Thanks to NetGalley and Knopf for the opportunity to read and review Gork, the Teenage Dragon by Gabe Hudson. This book is humorous and representative of teen angst through the portrayal of Gork. A silly dragon version of finding love, learning about family and growing up. A coming of age story with a sci-fi and fantasy twist. 4 stars.

I tried so very hard to get into this book but I just do not think it was for me. Thank you so much for the opportunity, though!

I am a huge dragon fan so when my request to read this was approved I was very excited. Who wouldn't want to read about advanced dragons with spaceships in space? I was not disappointed.

I was drawn into the story from the very beginning when Gork talks about how "if you happen to be a man-creature here on Earth, I have read your books and stories about my species, and they are wrong." It goes on to talk about the biggest offender of misrepresentation, Mr. J.R.R. Tolkien and his portrayal of Smaug. Gork then goes on to tell the reader that he will talk about what it's really like.

The story is told from the perspective of our main character, a lovable teenage dragon named Gork, and what life is really like for his species and his journey to find his true love. The whole story takes place over one day in the life of our main character, but with many flashbacks. Gork is a member of the WarWings Military Academy. While there he is given the nickname 'Weak Sauce' because Gork is weaker and smaller than the other dragons at school. He also has a heart that is too big and horns that are too small.

This book was funny, charming, and adorable. It felt like an 80s classic high school movie, but with dragons in space. If you like dragons, or are a fan of Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy this YA novel is for you.

If you think this books sounds weird, you're right - it was pretty weird! And towards the end it got really weird, and also pretty gruesome. To be honest, I think I liked it better once I had finished than I did while I was reading - I spent quite a bit of time thinking "what am I even reading" and then my first thought when I finished was "that was GOOOOOOD!"

It was funny - there were bits that made me laugh out loud, and bits that I read out to my partner because I thought they were so funny. I also really liked the resolution and the message at the end.

I'm not really sure if I have a good read-alike, but it reminded me a bit of reading Magnus Chase, although would probably be suitable for a bit older audience. It had a similar young, male, kind of annoying, self-depricating protagonist.

Overall, a fun but weird read - a good one for the teenage reader in your life (maybe especially boys?)
I gave it 3/5 stars.

I requested this title to read with my young teenage son. I got through the first chapter, but did not think the language and liberal use of swear words were appropriate for his age so I did not continue reading this with him. Sorry, it just didn't work for me.

I wanted to like this book. The cover was interesting and had me expecting a punk-rock dragon. Unfortunately that did not happen.

Gork, the Teenage Dragon, although an interesting and definitely worth-while concept to attempt, became annoying and irritating by the second chapter. Gork's voice as a narrator feels all over the place. Sometimes he sounds like an old-school noir detective, other times he takes on this bard-esque tone reminiscent of mediviel tales, but none of them sounded like a teenager. It was as though he was trying to take on one-too many personas as his own but doesn't have an original voice.

The grammar needs fixing, big time. The images, although interesting and unique, become repetitive. Many lines begin with "so" and "then" and continue with that to the point of getting annoying. I have just finished up a Master's level Creative writing workshop and this story reads like my classmate's incomplete (and unedited) pieces. If the story were polished up I would consider rereading.

I loved it! Must read for dragon lovers who are into more well unique kind of dragon! <3
Please see my blog for the full review.

Gabe Hudson’s fantasy novel “ Gork, The Teenage Dragon” was a fun, amusing and clever read. Written from the dragon’s perspective on what is a dragon and how he came to find his huge heart’s true love on his path to fulfill his mother’s prophecy for him.
Lots of time was built on building the world of dragons as the superior race, conquerors of planets, and on the trials and tribulations of attending school on his home world where will of power is what can make or break your successes.
Gork’s will of power while on his mission to find his queen was never very high and so his success of the gaining the female dragon of his dreams, though he tries his best, was doomed to failure but does end up earning the best female love for him. The ending of the story was a good choice and a life lesson.

On the younger side of YA, but it had a dragon narrator and was laugh out loud funny at times

This is quite possibly the worst book I have ever read. It was like reading an English assignment, written by a ten year old with a potty mouth, whose friends had dared him to write "my green scaley ass" in it as many times as he could. I don't even know what to say it was so terrible. The writing was juvenile and amateur. I also think the schizoid references need to be removed. This was a DNF after six chapters. I usually give review books 30%, but at 13% I could not read anymore.

