The Taste of Storm and Brine (A Talisman Series Novella Vol. 5.5) by Brett Salter

What worked:

The story revisits ocean dragons that were first introduced earlier in the Talisman Series. The characters this time are four scouts who guard the waters north, south, east, and west of the Den from unwanted visitors or invaders. The opening pages find Starboard chasing down an elusive Garm until he realizes he’s now outnumbered. The action scene is reminiscent of battles found in previous books. Much of the plot involves the impending Garm invasion and the mixed feelings among the ocean dragons about humans. Some dragons don’t want anything to do with them since humans can’t be trusted. Others have visions of humans and dragons reuniting to fight the Garms as they once did long ago.

Humor is incorporated throughout the book, mostly from the dragons’ personalities. Starboard likes to talk like a pirate as he says, “Tis a situation most foul, indeed.” Driftwood likes surfers so he likes to say “dude”, says humans were “flaking” on dragons, and dreams of surfing “gnarly bangers” and “ten-foot curlers”. Tampa uses incorrect names for the other dragons but Starboard’s not sure if it’s intentional or if she simply doesn’t care. Bismark is a self-centered braggart who annoys the other scouts. The narrator also adds some amusing aside comments directed to readers.

What didn’t work as well:

Driftwood comes across a fishing boat leaking oil everywhere and it’s farther from shore than he’s ever seen humans before. Even the humans on board are anxious about their excursion into these waters. Later in the book, the dragons encounter the humans again but there aren’t any concerns about the oil spill or questions about why the ship was in the waters over Oceania. Readers are left to wonder why Driftwood is no longer alarmed and why the boat showed up in the first place.

The final verdict:

The plot moves swiftly and the book can be completed in one sitting if a motivated reader chooses to. For readers who’ve not read any of the other books, this one offers an excellent taste of the author’s writing style and the tense relationships between dragons, Garms, and humans. I recommend you give this book a shot.