Highfire

Highfire by Eoin Colfer is one rollicking good read! When young ‘Squib’ Moreau witnesses a murder on the bayou (the murder of his new employer, no less) and nearly bites the dust when the killer realizes there had been a witness to the dastardly deed, he is rescued by an unlikely saviour.

This book cracked me up. Colfer does a masterful job of keeping the language and tone befitting of the setting. It was easy to fall in love with all the characters, even Regence and Ivory, villains though they be. My favourite parts were the dragon lore and the insights into Vern’s physiology. While Vern isn’t technically a wyvern, save by given name, the reason behind the definition of ‘wyvern’ in the story world was hilarious. (Vern is a dragon with six appendages. The wyvern of mythology are dragons with two wings and two hindfeet. No forefeet. Think Game of Thrones). I also loved the combustion mechanics and that fact that Vern needed to replenish by drinking oil.