This originally appeared at The Irresponsible Reader.
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Note: As I re-read this before it goes up, I thought I should stress something: this is a fun book and I think people will enjoy it. The problem is, it takes more words to describe the stuff I wasn't crazy about than it does to describe the stuff I liked. I chuckled, I grinned, I was happy for Gork's successes (happier for his best-friend Fribby's successes -- but they usually coincided) -- as rare as they were. Don't let the length of the "bleh" bits here distract you -- Hudson just provoked some thoughts.

There were parts of this that were delightful, parts of it that were problematic, parts that were just okay. There were also too many parts, but we'll get to that in a bit.

Our protagonist and unlikely hero is Gork -- a dragon with pretty strong feelings toward Tolkein and the author of Beowulf for the depiction of dragons -- he's sort of a wimp, his horns aren't that big (pretty small, really), he's not that fierce (but he wants to be), and he tends to faint at inopportune times and frequently. Nevertheless, he's about to finish his last year at the War Academy and head off to terrorize and conquer a planet of his own, all he needs to do is get someone to agree to be his queen and they'll head off. We meet him on the day he's supposed to do just that. Now, think back to high school -- does this seem like a guy who's going to be getting a lot of dates? Not really -- and when your high school is full of dragons intent on learning how to be the nastiest, fiercest, most terrifying conquerors any planet has ever seen, well -- Gork's odds are even worse.

Naturally, because this is a high school story, our puny geek has set his eyes on the most popular, gorgeous and dangerous girl in school. The question really isn't "Will Gork and his band of friends be able to convince her to be is queen?" It's, "Will Gork survive the day?" And oddsmakers around the school, put his chance at that at 1%.

This is clearly from the word "go" a comic novel -- we're supposed to laugh at the madness, mayhem and murdering -- and it's easy to do on the whole. It's a crazy world Hudson's created for these dragons to go around in, and most of the characters are amusing. I'm not convinced it works that well as a novel as a whole -- as a series of goofy episodes that eventually lead to a big showdown with the nastiest dragon around, it's all right. (I'm not sure that distinction makes sense to anyone).

I like the idea of spacefaring dragons, dragons that have fully embraced technologies that we can't think of (or we have thought of, just haven't done that much with yet) -- robotics, nanobots, and more. Although the "mind-swap" device doesn't really swap minds it . . . well, it's hard to sum up, but it felt like it belonged more to a Hanna-Barbera show than a SF novel. Basically, this is a Science Fiction wonderland populated with dragons instead of highly developed humans, Grays, Vulcans or Wookies. Still, being that takes away some of the X-factor that makes people fascinated with dragons. Dragons are already pretty cool, you don't need to give them gizmos and machines that go "ping" -- if anything that detracts from them. Still...a dragon in a spaceship is a pretty cool visual.

There's a moral code that the dragons here live by, or aspire to anyway. It glorifies treachery, destruction, brutality, and so on. Grades of F are to be aspired to, As are to be lamented. That sort of thing -- but societies can't exist like the way Hudson depicts, and honestly, his society doesn't function the way he says it does (the fact that there are actual friendships depicted, not just uneasy alliances is proof enough against that). You can't have characters shocked by betrayal in a world where there are classes on betrayal. It's the moments of loyalty and help that should be shocking, and not trusted by anyone. But no one works that way in this book. This is not a problem unique to Hudson's work, I've run into it before -- usually, in works like this, where the twisted ethics are played for laughs and we're not supposed to be getting as analytical about them as I am. So, ignore everything I just said.

There were just a couple too many zigs and zags to the plot -- a few less challenges, a few less pages, and I think this would've worked a bit better. I'm not necessarily saying that I can point to something and say, "That right there -- yeah, we didn't need that," it just dragged a bit here and there. I tend to be more patient than most of the target audience for this book, so I worry about their reaction.

