Reviewed by Carissa
TITLE: Lukos Heat 
AUTHOR: Megan Derr
PUBLISHER: Less Than Three Press
LENGTH: 56 pages
BLURB:
Najlah is on the hunt for the traitorous coward who attempted to assassinate the king and nearly killed Najlah’s brother in the process. But the hunt has taken his team deep into the Shide, the treacherous, freezing mountains controlled by the mysterious Lukos, feral wolf shifters who do not tolerate trespassers.
When the Lukos come upon them, Najlah is reluctantly intrigued. The Lukos, especially the one called Barkus, are nothing like the soft humans he spends most of his time around. They thrive in the brutal cold the way he thrives in volcanic fire. For the first time, it feels like Najlah may have found someone who can equal the fierceness of dragons, and see them as more than demons.
But if he hopes to explore the bond forming with the Lukos, he must first survive the enemy—and the Shide.
REVIEW:
I do believe one of my favorite things about Megan Derr is her dragons. No matter what series they pop up in, or in what form she decides to mold them, they are always uniquely wonderful. This story is no exception.
Najlah has been sent to capture–though I’m pretty sure Najlah took these orders to mean eat–the man who betrayed his king and nearly killed Najlah’s brother doing so. But dragons crave heat–need it to survive–and the cold and icy mountains of the Shide are not hospitable at all to Najlah. Even after a band of wolf shifters called the Lukos–and their leader Barkus–agree to help them find the mage responsible for the King’s near death. Battered by a blizzard and a violent golem, Najlah could very well end up dead if Barkus does not do the unexpected and tie them both together as pack…and perhaps something more. But there is more at play than what Najlah has seen, and if he is not careful, it will not be the cold that takes him down, but a hidden hand seeking vengeance for something long thought settled.
I loved Derr’s dragons in this book. It was quite interesting how even when shifted into their more humanoid form, they could no speak–at least to non-dragons–and that meant that Najlah and Barkus had to find a different way to communicate. At least until the magic took hold.
And for such a short story, it was also very well thought out. The lands, the politics, felt like they had real weight to them. And it was a rather fascinating world that Derr had constructed here. I can’t help but hope that she might set another story here so that I could learn even more about it. And I really liked that the secondary characters felt like they had their own stories outside of the one being told here. I would like to read the King’s and his consort’s story, or even Najlah’s brother’s. They were rather fascinating.
The whole intrigue plot did feel really sped up, but seeing as this is not a very long short story, I could see how that happened. If it was longer I would have liked to learn more about why the people did what they did, or even see how the ramifications of their actions played out. As it was…it felt a bit light. I could tell that there was definitely more there, I just don’t think the pacing or the length had time to do it justice.
There is quite a bit I would most definitely loved to read more of–especially the relationships. I found Barkus and Najlah rather nice, if an odd couple at first glance. Dragon and werewolf–I guess I can see it. They both can take a pounding and keep on licking, if you know what I mean. But also the relationships between Najlah and his brother, and with the various other shifters and humans were interesting. And I would love to know so much more about them all.
Overall this book entertained me and left me wanting more. Which is not a bad thing for a short story. And I really like that cover. And dragons. I really love dragons. I just pretty much liked it all, I guess.
RATING: 
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