Books with author Donald Samson

Prince Corin has more freedom than most youngsters his age, but he feels restrained by his family’s expectations. He hates being trained how to handle a sword or spending time with his mother selling vegetables at the market. He even resents the time he has to spend caring Star, the kingdom’s precious Luck Dragon. He wants to be left alone to follow his own interests. He even strikes up a relationship with a marketplace magician, whom his mother tells him he cannot trust and must stay away from. Then Corin’s cousin Elinor comes to live with them, following the death of her parents. This turns his world upside down. Elinor does not trust Corin. He had played practical jokes on her when they were younger, and she is not even ready to believe that he has the ability to speak with the dragon. Not many days after arriving, Elinor is kidnapped and Star takes Corin to the rescue, forcing him to access sides of himself that he is reluctant to acknowledge. This draws the cousins closer, but they still continue to bicker. Before the Queen has a chance to present Elinor at court, she overhears two men plotting against the crown who then threaten her if she ever speaks of what she has heard. Corin dismisses her suspicions, since one of the men was captain of army, whose loyalty is unquestioned. To keep Elinor safely out of the way, Star suggests that she join Corin for their daily training exercises by the river. To Corin’s surprise, Elinor takes to the training and already has skills that surpass his. This motivates him to try harder, and the two add competition at arms to their growing rivalry. It is not long before Elinor is able to convince Corin that her suspicions are founded. All this time, both Corin and Elinor have continued their relationship with the marketplace magician. Corin’s parents warn him to stay away, suspecting that he may be behind the mysterious malaise that has overcome Star. Harsh words pass between father and son, both expressing sentiments they later regret speaking. The cousins are split, not wanting to be disobedient, and at the same time, trusting that the magician can help them. One day after market, the cousins are ambushed and Elinor is again carried away and stowed in the hold of a riverboat. Corin tracks the kidnappers down and in the deep of night rescues his cousin. In their flight, they are rescued from pursuit in an unexpected encounter with the marketplace magician. The magician, Thos, introduces them to his community of free spirits, the Enclave. He warns the cousins to keep their true identity secret, since the royal family is not popular among the residents. Their return to Gladur Nock is delayed because Elinor had injured her ankle during their escape. While staying in the Enclave, Corin’s eyes are opened to the mistrust and animosity his family and even Star are viewed by those who consider themselves disenfranchised. Thos shows him his workshops where the people process a flammable oil called naphtha. Corin begins to understand the needs of these people and sympathizes with their goals. Thos is called away, and tells the cousins to remain until he summons them. When the message arrives, Corin realizes he must take action to derail the plot against his family and reconcile the differences with the alienated population. Before leaving, he reveals his true identity and strikes a shaky bargain with the leaders of the Enclave. In the meantime, the king has vanished, searching for the lost cousins. The queen, in desperation, accepts an offering of peace from to the king to the north with whom they have long been at war. Together with her personal guard, she travels to a peace summit. However, once arrived, she is taken captive and told they will burn her as a witch. Unbeknownst to her, the king sits in the dungeon, captured while searching for their son. Elinor and Corin arrive at this very stronghold, and the king rejoices that he can now destroy them all. Knowing that the dragon will fly to their rescue, he has devised a tar pit in which Star is entrapped and slowly engulfed. Corin, Elinor and the king, however, escape and arm themselves. They fight to reach the queen who is bound to a stake to be burned. They fight against impossible odds, when suddenly an army from the Enclave arrives and utilizes the naphtha they produce to fight against the larger force. Yet even with their flame-throwers, they are no match against the king’s army. At the last moment, Michael’s captain arrives leading a force that takes the field. Corin saves Star from a tarry end, and after proving himself on the field of battle, using his skills at sewing to attend to the wounded. He had been under the physician’s guidance all along. Thos is revealed to be Aga, who had appeared to keep an eye on the young prince and the dragon. He convinces the king to let Corin travel with him and learn about the wider world. Elinor discovers an uncanny connection to Star and happily remains behind to be his caretaker.

