Gork, the Teenage Dragon

A novel

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Pub Date 11 Jul 2017 | Archive Date 23 Feb 2018

Description

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.
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...

Advance Praise

Gork, the Teenage Dragon combines so many things I count on in fiction I love—great expansive humor, a big-hearted optimism about all that’s possible in the world and in fiction, a very clear moral purpose and a sense of social responsibility—plus a willingness to experiment with the form of writing, to push the art of writing further, and with passion. In the long and august tradition of literary masterpieces about sentient adolescent dragons from outer space, this is no doubt the greatest of the genre. Gabe Hudson has crafted a very sensitive and very funny book from the most serious of subjects: interplanetary acceptance for giant lizards.”—Dave Eggers, author of Heroes of the Frontier and The Circle 

 “Gork, the Teenage Dragon is a hilarious ride through the mind-bending and capacious universe, a one-of-a-kind coming-of-age story for the big-hearted and beleaguered. Mostly, it’s a reminder that, now especially, we on planet Earth need a whole lot more dreamer-poets, a whole lot more gentle peace-loving fools.”—Tracy K. Smith, Pulitzer Prize-winning author of Life on Mars and Ordinary Light

Gork, the Teenage Dragon is jam-packed with outrageous storytelling and soulful humor in the glorious American tradition of Kurt Vonnegut and Mark Twain. Who knew a dragon’s coming-of-age story could be filled with so much humanity? When I finished reading this book, I wiped a tear from my eye, stood up, and gave the book a standing ovation. Gabe Hudson may well be the funniest writer working today, and the most likely to break your heart.”—Gary Shteyngart, author of Super Sad True Love Story

“Gork’s no Puff, frolicking in some “autumn mist” or whatever. Gork’s one badass outer space dragon. His secret weapon? Poetry! Gork’s got it going on. This wonderful, big-hearted, crazy novel is a testament to Gabe Hudson’s ingenious imagination.”—Elizabeth McKenzie, author of The Portable Veblen


Gork, the Teenage Dragon combines so many things I count on in fiction I love—great expansive humor, a big-hearted optimism about all that’s possible in the world and in fiction, a very clear moral...


Available Editions

EDITION Other Format
ISBN 9780375413964
PRICE $24.95 (USD)
PAGES 400

Average rating from 108 members


Featured Reviews

Wonderfully weird and weirdly wonderful, I've never read anything like it!

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Gork, the Teenage Dragon: A novel by Gabe Hudson had my "scaly green ass" laughing throughout the hilarious antics and witty dialogue in this book. Gork, our teen dragon, is called Weak Sauce because he is different than the other dragons. Only 2" horns, faints, afraid of heights, and has an oversized heart, literally and figuratively. He is suppose to find a Queen before he graduates the academy for dragons or he has to be a slave. If he finds a Queen that will except him, he gets to go with his Queen to a planet and start a new life. He has deal with bullies, nerds, mutants, and robot dragons. It is a comical, witty, tender, coming of age of age story with magical and delightful fantasy and just a hint of romance. Humor sprinkled generously!!! I giggled so much reading this book. There are so many scenes and phrases that caught me off guard that had me laughing and snorting. What a gem of a book! Thanks NetGalley, I haven't enjoyed a book like this in such a long time!

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I really enjoyed this book and it is one I would recommend for my classroom as well. I really enjoyed the beginning and the end especially. There were parts in the middle that were a little too sci-fi and technical and I sort of skipped over them. Gork was adorable though and really the whole book was fun and a great read!

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Hilarious, cute (at least to me) adventure in finding love with the young Gork. The authors take on dragons is wholly original. These aren't your typical dragons, either as destructive creatures hording treasure and demanding maidens and being slain by knights or as respected creatures of magic and wisdom. Gork and his dragons are a very interesting alien species that have the characteristics of typical dragons with their wings and tails and scales and claws and breathing fire and just plain fierceness but with an intelligence similar to humans, a more militarized society, and a huge love of poetry. Have I mentioned it's hilarious? yes? well that's cause it is lol. My only problem, and it's not much of one, was the repetition of things like "scaly green ass," the first few times it added to the humor but after that it got a little annoying. Gabe Hudson has clearly shown his talent and I'm interested to see what he does in his (hopefully very long) career.
**Thanks to the publisher for inviting me to review the ARC!**

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One Luscious Fantasy Read

Beowulf and The Hobbit got sooo much wrong about dragons. But thankfully for us, Gork is here to set us all straight here on Planet Earth. He’s on a mission to find his Queen, make some eggs, fly across the universe and conquer some planets.

