PC479: Dragon Girl

[Ocicat]

PodCastle 479: Dragon Girl

by Cat Sparks
read by Dawn Meredith

First published in The Never Never Land

Rated R.

I fell in love with a dragon boy when I was seventeen. The dragon train – five creatures long—camped near Grimpiper in the days before it crossed the Great Divide. Beyond the stones lay the Dead Red Heart. Our ’stead nestled in amongst the shadow dunes. Close enough to the Sand Road, not too close to its bandits and its warlords.

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Cat Sparks is a multi-award-winning Australian author, editor and artist whose former employment has included: media monitor, political and archaeological photographer, graphic designer, Fiction Editor of Cosmos Magazine and Manager of Agog! Press. She’s currently finishing a PhD in climate change fiction. Her short story collection The Bride Price was published in 2013. Her debut novel, Lotus Blue, will be published by Skyhorse in March, 2017. Find her online at http://catsparks.net/ or @CatSparks



Dawn is an author for kids and YA in non-fiction and fiction, singer/songwriter, Specialist Literacy Teacher and Artist. She has always wanted to do voiceovers and narration and is excited to be a part of podcastle! Dawn’s debut fantasy novel is due out later this year.

As a child Dawn lived in England, Australia and Norway. She lives with her family in the Blue Mountains NSW.

Listen to this week’s PodCastle!

[Ichneumon]

I was disappointed the story ended so abruptly.

[Obleo21]

This story is beautifully written. A post-apocalyptic tale that is so POST-apocalyptic that groups of people have developed into completely different cultures and communities. Their view on our "modern" tech must be like what an alligator would think if it stumbled upon the bones of a dinosaur (well maybe not THAT post-apocalyptic...). I really really REALLY want to know from what current animal the dragons were bred.

My only critique is that the MC acts and reacts like a young teen, so the part where she and Iago have sex seems rather out of place. I think it would make more sense if they were shirking their duties and just kissing or "making out". But then, this is not our time, is it?

[Katzentatzen]

I really liked that the story didn't have a neat and satisfying ending. Those are cute but I'm sometimes frustrated because life isn't like that at all. The risk of this ambiguous and abrupt ending was brave.

[Fenrix]

This one pleasantly reminded me strongly of the lurid far-post-apoc worlds of the pulps, particularly those of Andrew North.