Talker 25 — Joshua McCune

Joshua McCune's gritty and heart-pounding novel is a masterful reimagining of popular dragon fantasy lore set in a militaristic future reminiscent of Paolo Bacigalupi's Ship Breaker and Ann Aguirre's Outpost. Chilling, epic, and wholly original, this debut novel imagines a North America where dragons are kept on reservations, where strict blackout rules are obeyed no matter the cost, where the highly weaponized military operates in chilling secret, and where a gruesome television show called Kissing Dragons unites the population. After a high-school prank goes horribly wrong, Melissa Callahan becomes an unsuspecting pawn in a war between man and monster, between family and friends and the dragons she has despised her whole life. Talker 25 delivers action, adventure, fantasy, and a reimagining of popular dragon lore.