Gork is a fantastically fun read that reminded me a lot of an 80s high school movie. You’ve got our nerdy, cape-wearing hero with a Will to Power rank of Snackalicious. Fribby, the best friend who is also a robot. Rucinta is the luscious love interest. And a whole bunch of people who want Gork dead. In fact, he’s only got about a .1% chance of making it out alive.

Being 16 is hard and Gork reminded me of that. Entertaining and whimsical. This is the fantasy book that stands out from the pack.

Thwack-Thwack
4/5 Stars

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Just finished Gork, the Teenage Dragon with a huge smile on my face. Gork is a quirky, funny and charming character that reminded of an adult Ferdinand the Bull. Gabe Hudson has a written an imaginative winner that I will be recommending to teens and adults who are looking for something humorous with a heart!

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This book is so funny. Comedic readers need to check it out! It is so creative and engaging. These dragons are not your typical Dragons!

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"Gork, The Teenage Dragon" is the debut novel by Gabe Hudson. "Gork, The Teenage Dragon" is about a dragon who is a member of the WarWings Military Academy of Planet Conquering, Epic Poetry Writing, and Gold Plundering for Draconum. However, Gork is not ordinary dragon he has only two horns, shy and has a lovely warm heart. Readers of "Gork, The Teenage Dragon" will follow the Gork in his quest to find a queen and reach planet Earth.

I enjoy reading "Gork, The Teenage Dragon" it is different to other books about dragons. Also, "Gork, The Teenage Dragon" is "Gork, The Teenage Dragon" is a great adventure, and it made me laugh with the antics that Gork gets up to in the book. I like the way Gabe Hudson portrayed his characters especially Gork. "Gork" is a loveable character that teens and adults will love. "Gork, The Teenage Dragon" is a great coming of age book to read not only for teens but adults would also enjoy reading this book. Also, reading "Gork, The Teenage Dragon" will help teens to realise that you do not need to be a bully or beautiful to achieve greatness. "Gork, The Teenage Dragon" is a fantasy with a little bit of romance. Gabe Hudson brilliantly intertwined dragons and machines into the story.

Thanks to Knopf Publishing Group for my free copy for an honest review. I recommend this book

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Gork's a dragon, but don't even think about mentioning Smaug to him. He's not happy at all with the way dragons are portrayed in Earth fiction, and he's here to set the record straight. So begins the story of Gork: teenage dragon, student at WarWings Academy, orphaned on Earth during his parents' mating mission and raised by his scientist grandfather, Dr. Terrible.

Starting off on Crown Day - the day dragon and dragonette cadets at the Academy agree to be mating partners - Gork has one goal in mind: to get the luscious Runcita Floop to wear his crown and agree to be his queen. The problem? His nickname is Weak Sauce, his Will to Power ranking is Snacklicious (if you're a gamer, think of Will to Power as a CON/DEX/overall attractiveness level) and he's got a bad habit of fainting when he's scared. If Runcita says yes, she and Gork will go off in his spaceship and find a planet to conquer together. If Gork can't sea the deal, he's doomed to be a slave.

Gork has a heck of a day ahead of him: Dean Floop - his intended's father - hates him; his sadistic grandfather is on the run from the Dean, he's being hunted down by a group of WarWings cadets that have murder on their minds, and the Trenx, a fellow cadet who had similarly low ratings, has seemingly blossomed overnight. Before the day is out, Gork will have to survive and learn some hard truths about his family. He'd better keep his best friend - a robot dragon named Fribby - by his side.

Gork is an out-there novel. It's a page-turner, and Gork is an endearing first-person narrator, if a bit single-minded in focus. He's obsessed with mating, but he is a teenager, after all. He refers a lot to his "scaly green ass" a lot, which gets tedious. Gork's story uses fantasy to tackle some very real points: bullying, friendship, self-esteem, and falling in love. It's a much deeper novel than the title "teenage dragon"encompasses; it's a fantasy, a YA romance, and a coming of age story.

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Gork, the Teenage Dragon by Gabe Hudson is a quirky, tongue in cheek, sometimes angsty, all around good read. Our hero, Gork, isn’t much like the other dragons at his school. He is weaker, his horns are smaller, and his heart is way too big. He is a really fast flyer and it has kept him alive this long.
I enjoyed this fun story. It brought me back to high school and feeling the misfit. There is a terrific set of supporting characters who round out this tale. I recommend for anyone trying to get their tweener – teen son to read.

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