Set in the rugged but beautiful loch-pocked Orkney Islands of northern Scotland during the eighth century, Dragon Seer is the story of Madoca, a 14-year-old girl enslaved since the age of nine in the household of Uunguist. Her life is a bleak and cheerless one until – to the utter astonishment of herself and her people – she is chosen to become the next Dragon Seer, a position of the utmost authority and honour.

In her new role, Madoca becomes not only a protector but also a student of the Orkney dragons, beasts who symbolize the very heart and soul of her society. And while her powers prove to be stronger than those of the Dragon Seers who preceded her, she must learn how to harness them in order to save her beloved dragons and her people’s way of life from the ruthless Norse marauders, the Vikings.

Much of the charm of Janet McNaughton’s new novel lies in its depiction of the dragons. There are none of those weary literary veterans, the monstrous, fire-breathing serpents that wreak havoc on the bucolic medieval countryside. Instead, Madoca’s charges are small, and though feather-light and fleet of wing, they are comically ungainly on the ground with their “peculiar dragon gait … skinny hind legs bowed and awkward.” McNaughton has also cleverly swapped the traditional Western dragon with those from the Far East, creatures that bind their followers to the natural forces of fire, earth, sky, and water. And even though the dragons are noble fonts of life-sustaining knowledge, they are also curmudgeonly, suspicious, matter-of-fact beings with no time for pleasantries.

Though McNaughton has spun a compelling story, readers may find themselves longing for greater depth of description in some scenes. For example, at ceremonies, the dragons execute aerial formations in the form of Celtic knots – to have had this feat described rather than merely referred to would have made the experience of reading about it all the more magical.