Buck Johnson: Dragon Wrangler

By Wyatt McLaren

Buck Johnson, along with his slow-moving and slow-thinking sidekick Skeeter Evans, currently plies his trade as a dragon wrangler on Terul and is busting out a bunch of dracs for the repulsive Terullian Karposh.

But when an unruly Red Kraken throws Buck, events take an unexpected turn. And Buck and Skeeter, with a little help from Snort Jones, right some wrongs and give Karposh his come-uppance, while still meeting their contractual obligations.

A wild mix of Fantasy, Action/Adventure, Western, and Science Fiction, “Buck Johnson: Dragon Wrangler” is a new twist on the Space Western and a rollicking ride across the vagaries of a dragon wrangler’s and his sidekicks’ lives on the planet Terul. Think of The Good Old Boys, The Rounders, and a little bit of Lonesome Dove all rolled up together and cast into space.

“Buck Johnson: Dragon Wrangler” is short story (approximately 4,000 words).

• Language: English
• Publisher: Wyatt McLaren
• Release date: Oct 15, 2012
• ISBN: 9781301327799

Book preview

Buck Johnson: Dragon Wrangler

Wyatt McLaren

Smashwords Edition

Copyright 2012 Wyatt McLaren

This is a work of fiction. The characters and situations are nothing more than inventions of the author’s imagination. Any resemblance to real persons, places, or institutions on Earth is purely coincidental.

Buck Johnson: Dragon Wrangler

When Buck Johnson finally managed to breathe a little again and knew he wasn’t dead, he propped himself up on one elbow. He spat dirt out of his mouth—pthit, pthit. Worse yet, the dirt was at least half dragon dung.

Commiserating, Skeeter Evans called across the football field-sized round pen, You okay, Buck? He was pretty sure Buck was uninjured—he was the best hand at breaking dragons Skeeter had ever seen—but the claims of friendship drew the question out of him anyway. Buck, is anything broke?

Finally managing to stand, but with hands on knees and head down, Buck worked hard at re-inflating his lungs, getting as much air into them as he could with each gasp. But the sulfur-tainted air of Terul didn’t give him much help in getting his wind back. Eventually, he answered: "Yeah, I’m okay. Too far from the heart to kill me. Did you see what