The Dragon Has Some Complaints
by John Wiswell

Reviewed by Galen Strickland
Posted July 26, 2026

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John Wiswell's third novel is equal parts comedy and exciting adventure. There are also bits of awkward romance, and awkward sex, but that is between humans. It is told in third-person, but mostly from the perspective of the dragon Garrodigh. That is puzzling since he has lost a lot of his memories, as well as one of his heads. Each of the remaining three heads have their own personalities and quirks. Centerhead thinks of himself as the better of the three, and the main reason Garrodigh should be known as the "Great Terror." Upperhead thinks he is human, while Bottomhead is mostly interested in tasty treats. The fourth head had been lost years ago in a battle. All that remains of Lefty are scars near the base of the other three necks. The story takes place in a secondary fantasy world, mostly in Winged City, formerly a part of the island nation of Kardoša, but it now hovers above the island. The mystery of how and why it detached from the island, leaving the Good Riddance Crater, is also tied to the disappearance of the nation's founding leader, Gáspár Kardoš. It may also be connected to the dragons' loss of their progenitor, the Goddess Polárka.

Kardoša and Winged City are threatened by the FFR, the Federation of Free Republics, although it would be more accurate to replace "Free" with "Conquered." Many citizens of Winged City are refugees from the FFR, as well as from another nation to the north, Leonia. The FFR are attacking again at the start of the book, with Garrodigh on Kardoša dodging cannon shot from the invader's airships. One of his wings and a leg are injured. It had been some time since he had been able to fly, perhaps forgetting that he could, as well as forgetting who his rider had been. After the battle he is found and brought aboard a flying shuttle and taken to Winged City. Rania Charvátová, originally from FFR, had always longed to be a dragon rider, so she adopts Garrodigh and puts him through several therapy sessions to restore his wings and injured leg. Garrodigh refers to those sessions as torture, and yet they do work, and no one is more surprised than him when he regains the power to fly. Garrodigh realizes he needs to be careful and circumspect, since none of the other dragons speak, but he slips up and responds to Rania's depression when she is rejected by the one she loves. In truth, a lack of communication had led the one she loves to think he was the one being rejected. It takes almost the entire book before that issue is resolved.

I'll refrain from revealing more of the plot, but rather recommend you read it yourself to discover its magic. There are characters you will despise, in the beginning at least, but some of them will eventually come around to be allies of those you consider the heroes. Mysteries will be revealed, even if not fully understood, plus there are many things to contemplate about the future that awaits the characters and their world. Dragons can speak, and they can fly, and they can even set aside their differences, their complaints, to join with humans to create a better world. Recommended.

 

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