A young man saves a dragon egg and bonds to the unique dragon in this fantasy that’s half Dragon Riders of Pern and half Ender’s Game with undead. For centuries the noble born dragon riders have defended the world from the Scourge, giant insects that spread a Blight that raises the dead as ghouls to join their hordes. In the strict ordered society where Holt Cook was born, he knew he would die a cook, but still he dreamed of bonding with a dragon so he doesn’t hesitate to save a rejected egg when the opportunity arises. Of course, soon after the white dragon hatches, the dragonhold is overrun by the Scourge, leading Holt to discover that an ancient dragon with the ability to control minds is not only controlling the Scourge, but recruiting dragons to wipe out humanity. 

There’s quite a bit of action as Holt, and the dragon Ash, try to rally the world to take on the dragon calling itself Sovereign and the Hivemind of the Scourge. His main allies are a mixed group. A princess who gave up her crown to be a dragon rider and must now choose between a throne and her oath as a rider. A rider and dragon who tried to transcend the known limits of power and melded into one hybrid. And, a rejected nature dragon with the soul of a chemist. Since they can’t convince the dragon riders that Sovereign is the real threat, they are declared outlaws and forced to save the world themselves. Mistakes are made, people are betrayed, and dragon egos blind them to situation. 

I’ve enjoyed the first five books of this series which starts with Ascendant and the author claims it will end with book six. I’m still not certain if the similarities to McCaffrey’s The White Dragon are a nice homage or edging into copy cat territory. There’s also a question in my mind if it needed both giant killer insects and undead. The ghouls seem more of an afterthought to show what the Blight does and the Blight almost seems to exist to showcase how special Ash is. Still, it is a good series with dragons being characters in their own right. Peter Kenny’s narration is also highly rated. Since the series is in Kindle Unlimited it’s also a good deal if you subscribe to that.