THE DRAGOM OF THE SEA

A dragon will kill any who dare to take its gold. After her dangerous adventures earlier in the year, everything is finally going well for Dr. Eva Paz. Her breakthroughs in dolphin communication are changing the world. Her discoveries could save the reef she loves. And now her mother has found love again. But then a madman returns to claim what’s his. Eva’s old nemesis, Julian Gulliver, kidnaps Eva’s mother, and he demands an exorbitant ransom. It’s money Eva doesn’t have. What she does have are friends who are willing to do anything to help, including ex-Navy SEAL—and ex-boyfriend—Dr. Thomas Sternberg. But Eva’s greatest asset may be her dolphins: Taffy, Finn, Cleo, and Chico. Together, they need to mount a rescue effort. Yet things are even more desperate than they imagine, for Julian isn’t the only menace terrorizing Roatan. Join Eva as she works with Thomas and her dolphins to rescue her mother and save the reef from a man who would destroy them all. For fans of Michael Crichton, Dragon Gold is book two in Kristie Clark’s Order of the Dolphin Series. Dragon Gold made me question what I knew about marine biology, genetics, submarines, and dolphins. The facts of the world that Clark builds are rich and persuasive. I would believe Lusca are real. Clark writes them in a more convincing way than any of the dinosaurs in the Jurassic series. The way Clark writes about dolphin communication and communication between dolphins and humans using imaging technology and playback is very exciting and kind of makes me want to work with dolphins. They are one of the smartest animals in the world after all! The opening scene depicts the practical usage of this partnership in a fresh and sensational way before being swept up in the main plot of the story. The story was thrilling, full of action, and contained high stakes. Eva is more than capable of handling herself, but it will take a team to take down the bad guy. There is more than one moral to this story. Friends to the rescue! Though there were quite a few characters to keep track of, I felt like there was a balance to the amount of narrative time spent with the main characters, and really enjoyed the POV switching. The chapters told from the perspective of the dolphins added some fun and lightness to the heavy perils Eva and her family (and the reef at large) were facing. Julian is the epitome of a villain and played his character perfectly. His right-hand henchman was even more vile than Julian and without much backstory, the reader can feel disgusted without any hint of pity for him. Julian, is more complex, and I really enjoyed the chapters from his POV. If at first, he had clear and virtuous reasons for creating what are ultimately sea monsters, but he quickly devolves into a madman and the perfect supervillain to hate. The book was well-paced and a very f******d. It will appeal to readers who enjoy eco-fiction and/or thrillers. There is even some romance to round out the layers of this book.  My favorite part about this story, though, was the dolphins. They are the coolest part of the book, especially Cleo and the role she plays. She is able to follow multi-step directions and during her POV chapters, she shows her ability to think through problems. For readers who love reading horse books, they may get a kick out of the Order of the Dolphin books.