The Dragons of Manhattan

When Norris Gonfalcon loses his job in the New York book publishing industry, he accepts an offer to serve as a private investigator for a stunningly beautiful Park West socialite named Jasmine Frimhault. She and an expert local panhandler named Monty Bean reveal to Norris at great length the true history of mankind, which includes long-lived, shape-shifting dragons who have lived clandestinely among humans since the dawn of time. Occasionally, some dragons have caused malicious evil, and now in America it appears to be happening again. They know all this because they both are dragons. Norris soon remembers that he, too, is a dragon.

We soon discover that the evil dragon is Buster Maltravis, a rich and politically influential Wall Street maven, who secretly controls the weak-minded U.S. president Alfie Sedona and his even weaker-minded vice president Dave Knuckle. Jasmine and Norris' investigation begins on Murder Day in Manhattan, where murder is temporarily legal. They survive long enough to get to the newspaper offices of the Daily Blurt. There they meet Depra, the Blurt's office assistant, as well as Ant Glimmering, a local yokel who believes that God has told him to bring numerous weapons of mass destruction into the city. Norris, Jasmine, Ant and Depra also meet Priscilla and Jean Marie, teenagers who mistakenly hitchhiked to Manhattan to locate Hollywood and seek stardom. One of Buster's many human agents (who are all named James) has been sent to take the teenagers to Buster (who has identified them as the only virgins in the city) also decides to assist Norris and Jasmine against Buster.

Meanwhile, a hippie scientific genius named Corbin is briefing the vice president on a computer program he developed that accurately determines what would happen to human history under different circumstances. The program would threaten Buster's plans, and he is forced to take action.

Buster and his mate Polyanna (both in fire-breathing dragon form) attack the group in the Lincoln Tunnel. Thereafter ensue destructive madcap battles that require the use of Ant's many weapons, the knowledge and skills of each group member, and Norris and Jasmine discovering their true nature as dragons, for the group to save mankind from Buster's dastardly schemes.

Political satirical fantasy

John Grant is the writing pseudonym of British editor and author Paul Barnett, who has been active in the U.K. science-fiction and fantasy scene for several decades, although his work has only rarely appeared in America. The Dragons of Manhattan initially began to appear in 2003 as an online serial, and this is its first appearance in print. The novel blends urban fantasy with science-fiction tropes, and is part political satire and part social parody. Its satire of current American politics and parody of American society occasionally hit their mark, but just as often miss, sometimes by a rather wide margin.

Political satire in science fiction and fantasy has a long history, beginning at least as early as Jonathan Swift's Gulliver's Travels. Within the SF genre, satire first became prominent in the 1950s with authors such as Frederik Pohl and Robert Sheckley, and was refined in the 1960s/1970s, with the advent of the American and British New Wave writers. Structurally and stylistically, Grant's novel has many characteristics of the New Wave novels of that period. Since that time, however, satire has become rare in the genre, and I can't help but welcome anyone who seeks to keep the tradition alive.

Grant uses an interesting fantasy conspiracy theory concept—that clandestine dragons are at fault for many of the most insanely vicious acts in human history—as a platform to skewer the current Bush administration policies and American society in general. The sharp edge required for good satire, however, is dulled somewhat by the decidedly British tone of the novel. It is mostly written in British slang and idiom, even though all of the characters are American. (Although Barnett/Grant has been living in the U.S. since 1999, he has not yet developed an ear for our version of the language.) None of the characters feel American, which might be acceptable for those who are ancient dragons, but it means that virtually all of the social parody feels askew. It also dulls the political satire, because one can't help feeling, even when he's dead on right, mildly disturbed that an outsider is doing the criticizing.

Despite all of these failings, Grant should be lauded for seeking to keep alive this challenging literary form, and SF and fantasy readers seeking a change from the light humorous fantasy that has pervaded the field for decades may find an interesting change of pace in this satirical romp.

Perhaps in the future, with more time in America and familiarity with our social idiosyncrasies and political peccadilloes, John Grant will create (perhaps with help of a good American editor) a sharp-edged satire of American politics and culture that hits its marks more truly. -Doug