The wild dragon, Scorch, has devastated the lands surrounding the kingdom of Gladur Nock. He demands a steady tribute, which impoverishes the common folk and imposes upon them a mood of fear, desperation and want. The errant knight Michael hears of their distress and armed with his knowledge of dragons, travels to offer his support. On his way, he falls in with a community of townspeople living in the forest. They have sought refuge in the woods, but live in constant fear of discovery. They claim to be escaping not only the destruction of the dragon, but also the oppressive rule of the king of Gladur Nock. The knight realizes that the situation was far more complicated than he had first thought. Continuing on his journey, the knight is ambushed and taken prisoner by a troupe of mercenaries capturing men like himself traveling cross country. He is bound with the others and delivered to the dungeons of Gladur Nock. The dungeons are a training camp where the men are sorted out by their ability to fight. Soon, due to his skill at arms, Michael is sent to the Warrior Compound where only the best are trained. Princess Aina, a warrior maiden, oversees their training. He discovers that they are being prepared to go and face the dragon in single combat. In a rare visit, the king exhorts the warriors to be brave and bring him back the dragon’s heart. Due to his exceptional skills, Michael is soon chosen as the next King’s Champion to go face Scorch. Michael is guest of honor at a banquet, but is disgusted at how the nobility feast and place wagers on how long he will last before the dragon eats him. While awaiting his appointed day, Michael is in the care and guidance of the princess. He discovers that Aina is equally repulsed by how lightly the king and the aristocracy take each knight’s sacrifice of his life. Her sympathies lie with the oppressed common folk who go hungry while the privileged classes feast. Aina takes Michael with her repeatedly on her outings to dole out grain to the hungry. Although Michael had at first viewed her as an adversary, he now sees that Aina is his one true ally. Michael rides off to battle with Scorch. When they meet and take their measure of one another, Michael discovers that his ability to understand Star’s speech allows him to also communicate with Scorch. The dragon is surprised and intrigued to find a human being able to speak with him. The two engage in a duel of the words where the knight attempts to reform the wild dragon from his destructive ways. Scorch spurns Michael’s efforts, and in the end they do battle with one another. With the skills he had learned from Star, Michael is able to befuddle Scorch’s efforts to quickly make an end of him. But Star had always impressed on his young apprentice that in battle, the dragon will always, eventually come out on top. Overwhelmed by exhaustion, Michael succumbs. In true dragon fashion, Scorch does not kill his opponent outright, but drags him back to his hoard where he will slowly squeeze the life out of him. Lying beneath the dragon’s crushing weight, broken and defeated, Michael reflects on his life and his teachings. Could it be that all dragons carry the same secret, yet elusive, opening to their hearts, available only to the knight at the moment of defeat and imminent death? In a final gesture of farewell to life, Michael connects his heart to that of the disgusting beast that has defeated him. At that moment of union, a transformation occurs, and the dragon is awakened as if from a slumbering nightmare. The dragon Scorch is none other than Michael’s own beloved Star, distorted by exposure to the greed, violence and cruelty of the king and his court. Michael gesture has returned him to his peaceful state. Full of remorse for the destruction he has caused, Star sets about healing he countryside, and offers to counsel Michael how to depose the wicked king, without putting himself in danger of returning to his wild nature through exposure to violence. Aina and Michael gather to themselves men at arms from the encampment in the forest. They lay a trap for the king who has pursued him with an army in order to put an end to the rebellious forces and rumors of the knight who claims to have tamed the dragon. Michael and his forces are vastly outnumbered, but reinforcements from Nogardia suddenly arrive, led by none other than Aga and Michael’s childhood friend, Colin. The king is routed and defeated. Aina is joyfully received by her people to free them from their oppressors. Michael’s own noble past is revealed, and a royal wedding is planned. Star willingly places himself in Michael’s care to bring blessings to the kingdom he had devastated as Scorch.

Orphaned twice by the time he was nine, he was living on the streets and did not even know his own name. He was not allowed to set foot inside the one place he was determined to find work. To complete the disaster of his young life, the object of his affections was Star, an immense, emerald-green dragon. But good fortune finally smiled upon him: Star was a Luck Dragon. Unexpectedly, he was admitted as a barn boy into the elite Dragon Compound. He was given three warm meals a day, work, and even a name. Accepted by some, reviled by others, the boy is nicknamed Straw. His days are a mix of welcome work and staving off the aggressive attacks of those who believe he does not belong there. Then one day he discovers that the aloof dragon oddly pays particular attention to him alone, and once this becomes recognized by the others, this raises the boy to new responsibility. With the dragon suddenly under his daily care, the boy discovers that Star can speak in ways that only he can understand. Star reveals to him dragon lore long forgotten to the world, and offers to train the boy in the ways of the warrior. Straw discovers that although an orphan, he descends from a long line of dragon keepers and has taken his rightful place caring for Star, although this is something he can neither prove nor ever tell the others. In this way, the boy enters into a secret apprenticeship under the careful guidance of the dragon. Years pass and, unknown to the rest, Straw is trained in the ways of a knight. Then one day, an army descends on the Dragon Compound, demanding a battle to the death between Star and their warrior king. A disaster would ensue were the otherwise gentle Star to be goaded to engage in battle. This would result in his abandoning the kingdom. When the knights of the realm fail in a tournament to curb the intentions of the warrior king, the dragon turns to Straw as his guardian to defend him. Straw, too young and inexperienced to openly challenge the king, meets him in the stables and provokes him into a fight in which the boy thrashes the far more experienced warrior. Soon after this, Straw’s training with Star is accidentally discovered. He is accused of inciting to battle the otherwise peaceful dragon, a state which the peace of the kingdom depends. Disgraced, Straw is banished from the Dragon Compound and the kingdom. However, before leaving, Straw receives all he needs to become a wandering knight: a horse, a sword, armor, and a name.

