Variety is the spice of life according to my seventh grade English teacher. Too much of the science fiction that I’ve read lately has people using the results of scientific discovery, but very few have placed the discovery process at the center of the story. It turns out that what I needed to read was Domesticating Dragons by Dan Koboldt. This story was a welcome change for me. It begins with the hero, Noah Parker, applying for a job. But this isn’t just any old job. Noah interviews for a high-end genetics position to create dragons. Real dragons, not online, not for a computer game, not for virtual reality, but as pets for real households. Noah gets the job – no, not a spoiler – and begins a career bringing dragons to life, but Noah has an ulterior motive for working at the Reptilian Corporation.
TL;DR
Domesticating Dragons is a fun ride through the science of bringing dragons to life, not as monsters but as pets. This book is highly recommended to fans of the scientific process, dragons, and genetics.
From the Publisher
BUILD-A-BEAR WORKSHOP MEETS JURASSIC PARK WHEN A NEWLY GRADUATED GENETIC ENGINEER GOES TO WORK FOR A COMPANY THAT AIMS TO PRODUCE CUSTOM-MADE DRAGONS
Noah Parker, a newly minted Ph.D., is thrilled to land a dream job at Reptilian Corp., the hottest tech company in the American Southwest. He’s eager to put his genetic engineering expertise to use designing new lines of Reptilian’s feature product: living, breathing dragons.
Although highly specialized dragons have been used for industrial purposes for years, Reptilian is desperate to crack the general retail market. By creating a dragon that can be the perfect family pet, Reptilian hopes to put a dragon into every home.
While Noah’s research may help Reptilian create truly domesticated dragons, Noah has a secret goal. With his access to the company’s equipment and resources, Noah plans to slip changes into the dragons’ genetic code, bending the company’s products to another purpose entirely . . .
Review: Domesticating Dragons by Dan Koboldt
Domesticating Dragons takes place in two distinct locations. The first is the design lab of the Reptilian Corporation, and the second is the wilderness trails around Phoenix, Arizona. Noah Parker, a recent Ph.D. gradudate in genetic engineering, starts a job at Reptilian Corp to help the company expand market share. Dragons were originally designed to help cull the feral pig population, but they’ve done such a good job that the company will close if new markets can’t be found. The solution: Dragons as pets. Noah and his fellow engineers begin the process of trying to transform their hog hunting raptors into family friendly lizards. In Noah’s world, an epidemic has devastated the canine population of the world. Yes, you read that right, dogs are in danger of extinction in Domesticating Dragons1. How should one replace the family’s best friend? Buy a dragon, of course. The problem is that in their current form, dragons are killing machines. Noah takes us through using genetic modifications to change characteristics of the dragons.
They succeed, of course. Soon, Noah creates custom dragons for the wealthier clients. They even go so far as to work on a flying model. The company expands and becomes ever more profitable. In the meantime, he pursues his ulterior research and takes up geocaching as a hobby. Along the way, he learns that Reptilian Corp has some dark secrets of its own. But are they secrets he can live with?
I enjoyed this novel. It resonated with me as an engineer and as a lowly cog in a corporation. Noah is a friendly but brilliant guy who is driven by a secret that only his family knows. The story moves along at a fairly brisk pace, and I wish Koboldt had sat more in a few scenes. The dragons range from scary to cuddly, but Dan doesn’t let the reader forget that they are carnivores. Noah has a life outside work, and about halfway through, he develops a love interest. I found this to be a well-rounded novel that had me turning the pages. I loved the science, and the scenes set in the lab drove home the cutting edge scientific work being done. I want one of the dragon design workstations.
Noah
The novel takes place mostly in Noah’s perspective. Therefore, the novel’s success or failure rides on him as a character. I liked Noah, and I think he acted like a scientist (not a big surprise because Dan, himself, is a scientist). Noah’s mom and brother appear off and on through the book, which make for telling character moments.
Noah balances between his work at Reptilian Corp and his hobby of geocaching. I knew nothing of geocaching prior to this book, but it sounds a lot of fun. I enjoyed that Noah had other hobbies than work. In the media, we don’t see characters having lives outside the narrative of the story. Now, granted, Noah’s hobby becomes useful later. Still, it was nice to see a scientist who has a life. In addition, Noah’s hobby isn’t the stereotypical one associated with scientists. It was a fresh depiction of scientists, and one that reflects my experiences in life.
Science!!!
Domesticating Dragons is science fiction, which you probably guessed. But it is SCIENCE fiction. Dan put a lot of science in the book, and I loved it. How much of it is accurate? Couldn’t tell you, and I don’t really care. The fact that it was a story in which the science played a big part was definitely something I needed. The scientific process is a lot like plotting a story; they are both made up of try-fail cycles. Though in science, we try to fail a little less with each cycle. Discovery and product creation are rarely a straight forward process. Instead, they are iterative with the need to balance many factors. Dan represents this in the novel with the ‘points’ system that restrict the dragon designers and the various rejected simulations.
Working in corporations requires adhering to corporate guidelines, even when you don’t necessarily agree with those guidelines. Noah runs into this in a couple of ways. The first is the points restrictions, and the second is a CEO who has his own standards for what dragons should be. This part was spot on. Engineers are often baffled by the hows and whys of executive decision making, and Dan represents that very well in this book.
Domesticating Dragons touches briefly on the ethics of biological experimentation and creation. The one way dragons are both fascinating and sad. I would have liked to see more discussion of the ethics of creating a being with a purposefully limited life span.
Dragons!
As a reader of fantasy, I’m used to dragons in my literature. Domesticating Dragons put a new spin on the creatures, though. I appreciated that Dan mixed it up. Because these are human created dragons, they don’t lie on piles of gold; they’re not gigantic animals. Instead, these are smaller, less intelligent, and less scary than the mythic dragons. To be clear, less scary doesn’t mean harmless. These dragons are carnivores, and for the customers who don’t follow Reptilian Corp’s care instructions, they can become dangerous.
Dan includes a variety of shapes and sizes in the novel. His dragon variations mirror how humans have bred dogs in a variety from teacup poodles to rottweilers. Some are large; some are small. Some fly; some don’t. Some are green lizards; others are pink polka dot exhibits of people having more money than taste.
Dragon Customer Service
At various interludes, the reader gets to see interactions with Reptilian Corp’s customers. These transcripts are funny and ring true for anyone who has worked in customer service. I enjoyed these little breaks in the novel, little moments of humor.
Conclusion
Dan Koboldt’s Domesticating Dragons is a fun science based novel. It gave a new spin on mythical dragons. The novel delivered on its premise of build-a-bear meets Jurassic Park. There’s much to like here for SF and Fantasy readers, and I highly recommend Domesticating Dragons.
Domesticating Dragons by Dan Koboldt is available from Baen Books on January 5th, 2021.
9 out of 10!
- The thought that this could happen terrified me. If Covid reminds us of anything, it’s that pandemics are devastating. Click here to return.