Dragon and Judge
Timothy Zahn
Tor, Jun, $17.95
ISBN: 9780765314185

By the time he was three years old Jack Morgan was an orphan. His con artist Uncle Virgil raised him in a strange manner as befits the man's occupation of swindling people all over space.

Jack knew no other lifestyle until he saves the life of Draycos, a symbiont dragon looking species. They become friends and set off on learning who destroyed Draycos' K'da/Shontine people with the skill of Draycos leaping onto Jack's back and turning into what looks like a tattoo when necessary. As they find clues, aliens abduct Jack to serve as a judge even as a plot rises to set him up for arrest. At the same time his friend Alison Kayna and her newly acquired symbiont are kidnapped by those willing to torture her to obtain information so that they can annihilate the K'da/Shontine fleet. Jack and Draycos must save the day or at least Alison and her symbiont must, but their chances for success seem almost impossible.

Although the Dragonback series targets teens, readers of all ages will appreciate the well written saga (see DRAGON AND SOLDIER). DRAGON AND JUDGE is a terrific tale that plays out on two levels, the ethnic cleansing of a species and the attempts to criminalize Jack with a clever frame. As with the previous four novels, this book can stand alone as a superior outer space action thriller.

Harriet Klausner