A ship's captain is stranded on a deserted island by his mutinous crew and left for dead—until he stumbles across a creature that may just be the key to his salvation and revenge in this “brilliant story of dragons, trade, treachery, and the sea, told with scintillating immediacy” (K.M. McKinley, author of The Iron Ship).

Jeryon has been the captain of the Comber for more than a decade. He knows the rules. He likes the rules. But not everyone on his ship agrees. After a monstrous dragon attacks the galley, the surviving crewmembers decide to take the ship for themselves and give Jeryon and his self-righteous apothecary “the captain’s chance”: a small boat with no rudder, no sails, and nothing but the clothes on his back to survive on the open sea.

Fighting for their lives against the elements, Jeryon and his companion land on an island that isn’t as deserted as they originally thought. They find a baby dragon that, if trained, could be their way home. But as Jeryon and the dragon grow closer, the captain begins to realize that even if he makes it off the island, his old life won’t be waiting for him and in order get justice, he’ll have to take it for himself.

From a Pushcart Prize–nominated poet and speculative short story writer, The Dragon Round combines a rich world, desperate characters, and gorgeous, literary fiction into a timeless tale of revenge, perfect for fans of George R.R. Martin and Naomi Novik.

Stephen S. Power’s short fiction has appeared at AE, Daily Science Fiction, Flash Fiction Online, Lightspeed, Nature, and many other venues. A Pushcart Prize nominee, he’s published more than seventy poems in journals such as Clarion, The Lyric, The Iron Horse Literary Review, Measure, and Raintown Review. As a veteran book editor he’s worked on numerous bestsellers, but The Dragon Round is his first novel. He tweets at @StephenSPower, his site is StephenSPower.com, and he lives in Maplewood, New Jersey.