Back of Book: 

Keep your eyes down and your feet moving, or this planet will rust you. 

That’s what Lunar Jones tells the other kids at the relocation clinic. All of them were born on Mars, a planet that never wanted people in the first place. With resources scarce and hope even scarcer, it’s easy to get distracted looking up. After all, their ancestors descended from the stars. 

Martian history always starts with Earth. The first astronauts discovered that space was already occupied. Not by little green men or flying saucers. It was full of dragons. One for every moon, every planet, every star. When humanity discovered that Earth’s dragon had sacrificed herself to make their home planet habitable, they set their sights on Mars. If one dead dragon could breathe life into a world, why not create another one? Mankind won the war that followed, but with one catch. As the dragon died, he whispered a curse over Mars. The first settlers found their crops wouldn’t grow. Animals hunted them. Storms raged endlessly. It took three generations to figure out the Mars was doomed. 

Lunar knows all the old stories about dragons and space, but no one up there’s planning to help him or his crew. Instead, he focuses on scrapping valuable gear that the storms uncover in the war zone. Until one day, a salvaging run goes wrong. Desperate to find shelter, Lunar goes underground in a restricted zone. What he finds there, buried in the Martian dust, might just be the only hope left for a dying planet.

Book Number: One 

Genre: Middle Grade | Fantasy | Science Fiction 

Review: 🌟🌟🌟🌟 

A space adventure featuring a Martian boy and the dragon that bonds with him who just may be destined to save their planet. 

Lunar Jones will risk just about anything for the children under his care. He may only be thirteen years old, but being a born Martian means that one is born fighting for their very survival. Mars never wanted to accept humans, but they forced their way onto its surface anyway and were cursed by Mar's dragon, Ares. One day, when Lunar is out rounding up goods to sell, he stumbles across a secret bunker in which he meets Dread, a moon dragon that has been raised by a secret division unaffiliated with the other Martian dragons and their riders. With a chance to save his dying planet, Lunar has no choice but to give up his past life and see what life as a dragoon entails. 

I ended up really liking the world that Reintgen paints in this start to the "Dragonships" series. It is part fantasy, part space opera, and part cautionary tale that pushes conservation of our planets. The fact that every moon, planet, and star is a dragon is such a unique concept and it was fun to see the dragons also act as spaceships. I mean, which kid doesn't want to read about dragons in space? 

The characters in this one are pretty shallow, but I think that the lessons that they go through are abundant. The young Martians have to learn how to work together as a team alongside a ferocious dragon as well as work towards restoring the curse that plagues their homeland. Lunar has many rivals at the start of this book due to the fact that he is an outsider that just happened to come across the secret bunker, but he learns how to navigate through these tumultuous relations and flourish as a the leader of a team. I did really like Dread, the titular dragon. He is such a young dragon, less than a decade old, and I like how this was reflected through his childish jokes, his genuine curiosity, and the fact that he didn't understand concepts such as love. It was cute to see him learn about the universe alongside Lunar and the rest of the crew. 

This book very much felt like book one with the beginning being a bit tedious and a bunch of lore dumping happening at the start. However, I really like the picture that is being painted, so I think I'll have to get my hands on the rest of this series as they come out.  

Overall, I enjoyed "The Last Dragon on Mars" immensely. I feel like it really spoke to my inner child and would be just the type of book I picked up as a young girl. Besides the characters not being super fleshed out, I pretty much enjoyed every other aspect of this book. The ending is a bit cliffhanger-ish, so it will be nice to one day find out what happens in the next installment. I would totally recommend to any lover of space or dragons. 

Back of Book: 

Lunar Jones and the Dread Knights have brought hope to Mars. Between Dread’s power and a newly formed alliance with Earth, the once-dying planet is headed for prosperity at last. The only shadow is the one cast by Dav Robinson’s warning: Neptune is coming.

As predicted, Neptune’s ships arrive in Martian space—and they’re not interested in talking. The ships launch an immediate attack. Lunar was prepared for hostilities, but the way the attack happens is unexpected. Neptune’s dragons seem divided, and its ships, while countless in number, are almost too easy to defeat. It’s clear there’s more to Neptune’s story than meets the eye, and Lunar and his Dread Knights must figure out the mystery behind their looming foe quickly… before those secrets doom Mars for good. 

Book Number: Two 

Genre: Middle Grade | Fantasy | Science Fiction 

Review: 🌟🌟🌟🌟 

The space saga continues as Lunar Jones and his crew of Dread Knights work to protect Mars from the forces of Neptune.

After a successful mission that allied Mars with Earth, Lunar Jones and the Dread Knights are hoping to reign in an era of peace on Mars. Unfortunately, when Neptune's ships arrive and attack Mars, there is nothing they can do but defend their home. Things seem a little off about this invasion though... Neptune's ships are too easy to destroy, and the enemy forces seem to be acting a bit strange. It's up to Lunar, Dread, Rose, and the rest of the bunch to figure out what is going on before it is too late.

Man, I forgot how much I enjoyed this world. Dragons in space is such a fun concept, and seeing such exciting stories executed again and again isn't getting old for me. I was so invested in the end of this one; I was saddened when I read the last page. I'm so stoked to see what Lunar and the gang gets up to in book three! But for now, let's talk about the things that I liked about this one.

The action in this one gets started pretty quickly and never stops. The momentum of the plot truly keeps going the whole way through and I never found myself bored, even for a single moment. An interplanetary war between Mars and Neptune was really exciting. The first book had video game elements that were certainly expanded on in this one. And I got to say, a video game of this series would be so sick to play in real life.

My favorite part of this series still has to be the prose. The banter between Dread and Lunar is so funny; I found myself constantly highlighting their humorous conversations. The figurative language that Reintgen uses is so fresh and easy to understand. This writing is a perfect blend of entertaining and easily comprehendible.

I still stand by the fact that the rest of Lunar's crew still feels pretty caricature-esque. They each have a role to full as the tactician, or the tinkerer, or the fighter, and they aren't anything more beyond that. A new addition to the cast, Proteus, has personality for days though. He is a moon of Neptune that has the unique gift to see all the possible future's simultaneously (much like the unicorn alien in "Men in Black" if you've seen that). He is constantly worrying about a million things simultaneously which often has the rest of the cast of characters confuzzled. Proteus is an absolute hoot, and I look forward to seeing more of his character in future installments of this series.

Overall, "The Rise of Neptune" was such a fun sequel in the "Dragonships" series! Returning back to this space adventure was such a treat, and it was fun to see how the plot thickened in this one. The writing was as strong as ever, and I'm absolutely in love with Proteus, a new addition to the cast. I was so hooked on the ending of this one that I was saddened when I finished the last page. I am very much looking forward to reading the next book in this series as soon as it is available to do so!