Books.

Finished: _Dragon and Thief_, _Dragon and Soldier_ by Timothy Zahn. I acquired these from the I Can't Believe It's Not Heinlein young-adult novel thread on RASFW. These, the first two books of a trilogy to be concluded in _Dragon and Slave_ (I assume) aren't as good as most Heinlein juveniles, but they're acceptable enough on their own merits. Zahn sets them in a generic space opera universe highly reminiscent of Star Wars stripped of the plot elements. There is no Force, Empire or Rebellion -- but there is a mention of a "Judge-Paladin" who certainly sounds like a Jedi. The hero is, of course, an orphan (Rule 1: there's very little adventure when your parents are around) who owns an advanced spaceship with a Genuine People Personality AI (his uncle, in this case). Most decision points in the books come when the hero has to decide between the voice of the devil on one shoulder (the AI) and the voice of the angel on the other (the titular dragon).

Notable for its positive portrayal of tatoos, and negative depictions of essentially everyone in the universe except the hero and his dragon.

Books.

Finished: _Dragon and Thief_, _Dragon and Soldier_ by Timothy Zahn. I acquired these from the I Can't Believe It's Not Heinlein young-adult novel thread on RASFW. These, the first two books of a trilogy to be concluded in _Dragon and Slave_ (I assume) aren't as good as most Heinlein juveniles, but they're acceptable enough on their own merits. Zahn sets them in a generic space opera universe highly reminiscent of Star Wars stripped of the plot elements. There is no Force, Empire or Rebellion -- but there is a mention of a "Judge-Paladin" who certainly sounds like a Jedi. The hero is, of course, an orphan (Rule 1: there's very little adventure when your parents are around) who owns an advanced spaceship with a Genuine People Personality AI (his uncle, in this case). Most decision points in the books come when the hero has to decide between the voice of the devil on one shoulder (the AI) and the voice of the angel on the other (the titular dragon).

Notable for its positive portrayal of tatoos, and negative depictions of essentially everyone in the universe except the hero and his dragon.