Nothing But Blue Skies
Encyclopedia
Nothing But Blue Skies is a humorous fantasy novel by English author Tom Holt
. It was first published in the UK by Orbit Books in 2001.
, Karen, who falls in love
with a mortal, Paul, and so decides to become mortal herself in the hope that they get together. However, she is not any ordinary dragon; she is the daughter of the adjutant-general to the Dragon King of the North West. Naturally her father is worried and comes to look for her, but he falls foul of the Weathermen
, who consider dragons their sworn enemies. The Weathermen though fall foul of a government plot to cause a drought in Britain
as a pretext for invading Australia
. Actually, this is also a cover for the real reason. Paul is really the runaway son of an Australian global media tycoon, who wants to lure the dragons to his outback hideaway. Here he uses a machine to disarm their abilities in order to use their 'third eye' as a super-efficient mode of multimedia communication.
with the easy and dry wit of his other humorous novels. He displays a fondness for biting similes reminiscent of Douglas Adams
.
Tom Holt
Tom Holt is a British novelist.He was born in London, the son of novelist Hazel Holt, and was educated at Westminster School, Wadham College, Oxford, and The College of Law, London....
. It was first published in the UK by Orbit Books in 2001.
Plot introduction
The plot of the book concerns a Chinese DragonChinese dragon
Chinese dragons are legendary creatures in Chinese mythology and folklore, with mythic counterparts among Japanese, Korean, Vietnamese, Bhutanese, Western and Turkic dragons. In Chinese art, dragons are typically portrayed as long, scaled, serpentine creatures with four legs...
, Karen, who falls in love
Love
Love is an emotion of strong affection and personal attachment. In philosophical context, love is a virtue representing all of human kindness, compassion, and affection. Love is central to many religions, as in the Christian phrase, "God is love" or Agape in the Canonical gospels...
with a mortal, Paul, and so decides to become mortal herself in the hope that they get together. However, she is not any ordinary dragon; she is the daughter of the adjutant-general to the Dragon King of the North West. Naturally her father is worried and comes to look for her, but he falls foul of the Weathermen
Weather forecasting
Weather forecasting is the application of science and technology to predict the state of the atmosphere for a given location. Human beings have attempted to predict the weather informally for millennia, and formally since the nineteenth century...
, who consider dragons their sworn enemies. The Weathermen though fall foul of a government plot to cause a drought in Britain
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
as a pretext for invading Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
. Actually, this is also a cover for the real reason. Paul is really the runaway son of an Australian global media tycoon, who wants to lure the dragons to his outback hideaway. Here he uses a machine to disarm their abilities in order to use their 'third eye' as a super-efficient mode of multimedia communication.
Major themes
This book has its origins in many mythologies and Tom Holt weaves these into a classic love tangle and conspiracy theoryConspiracy theory
A conspiracy theory explains an event as being the result of an alleged plot by a covert group or organization or, more broadly, the idea that important political, social or economic events are the products of secret plots that are largely unknown to the general public.-Usage:The term "conspiracy...
with the easy and dry wit of his other humorous novels. He displays a fondness for biting similes reminiscent of Douglas Adams
Douglas Adams
Douglas Noel Adams was an English writer and dramatist. He is best known as the author of The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, which started life in 1978 as a BBC radio comedy before developing into a "trilogy" of five books that sold over 15 million copies in his lifetime, a television...
.