Speaking of target audience -- I'm not sure what it is. The humor and emotional depth says MG to me, but the Gork's fixation on mating and the things that attracts him to potential mates (he's pretty shallow, I should warn you) are more YA. I'm not sure it matters all that much, it's just one of those things that ran through the back of my mind during the slow parts.

I got a bit ramble-y there, sorry about that. I clearly am not sure what to make of this book -- I enjoyed it, and I bet many will, too. But it has it's problems -- my best advice is, don't think about it -- just enjoy the antics. Gork's a good guy and is fun to hang out with.

Disclaimer: I received this eARC from Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group via NetGalley in exchange for this post -- thanks to both for this.

Gork, the Teenage Dragon by Gabe Hudson is a quirky, tongue in cheek, sometimes angsty, all around good read. Our hero, Gork, isn’t much like the other dragons at his school. He is weaker, his horns are smaller, and his heart is way too big. He is a really fast flyer and it has kept him alive this long.
I enjoyed this fun story. It brought me back to high school and feeling the misfit. There is a terrific set of supporting characters who round out this tale. I recommend for anyone trying to get their tweener – teen son to read.

Thanks very much to NetGalley, the author, and the publicist for reaching out to offer me this ARC, but it's not for me. I tend to steer clear of comedic fiction because I rarely enjoy it, and this was no different. I felt like the comedic aspect was just trying way too hard and I found the narrative altogether unlikable.

I was really looking forward to this book – after all, the blurb said it was for fans of Harry Potter and Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy – and that is certainly me. Unfortunately, to say that “Gork” will appeal to fans of Harry Potter and Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy is a bit like claiming that 50 Shades of Grey will appeal to fans of Pride and Prejudice. It may be true for some fans, but that is not a helpful guideline.
Firstly, it is nothing at all like the two aforementioned books. Yes, Gork is enrolled in an academy – but rather than being a school teaching magic and encouraging maturation into an upstanding adult, it is the WarWings Military Academy, where you only graduate if you find a sexual partner (of the opposite gender), who is willing to go with you on a space journey, mate with you for the entire voyage, and then, with the resulting offspring, invade and enslave the planet and its people at the end of your journey. Failure to graduate means you become a slave (or are eaten). No half way measures – not even US high schools are that brutal. The only link with Hitchhiker’s Guide that I could see, is poetry. But, reciting Vogon poetry was never considered a worthwhile skill. Also, neither of those books contain swear words or sexually charged slang – “Gork” does.
For much of the book, the language used is crude, aggressive and misogynist. Females are constantly referred to as “chicks”, are defined almost exclusively by their physical attributes, and the prestige their looks will endow on their lucky mate. Males are rated according to the size of their horns (so no sexual innuendo there!) and their ability to terrorise lesser beings (robot dragons, short horned dragons, mutants, …). In theory, females may say no to a suitor, but as one particularly nasty Jock points out, no really means yes. To me the one light in this story was Runcita, who refused to submit to derogatory nicknames or unwanted advances, and who was her own person and unafraid to be seen with undesirable dragons. Unfortunately, that side of her got very little exposure, while her beauty and seductive scent was mentioned everywhere.
The author clearly has a very well-developed imagination, and certain parts of the story were well thought out – such as the Top Trumps ratings given to the young dragons. The wording is very repetitive. Dragons, almost by definition, are scaly. The author seems to be going for the record of the book with the most appearances of the word ‘scaly’ – once or twice would have been enough to get the point across. The swearing could have been restricted to the spoken language, instead of permeating all the descriptive passages as well.
I did not warm to Gork at all, although by the end of the book he had thankfully changed for the better – still a dweeb, but at least a non-violent, politer version. Personally, I was hoping that Runcita would elope with Fribby – that would have been a shock ending.
Looking at the other reviews, I am one of the very few who did not like Gork. So, this is obviously a book you need to read and make your own mind up about. I really struggled to finish the book, but you may feel quite differently.
I would happily recommend Harry Potter and “Hitchhikers Guide” to anyone, of almost any age. But, I would be very wary of offering “Gork” to young teenagers.

I was really excited about this book based in the summary. I found it dull and slow moving. It's odd because the premise was really promising. The story just drudges along and instead of enhancing the main stortline, it got lost. I got to the halfway point and just didn't care about Gork at all. I called it quits.

