reviewed here on my blog.

Stay tuned later today for my review of Greater Treasures!

If you’d like to see more of Vern and Karina’s posts, as well as enter drawings for e-books, check out the rest of the book tour.

Greater-Treasures-Ebook

karina106