Twelve-year old Agis runs away from his training barracks to follow the 300 Spartan warriors that King Leonidas is leading north to stop the Persian advance. One day, he is captured suspected of being a spy. They march him back to camp and present the boy to Leonidas. Once the king is satisfied the boy is freeborn and not an escaped slave, he summons his companions to pass judgment upon him. Strict obedience is a virtue among the Spartans, and breaking rules is severely punished. When the Spartan warriors hear of the boy’s resolve to join them to fight the Persians, they approve of his high spirits. Leonidas proclaims the lenient punishment of a single lash, to remind him that a Spartan never turns his back in battle. One man steps forward to deliver the punishment. It is the one man Agis has come to see, yet the one man he dreads being disgraced before: his father. His father, Nikandros, delivers the lashing. Leonidas, guessing their relationship, tells Nikandros to take the boy back to his companions and look after him. They encounter another troop of warriors from the town of Thespiae, also on route to Thermopylae. Leonidas welcomes them, but points out that the Thespian hoplites all make their living as farmers, stone-carvers, weavers and the like, yet every one of the Spartans is trained to be a warrior. Leonidas declares that his troops will take on the brunt of the fighting, and will keep the other Greeks in reserve. They reach the Hot Gates, a narrow pass between the mountains and the cliffs overlooking the waters of the gulf. It is a “choke points” of Greece, a narrow passage around the mountains that anyone traveling south must pass through. The Persian forces will have to pass here, and here the Greeks will make their stand. The name of the pass is due to the hot springs that flow there.They find the remnants of a wall, and they work to rebuild it. Soon, scouts approach the pass, looking what resistance they will find. Leonidas banters with them.Although his father wants him safely away from the battle, Leonidas places Agis in a protected lookout to watch the road ahead and give warning. For two days the Spartans hold the pass. The Persian king throws his personal elite forces, the Immortals, against them, but to no avail. Then word comes that the Greeks have been betrayed. A traitor has revealed a goat path over the mountain and the Persians are already crossing to attack the Greeks from behind. Leonidas sends all the Greek reserves away, but the Spartans remain. He orders Agis to lead a blinded hoplite back to Sparta. They are to report that those who remained have been true to the common law of Sparta, never to retreat from battle. With a heavy heart, Agis obeys this last order from his king, departs from his father, and leads the wounded hoplite back to Sparta.

Twelve-year old Agis runs away from his training barracks to follow the 300 Spartan warriors that King Leonidas is leading north to stop the Persian advance. One day, he is captured suspected of being a spy. They march him back to camp and present the boy to Leonidas. Once the king is satisfied the boy is freeborn and not an escaped slave, he summons his companions to pass judgment upon him. Strict obedience is a virtue among the Spartans, and breaking rules is severely punished. When the Spartan warriors hear of the boy’s resolve to join them to fight the Persians, they approve of his high spirits. Leonidas proclaims the lenient punishment of a single lash, to remind him that a Spartan never turns his back in battle. One man steps forward to deliver the punishment. It is the one man Agis has come to see, yet the one man he dreads being disgraced before: his father. His father, Nikandros, delivers the lashing. Leonidas, guessing their relationship, tells Nikandros to take the boy back to his companions and look after him. They encounter another troop of warriors from the town of Thespiae, also on route to Thermopylae. Leonidas welcomes them, but points out that the Thespian hoplites all make their living as farmers, stone-carvers, weavers and the like, yet every one of the Spartans is trained to be a warrior. Leonidas declares that his troops will take on the brunt of the fighting, and will keep the other Greeks in reserve. They reach the Hot Gates, a narrow pass between the mountains and the cliffs overlooking the waters of the gulf. It is a “choke points” of Greece, a narrow passage around the mountains that anyone traveling south must pass through. The Persian forces will have to pass here, and here the Greeks will make their stand. The name of the pass is due to the hot springs that flow there. They find the remnants of a wall, and they work to rebuild it. Soon, scouts approach the pass, looking what resistance they will find. Leonidas banters with them. Although his father wants him safely away from the battle, Leonidas places Agis in a protected lookout to watch the road ahead and give warning. For two days the Spartans hold the pass. The Persian king throws his personal elite forces, the Immortals, against them, but to no avail. Then word comes that the Greeks have been betrayed. A traitor has revealed a goat path over the mountain and the Persians are already crossing to attack the Greeks from behind. Leonidas sends all the Greek reserves away, but the Spartans remain. He orders Agis to lead a blinded hoplite back to Sparta. They are to report that those who remained have been true to the common law of Sparta, never to retreat from battle. With a heavy heart, Agis obeys this last order from his king, departs from his father, and leads the wounded hoplite back to Sparta. (Donald Samson)

Orphaned twice by the time he was nine, he was living on the streets and did not even know his own name. He was not allowed to set foot inside the one place he was determined to find work. To complete the disaster of his young life, the object of his affections was Star, an immense, emerald-green dragon. But good fortune finally smiled upon him: Star was a Luck Dragon. Suddenly he was admitted as a barn boy into the elite Dragon Compound. He was given three warm meals a day, work, and even a name. And best of all, Star took him on as his secret apprentice.One day, a warrior-king and his army arrive to challenge Star to a battle-to-the-death. Although not worried for the dragon's safety, this challenge would rile the dragon's slumbering hostile nature and cause him to leave the kingdom. All attempts to dissuade the warrior-king fail. Star turns to his young apprentice to prevent this duel. Yet the boy is young and untried in battle. How can Star expect him to succeed where seasoned knights have failed?