Enhanced descriptions from Syndetics:

A TODAY Show Summer Pick
An Amazon Summer Beach Reads Pick
A Barnes & Noble Best New Fiction of the Month Pick

"Hilarious. . . . Gork is less Game of Thrones and more The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy ."
-- Rolling Stone

"Delightful. . . . Gork satirically plumbs some of the same supervillain territory that forms the basis of recent films like Despicable Me ."
--Paul Di Filippo, The Barnes & Noble Review


"No good human won't love this dragon named Gork." --Dave Eggers

"Outrageous storytelling and soulful humor in the tradition of Kurt Vonnegut."-- Gary Shteyngart

Gork isn't like the other dragons at WarWings Military Academy. He has a gigantic heart, two-inch horns, and an occasional problem with fainting. His nickname is Weak Sauce and his Will to Power ranking is Snacklicious--the lowest in his class. But he is determined not to let any of this hold him back as he embarks on the most important mission of his life: tonight, on the eve of his high school graduation, he must ask a female dragon to be his queen. If she says yes, they'll go off to conquer a foreign planet together. If she says no, Gork becomes a slave.

Vying with Jocks, Nerds, Mutants, and Multi-Dimensioners to find his mate, Gork encounters an unforgettable cast of friends and foes, including Dr. Terrible, the mad scientist; Fribby, a robot dragon obsessed with death; and Metheldra, a healer specializing in acupuncture with swords. But finally it is Gork's biggest perceived weakness, his huge heart, that will guide him through his epic quest and help him reach his ultimate destination: planet Earth.

A love story, a fantasy, and a coming-of-age story, Gork the Teenage Dragon is a wildly comic, beautifully imagined, and deeply heartfelt debut novel that shows us just how human a dragon can be.

