Even if I count them as guilty pleasures, I’ve enjoyed several of Zahn’s Star Wars novels enough that it’s a bit odd I never got around to trying one of his non-tie-in novels until now. (Many of them seem to be packaged/marketed as “military science fiction” as opposed to “space opera,” which probably partially explains it.)
I went through Dragon and Thief like it was a tub of movie popcorn. It reminded me pleasantly of the uncomplicated space action yarns I devoured as an adolescent from the likes of Bischoff, Chalker, and Foster, although it was more kid-friendly than several of them. (Heinlein’s juvenile novels also came to mind, although Zahn’s milieu is more cosmopolitan than I think of as characteristically Heinlein.)
Dragon and Thief struck a fair balance between wrapping up some narrative threads and setting up future novels in the series. I will read more.
needs more demons? no.
Needs More Demons Or Not 