This is the story of the American War of Independence, but with a difference. The difference here is that when America was discovered it was a land populated with Dragons.

So in this Dragon America, when the story begins, things are not going well for George Washington and his American army. They are losing every encounter with the British forces and have been forced to adopt a hit and run guerrilla style in their endeavours. But even this is only going to delay the inevitable.

So Washington has asked an old friend for some help, and that old friend is one Daniel Boone. Boone has been tasked with approaching Blackfish, his adoptive father and the chief of the Shawnee and requesting they send warriors to reinforce his diminishing troop level.

Relations between Boone and Blackfish are not great and this request does not meet with agreement. However Boone learns of a great dragon, a large beast living far to the west, and if Boone can find them and figure out how to train them, they could turn the course of the war.

Now this probably reads very well for American readers - I'm English though. And the "bad guys" as such are the British. Added to that my knowledge of Daniel Boone is rather low, to me he is a name I've heard in passing, but little more.

But even given these hurdles to overcome, I found this an entertaining book, for when it comes to it Resnick writes great stories. He creates the kinds of tales that barrel along at a fast pace, picking you up as they go and carrying you along for a great ride.

He also creates some great characters, and in this book (in addition to Washington and Boone) we have Ephram Eakins, a poorly educated but highly practical and resourceful man. His idea for using some of the smaller flying dragons to help their war effort is wonderful.

So, is this a good read – yes, even to a reader who is not American. There's a great deal of fun to be had from this book, and you will love the cavalry. So if all you want is space based fiction from Mike Resnick and on this basis would pass on this one and await Resnick's next more typical output, you will be missing a good fun novel in Dragon America.