Excerpt provided by Syndetics

[3]
 THE FIRST TIME I MEET DR. TERRIBLE, IT HAPPENS ON PLANET EARTH We were deep into winter and the forest was beset with famine.
I spent my nights staggering around, desperate with hunger. The snow was thick on the forest floor. The effort of flapping my wings made me dizzy and when I tried to fly I instantly fell to the ground. Then came The Night When Everything Changed.
That night, I happened upon a big buck deer hiding in some undergrowth. I remember there was a full moon in the sky, and I had walked near some brush when all of a sudden this big buck deer exploded out of there. And I looked up in surprise to see its brown hindquarters bounding off through the snow under the moonlight. Anyway, I bolted after it and even in my weakened state, I just managed to chase it down. Well, I still remember how I was poised there over my fresh kill in the snow, and I was eating ravenously from it. Because for the last couple weeks the hunger pains had been gnawing at my insides. And that's why I didn't do what I would have normally done in that situation, which would be to take my fresh kill back to the shiny chamber and eat it in peace. Behind the safety of that clear door. So I tore into my feast with my beak right there in the little snowy clearing, and I was chowing down under the moonlight like the starving beast that I was. And I figure that's the only reason I didn't notice the big gray wolf until it was too late. Because normally my horns would've started tingling to warn me of an imminent threat. But unfortunately my horns were starving too. My little scaly green ass had been delirious with hunger for so long and now I was eating with my whole body. Plus I was only three years old at the time and nowhere near a fully grown dragon and still technically in my infancy. But the instant I looked up and saw that big gray wolf standing there in the moonlit snow and growling and baring its fangs, well I knew I'd made a mistake. I should've known the scent of fresh blood would go out on the night wind like an alarm bell. Then the wolf suddenly glided in closer and studied me with his piercing yellow eyes. He snarled and crouched low on coiled haunches. You could tell the wolf was going to pounce any second. My black heart was hammering away in my chest and my fool horns were tingling like crazy. Thankfully, by that point the fresh meat in my belly had not only cleared my head, it also gave me a massive boost of strength. So I just looked that fool wolf in the eye and ripped a thunderous belch and a restream flashed out my beak and blasted that thieving wolf in its furry haunches. Or it would've anyway, if that wolf hadn't anticipated what I was going to do and leapt and danced away right before my flame zapped the spot on the ground where he'd just been. Then I heard a terrible sound coming from behind me, and this sound made the scales on the back of my long green neck stand straight up. For as long as I live, I will never forget that terrible sound. Or the fear I felt when I heard it. Because this sound was the deranged bloodthirsty howls of an entire wolf pack rushing in to attack me from behind. I realized only then that the first wolf had merely been acting as a decoy, something to distract me. I was suddenly knocked off my webbed feet from behind. And in a flash I was pinned down there in the snow under what felt like a mountain of fur, and those wolves' hot breath was all over me. Their jaws were snapping and I could feel their fangs sinking deep into my soft belly, over and over and over. These beasts were mad with hunger. Now one of those fiendish wolves snarled and plunged its fangs into the flesh of my right wing, and this same wolf wrenched its jaws and savagely ripped my wing in half and I felt the hot cutting pain explode all over my body. I howled. In agony, but also in terror. Because in that instant I knew with my ripped wing I couldn't fly out of there, and now my only hope of escape would come down to a footrace in the snow. So I fought like a bastard, buried under that pile of thirty or so giant wolves. I tapped into my rage. I clawed and bit and blasted fire. I managed to get in a couple of good licks, too. I tore fur and flesh with my fangs. I felt my claws slice to the bone. And I savored the sweet taste of wolf blood in my beak. Yes sir. But by and large I was getting the worst of it. And I knew if I didn't do something quick then I'd be dead. I was bleeding from all those puncture wounds in my belly, and my right wing was hanging off my wingjoint in tatters. And I was still suffocating under all that fur as they tore me to shreds and it dawned on me then that these bastards wouldn't stop until they'd gnawed every last bit of flesh off my bones. So after blasting countless rebolts to the point where my throat was raw and shredded, I finally managed to twist out from under and leap away from the pack and start running through the snow on my hind legs. I lit out of there in a flash. The pack of wolves instantly set off after me. As I ran I could feel their hot raging breath closing in and could hear the terrifying clack sound of their jaws snapping shut right on my heels. They were howling and snarling and lunging at me and yet still I kept running with no thought in my head but that of sheer terror. My little webbed feet were flying. This was all new to me. I was bleeding out of the dozens of puncture holes in my belly and could hear my tattered wing flapping behind me as I ran. I left a bright red blood trail right there in the snow under the moonlight, and my lungs were heaving so hard it felt like they were going to pop. And then there it was. The clear door. I don't know how I did it, but I'd somehow managed to race all the way back to the shiny chamber with the pack of wolves hot on my heels. I could see the clear door right there in front of me, maybe twenty feet up ahead, and I was shooting toward it at full throttle. But as I raced forward I realized with a sinking heart that there was just one problem. I couldn't afford to stop and open the door, on account of even that one split second it'd take to stop and slide open the door would mean certain death. Because the wolves would instantly be upon me and tear my scaly green ass to shreds. Well I was scared out of my mind and didn't know what to do. I figured for sure I was done for. As I flashed forward I decided right then and there that I'd rather die on my own terms than those of these beasts snarling at my backside. So without much hope I lowered my head and kicked in the after- burners and launched forward, a green blur shooting right at the door. I reckoned it'd be better to die by ramming my head straight into the clear door. Because at least that way I wouldn't be alive as the wolves gorged themselves on my flesh. But at the last second, as I prepared to meet my maker, well that clear door suddenly slid open in a flash. I shot across the threshold. The door flew shut. And I crashed into the far wall of the chamber. Suddenly there were thirty enraged wolves howling and repeatedly lunging at the clear door and slavering foamy drool all over it. I leapt up off the floor, still not quite believing I wasn't dead. Then as I crouched there gasping on the far side of the chamber and watched the wolves attack the door, a loud noise exploded inside the chamber. Poof! I watched in shock as two gigantic green webbed feet materialized out of thin air right in front of me. And these two webbed feet had deadly-looking toe claws protruding out of them. My nostrils instantly flared. Because my snout detected a new foreign scent there in my lair.         Excerpted from Gork, the Teenage Dragon: A Novel by Gabe Hudson All rights reserved by the original copyright owners. Excerpts are provided for display purposes only and may not be reproduced, reprinted or distributed without the written permission of the publisher.

Reviews provided by Syndetics

Library Journal Review

DEBUT Gork is an alien dragon attending an elite military academy in preparation for a life conquering other planets. Bullying is encouraged at WarWings Academy and deaths are frequent, but Gork doesn't have the requisite fiendish disposition for success. His horns are too small and his heart too big. He is boastful and self-aggrandizing. As the novel opens, Gork must pick a mate or forever become a slave; he sets his sights on the most unattainable female at WarWings. As Gork's day progresses, it seems every clique wants to burn him to ash, and the distractions add up, for both Gork and the reader. Before he can pick his queen, he must discover the whereabouts of his missing grandfather Dr. -Terrible, uncover treachery among his closest companions, and grow his courage and his horns. Hudson burst onto the writing scene with his breakthrough collection of short stories, Dear Mr. President. Unlike his previous book, the humor and satire here fall flat, and Gork's narration is repetitive and sophomoric. VERDICT Fans of -Hudson's earlier work may be confused by this first novel, which might find an audience in older teens but is otherwise an optional purchase. [See Prepub Alert, 2/9/17.]--Jennifer Beach, -Longwood Univ. Lib., Farmville, VA © Copyright 2017. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