I'm just going to come right out and say it. I love dragons. Big time. So finding a book about a teenage dragon named Gork was like a match made in heaven. Imagine how surprised I was to find out that it also has more Dragons, Robots, and yeah, some spaceships and OUTTERSPACE . . . it was like this book had been made for me. Yeah. I know, it doesn't seem like these things would all go together, but in Gork's world, they totally do. Because with a name like Gork, you know his story needs to be epic. Just to prove the point, the author even throws in random moments of poetry and singing, referencing back to those epic stories of old. Needless to say I was enchanted and smitten right from the start.

I loved Gork. I loved his insecurities and struggles and awkwardness and growing and teenage awesomeness. I loved that he has a giant heart and is a softy, and hates it, but also kinda likes it too. Now I will say that a lot of the story seemed to ramble and was unable to retain my attention. There were too many words when the core story should have just moved a bit faster. Too much dwelling on side characters. But then this slang and expressions happen, and you somehow forget all that. With some whittling though, this story could be made an easy five-star read.

In a nutshell, Gork the Teenage Dragon isn't a book that makes your brain work. It's light-hearted and humorous, requiring minimal effort on the readers part. So for those readers who are interested in a good laugh, perhaps a flashback or two, and an enjoyable story that ends well, I'd say to you people: Gork, the Teenage Dragon, is definitely for you.

I received an e-copy of this book via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I enjoyed the world building in this story and give the author credit for one of the most unique storylines I've read. I can see tween and early teen boys loving the dragon/spaceship dynamics. I found the writing repetitive at times (Gork's horns are small and he faints. A lot). I was also confused by elements of the ending and wondered what happened to a couple of the characters who were interesting but had limited roles. Overall, the story is entertaining. I could see this translating well into a graphic novel format, and would love to see more of the world and other characters, not only Gork.

Gork's a dragon, but don't even think about mentioning Smaug to him. He's not happy at all with the way dragons are portrayed in Earth fiction, and he's here to set the record straight. So begins the story of Gork: teenage dragon, student at WarWings Academy, orphaned on Earth during his parents' mating mission and raised by his scientist grandfather, Dr. Terrible.

Starting off on Crown Day - the day dragon and dragonette cadets at the Academy agree to be mating partners - Gork has one goal in mind: to get the luscious Runcita Floop to wear his crown and agree to be his queen. The problem? His nickname is Weak Sauce, his Will to Power ranking is Snacklicious (if you're a gamer, think of Will to Power as a CON/DEX/overall attractiveness level) and he's got a bad habit of fainting when he's scared. If Runcita says yes, she and Gork will go off in his spaceship and find a planet to conquer together. If Gork can't sea the deal, he's doomed to be a slave.

Gork has a heck of a day ahead of him: Dean Floop - his intended's father - hates him; his sadistic grandfather is on the run from the Dean, he's being hunted down by a group of WarWings cadets that have murder on their minds, and the Trenx, a fellow cadet who had similarly low ratings, has seemingly blossomed overnight. Before the day is out, Gork will have to survive and learn some hard truths about his family. He'd better keep his best friend - a robot dragon named Fribby - by his side.

Gork is an out-there novel. It's a page-turner, and Gork is an endearing first-person narrator, if a bit single-minded in focus. He's obsessed with mating, but he is a teenager, after all. He refers a lot to his "scaly green ass" a lot, which gets tedious. Gork's story uses fantasy to tackle some very real points: bullying, friendship, self-esteem, and falling in love. It's a much deeper novel than the title "teenage dragon"encompasses; it's a fantasy, a YA romance, and a coming of age story.

Thanks to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for the chance to read this book. Unfortunately it was NOT for me. I love dragons, but dragons in space took things a little too far for me. I suppose I should have known I'd hate it just from the comparison to The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy - which I hated.

*shrugs*

Cool cover though.

Unfortunately, this is a DNF for me, therefore, it would be unfair of me to publish a complete review without having finished the book. I'm not a fan of the writing style and the humour wore off very quickly. There are only so many times "my scaly green ass" can be found humorous, or used as a descriptor. There was also too much repetition throughout the book for me so I am moving this one to my DNF pile.