We are beyond excited to exclusively reveal the cover for Alex London’s upcoming new middle-grade novel, Battle Dragons: City of Thieves! Releasing on September 21st 2021 from Scholastic, this is the first installment in an all-new, gritty and captivating fantasy series from the beloved author and it’s now available to pre-order!
Blue Willow Bookshop (in Houston, TX) will be hosting the virtual launch event for Battle Dragons: City of Thieves featuring author Alex London in conversation with Kwame Mbalia (co-author of Last Gate of the Emperor). This event will take place on Tuesday, September 21 at 5:00 pm CST and you can register to attend for free here.
Now, read on to discover the cover, synopsis, and what Alex has to say about his cover!
In a modern mega-city built around dragons, one boy gets caught up in the world of underground dragon battles and a high-stakes gang war that could tear his family apart.
Once, dragons nearly drove themselves to extinction. But in the city of Drakopolis, humans domesticated them centuries ago. Now dragons haul the city’s cargo, taxi its bustling people between skyscrapers, and advertise its wares in bright, neon displays. Most famously of all, the dragons battle. Different breeds take to the skies in nighttime bouts between the infamous kins—criminal gangs who rule through violence and intimidation.
Abel has always loved dragons, but after a disastrous showing in his dragon rider’s exam, he’s destined never to fly one himself. All that changes the night his sister appears at his window, entrusting him with a secret…and a stolen dragon. Turns out, his big sister is a dragon thief! Too bad his older brother is a rising star in Drakopolis law enforcement…
To protect his friends and his family, Abel must partner with the stolen beast, riding in kin battles and keeping more secrets than a dragon has scales. When everyone wants him fighting on their side, can Abel figure out what’s worth fighting for?
Here’s what Alex had to say about his new series:
“I couldn’t be more excited to be launching the Battle Dragons series with Scholastic this year and I’m absolutely stunned by the cover that designer Maeve Norton and artist Yuliya Zabelina created for it. When I first saw it, I heard an echo of middle-school me cheering across time and space. I hope readers today find it as exciting as I do. It captures the vibe of the book so well. Battle Dragons, which has influences as wide-ranging as Akira, the Fast and the Furious, and How to Train Your Dragon, promises high tech action, high stakes dragon battles on souped-up dragons, and all kinds of hijinks. There are ruthless dragon riding criminals preying on vibrant communities, ruthless secret police who might be worse than the crooks they’re out to catch, and families of all kinds-found, fraught, and forged in fire. There are plenty of laughs too. Abel and his diverse group of friends go on a wild ride through the underworld of Drakopolis and I can’t wait to share it with readers of all ages this September!”
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Alex London is the author of over 25 books for children, teens, and adults with over 2 million copies sold. He’s the author of the middle grade Dog Tags, Tides of War, Wild Ones, and Accidental Adventures series, as well as two titles in The 39 Clues. For young adults, he’s the author of the acclaimed cyberpunk duology Proxy, and the epic fantasy trilogy, The Skybound Saga. A former journalist covering refugee camps and conflict zones, he can now be found somewhere in Philadelphia, where he lives with his husband and daughter or online at www.calexanderlondon.com.