Publishers Weekly Review

The sorrows of adolescent dragon Gork the Terrible start when he's hatched on Earth, the honeymoon destination of his parents, who were killed when their spaceship crashed there. He's raised by his sentient spaceship until he's three and then rescued by his fiendish grandfather, Dr. Terrible, and taken to the dragons' home planet, Blegwethia. Gork, cursed with laughably tiny horns, a tendency to faint in moments of crisis, and a compassionate heart-the last of which is considered the greatest failing for a dragon-is a teenage enrollee at the WarWings Academy when he faces the ultimate challenge: win the luscious chick Runcita Floop as his queen, or become a slave for life. Gork's amusing growing-up story unfolds in vignettes of encounters with various kooky fellow dragons and episodes of Dr. Terrible's battles with Runcita's father, Dean Floop. Throughout, Hudson makes generally witty and occasionally brilliant reflections on humans' often reptilian behavior. Each time Gork's soft heart gets him in trouble with his peers and superiors, it marks a stage in his scaly maturation, until finally he finds his true love and accepts his destiny not as a fire-belching killer but as a sensitive poet. Though the fun starts to wear thin over time, Hudson's cleverly plotted and executed tale allows for a number of insights into the beastly adolescent behavior that can bedevil humans of all ages. Agent: Susan Golomb, Writers House. (July) © Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.

School Library Journal Review

Gork the Terrible isn't having a good day on planet Blegwethia-his grandfather half-blinded his schoolmaster last night and is in hiding, his spaceship is turning against him, and he can't find the love of his life to ask her to be his queen for EggHarvest. Despite reciting epic poetry and trying to grow his horns quickly to make himself more attractive, Gork, nicknamed Weak Sauce, is a struggling dragon who doesn't live up to his Terrible family name. His heart is too big, and he has feelings, which result in taunts from classmates. His Ferris Bueller-like one-day adventure will decide his future-finding his queen and conquering a planet or becoming enslaved to other dragons. Fantasy readers will enjoy this playful romp that pays homage to popular literature and movies. Gork is a dragon version of Andrew Smith's Austin Szerba in Grasshopper Jungle-consumed by hormones, an obsession that may become repetitive to some readers. VERDICT Give to fantasy fans who appreciate dark comedies, dorky dragons, or feel-good first romances.-Sarah Hill, Lake Land College, Mattoon, IL  © Copyright 2018. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

Booklist Review

Despite his low mating magnetism score, Gork (first name) the (middle name) Terrible (last name) is on a quest to ask the luscious Runcita to be his queen for EggHarvest, a dragon breeding tradition. If he doesn't find a mate by sunset, he'll waste the rest of his days as a slave. Although Gork speaks in the amusing jargon of a sardonic, misguided teenager, he's a big softie. He cries after mustering the courage to kill demons, and despite knowing his polite behavior disappoints his famous scientist grandfather, he can't help but faint, apologize, and express gratitude. Gork starts out ashamed of his peaceful instincts, but his female, part-robot best friend does not. Dragon aggression parallels real-life, toxic masculinity, encouraging readers to root for Gork as he defies those that try to make his horns larger and heart smaller. The whole novel reads like a mad scramble to find the right date for prom, complete with nerds and jocks but mainly dragons. Recommend this one to fans of offbeat science fiction and fantasy, such as the Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy series.--Hyzy, Biz Copyright 2017 Booklist

Kirkus Book Review

A teenage boy dragon battles bullies, a mad scientist, and his own self-doubt in his quest to win over a girl dragon.It's hard not to love a story about a dragon with a spaceship that cribs its plot from a John Hughes movie. Hudson (Dear Mr. President, 2002) follows up his devastating short story debut with a wacky teen comedy with shades of Terry Pratchett and Tom Holt. Our narrator is Gork, a clumsy but very determined student at WarWings Military Academy on the planet Blegwethia. Our boy isn't doing so hot with his diminished horns, a power rating of "Snacklicious," and the nickname "Weak Sauce." As happens in teen comedies, it's "Crown Day," in which dragons must ask a girl to be their queen or be forever banished as a slave. Gork's intended paramour is the fierce Runcita Floop. "Me and my Queen Runcita will be laying plans for invading a planet together," Gork says. "Soon I'll be out in space on my Fertility Mission, and me and Runcita will be bumping scales,' so she can lay my eggs." Unfortunately, Dean Floop has no intention of letting Gork anywhere near his daughter. Technically, Gork has some help from his grandfather Dr. Terrible, which includes a brain implant that makes him more ferocious when he recites poems, but grandpa is also malicious and kind of insane. Gork has other allies, though, in his tomboy friend Fribby (a cyborg dragon who takes no guff from Gork) and his spaceship Athenos II, a sentient being that carries secrets from Gork's childhood. If it all sounds a bit crazy, it is, in a weird and kind of wonderful way that combines immature humor with a heartfelt coming-of-age story. The hyperkinetic teen-dragon comedy-romance you never knew you wanted. Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.