Space Dragons: Luxorian's Crew

This is a fluffy novella about a space dragon trying to lead a crew for a salvage job in a universe that usually has a human rider running the show. The characters were fun, but this book was too much of a marshmallow for me.

The biggest conflict in the story was Lux's internalized worries about running their own crew. (Other conflicts like space horrors, mud, and dangerous wildlife are quickly and immediately solved with little repercussions.) It's not that I need a story to be gritty and stressful, but in order for a story whose emotional resolution is a space crew bonding together, I need more pulling them apart (either emotionally or via external circumstances) to have that pay off. Ultimately, this novella doesn't quite stand on its own for me, and feels like the first third of a book where everything is going well just before it doesn't.

This is the first in a series, and it poses a number of unanswered worldbuilding questions: how dragon and human society got to where it is, what went down with Lux's old partner Sar, and some other mysterious goings-on that are revealed at the end of the book. I enjoyed the worldbuilding about a universe seemingly built for humans that only grudgingly makes room for space dragons even as it depends on them, and I hope future books get into this more.

I enjoyed this book more than I expected. Usually, I do not like novellas as much as novels. They are so short and all, and it often feels not completely complete to me. This novella by Veo Corva, however, is just as good as their novels! The first few chapters seemed to confirm my feelings about novellas, but once I really got into the story, once Luxorian and their crew got into space, that feeling changed. When I was finished, I felt like I had read a complete story. It was complete. It was satisfactory. Once again, Veo Corva has written a great story. Space Dragons: Luxorian's Crew is a story about the search for independence, the struggle against a society that is not made for you. What I loved about the tale is how fatphobic challenges that people who are "too fat" face in our Western society, are represented in the story. The infrastructure and society in the novella is based on humans, most things are human sized and that what is built for dragons is still very tight/cramped. It is even so that the question comes up whether it is better to resize or reshape a dragon, or to change society...

As with the other stories by Veo Corva, this novella is also about friendships, and there have been times I cried in a positive way. In a joyous way. With a gigantic smile on my face. There is so much warmth in the story. There are main characters with autism, with chronical fatigue, there is queerness. It is perfect.

I am looking forward to possible sequels.