John Harvey is the author of three novels. Scattered was published in early May and is the third book in his Cirrus Chronicles series. It is the 46th title I’ve completed reading in 2025.

Opinions expressed here are unbiased and entirely my own! Due to scenes of minor violence, I categorize this novel as PG.

The Cirrus space station–a massive, ring-shaped habitat orbiting the sun opposite Earth–is invisible from our home planet. Built as a haven for those seeking better living conditions, Cirrus also serves as a vital agricultural hub, supplying much of Earth’s food. Its flora and fauna have been genetically engineered for life in space. Among the most intriguing of these creations are “dragons”–not the mythical beasts of legend, but bioengineered predators designed to control vermin. However, there’s far more to them than meets the eye.

Just as connections with Cirrus fail, connections with the planet Dawn are being established. Those wanting to immigrate now have a real world to go to. This reduces the importance of Cirrus to Earth. Young Jack Scatter and his friends are refining their ‘magic’. Not really magic, but abilities enabled by an AI that appear to be magic. They are not the only ones to discover these abilities.

As the story wraps up at the end of book two, the known portals connecting Earth with Cirrus have been destroyed. Now, seven months later, many on Earth think that Cirrus, too, has met its end.

The wealthy Pieter Reynard, who was behind the destruction of the portals, is still missing. Some think he died, others believe he is just biding his time. In the resulting power vacuum, North Korean Danny Kou, Reynard’s second in command, is implementing his own plans. He wants to take over Cirrus and is willing to use force if necessary.

United Nations Police officer Priya Singh is still looking for traces of Raynard, but is having no success. She is told that the UN wants her transferred from Seattle to Dawn. It would be a good career move for her.

Scatter and his girlfriend, Sarah Rogers, use a hidden portal to travel to Earth. They meet with Singh to discuss their plans. While there, Scatter makes a deal with Paul, a former employee of Reynard. While they do not trust him completely, he has been helping them.

While Scatter and Rogers are on Earth, their friends Jada and Marten disappear while on a local trip. Once Scatter and Rogers are back on Cirrus, they go looking for them. They come across a remote village filled mostly with Koreans and are taken captive. The village is part of Kou’s plan to take over Cirrus. With the help of villagers, they escape.

As the story nears its conclusion, Scatter and his friends are confronted by Kou and his people. The dragons are divided on the issue, with some supporting, even fighting, on their respective sides. Will Kou be able to take over Cirrus? Will Scatter and his friends survive? Will the dragons become a threat?

I enjoyed the 7.5 hours I spent reading this 318-page young adult science fiction novel. I have had the opportunity to read the first two novels in this series. Those were Broken Sky and Blue Spell. All three have been enjoyable, though they all seem to lack a crispness to the plot. I give this novel a rating of 3.8 (rounded to 4) out of 5.

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Book three in the Cirrus Chronicles series. Jack has found a device that will help control the world by ruling the dragons. Jack doesn't want to but if he doesn't then Danny,the bad guy will. It's good versus evil. Who will win? And what happens to the dragons. Thanks #Netgalley and #OnSiteCreative for the eARC in exchange for a honest review. All opinions are mine.