Kids...Don't play with germs.

Mount Dragon is a techno-thriller that conforms to the tropes and expectations you'd find in such a novel, but Preston and Child know what they are doing, so the story flows nicely. Lots of twists and turns as the protagonist figures out what's really going on at a remote research location in New Mexico that's developing a means of curing the flu once and for all by manipulating the genetic code of humanity. Naturally, things don't go smooth.

One of the more unusual characteristics of The Dragonrealm series is that it's not focused entirely on one character. Instead Knaak has assembled an ensemble cast of characters and uses the novels to focus on each of them in turn. Here, we turn to Darkhorse, the Child of the Void, a sentient bit of emptiness that perfers to assume the shape of an ebony stallion. He's been summoned by the King of Talak who wishes to use Darkhorse's powers to remove the dragons from his kingdom once and for all.

For a story that's less than 300 pages long, there's a surprisingly dense plot, far too much to go into here. We learn about Darkhorse's origins, as well as the origins of Shade, which will be explored in more detail in the next book in the series.

Thousands of years ago, the race of Vraad sorcerers destroyed their world of Nimth through reckless use of magic. Now they seek to escape their ravaged world and start anew, like magical locusts. They discover a "shrouded realm" overlaying their own reality that appears to be pristine and immaculate compared to the twisted, nightmarish reality they created on their homeworld. Barakis Tezerenee is leading the efforts to transport his clan to the new world. Meanwhile, Dru Zeree has found an alternate path that will be much more promising to the future of the Vraad race, though both plans will lead to tremendous sacrifice. The Dragonrealm is much more than it seems...and has its own agenda for the Vraad sorcerers...

Barakis Tezerenee and Dru Zeree have succeeded in transplanting their race to the new world. Unfortunately, their Vraad sorcery is compatible with the magical forces of their new home, and both struggle with adapting to the Dragonrealm's peculiar nature. They are also plagued by the inhabitants of the Dragonrealm, who don't take kindly to the intruders. We learn the truth behind the Dragonrealm's existence and what it means for humanity and dragons going forward to the present day.

Thomas Paine recommended this book a few years ago and I've only just now read it, though I've read many, many books by Preston and Child in the meantime. A book about moving a large rock shouldn't be this entertaining, but somehow Preston and Child maintain the dramatic tension throughout the story.

Also, there are different layers of preparedness. There is "Boy Scout prepared", "Batman prepared", "Crazy prepared," and "Eli Glinn prepared." Eli Glinn is the leader of the expedition to recover the meteorite and he demonstrates levels of preparedness that are nearly supernatural. He's tasked with moving a rock that's around 10,000 tons, but when they find out it's over twice that mass, he's ready for it, since his engineering company firmly believes in over-engineering to account for nearly any circumstance. They would have succeeded, too, if it wasn't for the fact that the meteorite had its own agenda.

The Crystal Dragon is the most enigmatic of all Dragon Kings. He lives on the inhospitable Legar Peninsula, home to the remnants of the armadillo-like Quel race. Now, the wolf raiders from across the seas have entered his domain, looking for something they can use to wage war on the Dragonrealm and rebuild their empire. The Gryphon has followed them back across the oceans as he has a personal score to settle with their leader. Master sorcerer Cabe Bedlam has been "summoned" to the Legar Peninsula to uncover the threats, one of which was spawned by the Crystal Dragon in a misguided attempt to detroy the wolf raiders.

At the end of Ice Dragon, the heirs of the Dragon Emperor Gold were collected by Cabe Bedlam and the Green Dragon. The goal was to raise them among humans and dragons so that they would serve as a bridge to the future between humans and dragonkind. Now Kyl, the young heir to the Emperor's throne, is going on a goodwill tour among the human and dragon kingdomes before his ascension to the throne. Lurking in the shadows is Duke Toma, who hasn't been seen in decades, but still poses a real threat to all that Cabe and the Green Dragon have worked for.

Pirate treasure! Preston and Child admit they were inspired by Oak Island when writing this story. Centuries ago the pirate Edward Ockham buried treasure valued at nearly $2 billion on a small island off the coast of Maine. Efforts to recover the treasure have been stymied by an elaborate system of traps designed to keep the treasure buried forever. Now, armed with modern technology, a group of treasure seekers attempts to reclaim the loot once and for all, but they, too, will find dark secrets are still in effect behind the scenes to thwart their efforts. A curse?