A review by lizlogan
Dragon on Trial by Tui T. Sutherland

4.0

I'm not sure I like this novel better or the first. I liked seeing the additional creatures in the story, especially the kilin. The tone was also much more serious in this one. I enjoyed learning more about the zoo's workings, but I think what I would like to see more in this whole series are descriptions of the creatures. There are some descriptions, but I think it was telling that the author felt it necessary to include a picture guide in the back of this book versus the other one. I also found myself looking up some of the creatures (which may have just been something that I do anyhow), but is a bit of a pet peeve: if you are writing to a general audience that is not especially prepared for a specialized topic you don't have to dumb it down, but at least describe it well. I'm not asked for one cent words versus two dollar words, but if you start talking about a creature and describe it as "murdery" that does not help a lot with the appearance. That particular creature I just mentioned does have an adequate description, but not enough do as all so far have returned and been important. Finally, WEREROOSTER! Brilliant!