Escape from the Dominion — Craig Halloran

"The one who rules the dragons is the one who rules the world." In the year 2025, a nuclear holocaust incinerated the world.Now it is a dark place of despots...and dragons. Along North America's shattered east coast, Gabe has lived his entire life behind the walls of Newton, a secure compound housing a fragment of humans who survived the apocalypse. Ruled and repressed by the Dominion, the captive populace is kept entertained by "Dragon Games"--thrilling battles between monstrous beasts brought in from the ravaged outside by daring hunters, like Gabe's father, Saul. But Gabe wants something more, and his curiosity and restless spirit lead him secretly past the compound gates and into the wasteland where tragedy strikes. The transgression of the Blood Law draws the ire of the Count, the Dominion leader, that earns the boy a dangerous enemy, a painful punishment, and a tragic loss.While working alongside his father, Gabe accidentally bonds with a gamma dragon, an honor granted only to privileged children of the Dominion. Gabe tries to hide his ability, but when the Count discovers his gift, manipulation ensues, as Gabe's unique powers are perceived as a threat to the Dominion. With rebellion stirring in the compound, the Count is determined to control Gabe and crush the uprising, but when the plan fails, the Count turns on Gabe. When the fires of revolution and revenge are stoked the only way out is death or escape from the Dominion. ******************************** More... Fans of the dystopian and post-apocalyptic future worlds will eagerly welcome the work of another master of fiction fantasy. The first book is an ingenious new series, Escape from the Dominion by Craig Halloran is a harrowing survival story set in a near-future world destroyed in a nuclear holocaust--a dark, oppressive tomorrow where evil despots rule a diminished human population and a variety of mutated creatures such as dragons roam the ravaged landscape. The epic story of young Gabe, son of a formidable dragon hunter, and Squawk, the peculiar winged creature who becomes his closest companion, starts here, ushering in an exciting new era of YA fantasy fiction.