I'm afraid I really didn't like this one. I realise it's a kid's story and as such I shouldn't be too hard on it, but I'm almost certain that it's the sort've story I would have disliked when I was little too. I don't feel my dislike is simply a matter of being cynical, either, I actually remain a fan of several kids writers to this day: Roald Dahl, Nicholas Fisk, Lemony Snicket, Robin Jarvis, etc; all of whom wrote books good enough that I can still enjoy them as an adult.
It feels like the introduction to a full story, pretty much nothing happens until the end, it was as if the writer ran out of steam somewhere along the way. Basically two loners meet, become friends, and that's it! There is actually no story, just the hint of one to come. We don't even ever see an antagonist, two of them are given an off-hand reference at the end, though no real evidence of a threat is ever seen.
And it's another case of fictional cyphers, both the dragon and the kid constantly let out American school references 'proms', 'zits' etc, which is probably intended to be funny, but just leaves me cold.
It may well be, though, that I'm just not a fan of Mike Resnick, I've disliked just about everything of his that's been put up on Escape Pod (I've a bit of a soft-spot for the _travels_ one, though I'm not sure if it'd stand a re-listen). As such my opinion is probably that of a minority, as he's obviously very popular (and fair play to him for that).
On the up side, though, the reading was excellent, I'd be happy to hear more from this reader, he did an excellent job.
I'm still eagerly awaiting the next episode on Thursday, though. Despite the odd story I've got issues with I do still enjoy Escape Pod (there's even one or two stories I consider among my favorite story pieces!).
Until next time,
Simon Painter
Shropshire, UK