Brief Encounters

Title: Dragon Hunted
Author: JB MacDonald
Length: 14,900 words
Publisher: Torquere Press
Genre: m/m fantasy
Rating: B+

Blurb:
Getting eaten by a dragon wasn’t part of Ashe’s plan. Not that there was much of a plan to begin with, but it had definitely involved more chasing and less running. Ashe supposes there’s one good thing about all this: if he has to be trapped in a cave with a very large predator outside, at least he’s with Katsu, the company medic and Ashe’s current crush.

Even better, Katsu has enough knowledge of dragons and medicine that he might just be able to hatch an escape plan. Even better than that, Ashe is discovering that Katsu might not dislike him after all. It’s a small step, Ashe hopes, from not disliking him to something significantly more. That is, assuming they don’t get eaten first.

Review:
I like JB McDonald’s stories and so jumped at the chance to read this fantasy. It tells of elf, Ashe, who is part of a group who ‘remove’ dragons from villages for a fee. Katsu is human and the doctor in the group. Katsu is a bit of a curmudgeon, and Ashe just can’t seem to stop himself from doing stupid things to get Katsu’s attention. When one daft stunt means that Ashe gets left behind whilst the rest of the team go dragon hunting, he and Katsu find themselves chased by a dragon and trapped in a cave.

The best part of this story was the light, breezy tone to the writing. Ashe and Katsu work well as couple mainly because they are so opposite. Katsu is generally surly and doesn’t speak much whereas Ashe is an optimist who may just talk a bit too much. The situation was a nice mix of action and tension as the men stumble across the dragon and then try to work out how to get out of the cave, and quieter moments as they get to know each other a little better. The story is from Ashe’s point of view and he’s an engaging narrator, if a little cocky at times. The way the men verbally spar with each other was quite delightful.

The fantasy setting worked well, with most of the world-building done in and around the action. This meant that the story flowed quickly as the story didn’t get bogged down with lengthy descriptions of the setting, but on the downside meant that much of the background to the story was a little sketchy. I wanted to know more about such things like how the men and elves had come to work together, and in particular more about the different species of elf which is only hinted about in this story. Maybe the author is planning further stories set in and round this setting. I hope so because I’d like to see these ideas developed.

Overall, if you like fantasy short stories then I’d recommend this one. The writing is excellent, the plotting swift with a good change of pacing and the characters are amusing and interesting.