We Are Dragon
Alastair Chisholm
Nosy Crow

We Are Dragon, is Alastair Chisholm’s must-read cracking conclusion to his sci-fi trilogy.

At the heart of this is Rieka: she’s a tech. genius and has spent her entire life aboard Constructs (the gigantic mechanical creatures that battle with one another for territory.) However she is painfully aware that she’s always struggled to fit in with others growing up aboard her original Construct and this feeling of being an outsider has become enflamed now a combatant – DRAGON – has appeared. The true enemy though is Queenie, a computer system gone rogue that was designed to support humanity but is instead battling Constructs, turning them into Dragons and enslaving their crews by means of headsets that take away their free will.
Rieka’s sense of not belonging is further exacerbated in her dealings with those aboard the Construct Cub allied against Queenie. However she believes that only she can turn the course of the war, so she embarks on a path that is perilous not only for herself but also her allies.

What makes Rieka such a relatable protagonist is that alongside the external battling, she faces a very private, internal journey – a truth she must face – and this journey is one readers will find particularly poignant. Dragons’ talons hold readers in a tight grip from the very start of this hugely thought-provoking tale with its clever pacing and brilliant blend of mechanical marvels and human emotion at its most intense.

A book that could stand alone, but I urge readers who have not read I Am Wolf and I Am Raven to start with them. A definite to add to upper KS2 class collections.