Getting to Know Casey Thomas Lehman’s War of the Third Demon

Sci-Fi Story, War of the Third Demon—A Masterpiece

In this exceptional sci-fi story, Casey Lehman has created a masterpiece full of symbolic characters, dragon love, lust, sex, loss, and redemption.

PLOT

The main character, Yorek, is a kind-hearted 12-year old dragon who was chosen to become a foster parent of a powerful balance dragon. Yorek grew up in an abusive family with parents who treat him like a slave and abuse him emotionally.

Get our damn water, you piece of filth.

Get us some deer, we are starving.

You’re disgusting! Do you really think you’ll ever find a mate

even if you do come of age?

The novel opens when the demon dragon, Rayburn wakes up. This dragon has four eyes that illuminate their red glow, six goat-like horns, and sword-like black scales that make a scraping sound as he moves. He is malicious, selfish, and he hungers for power. Upon knowing that a balance dragon has been conceived, Rayburn forced himself inside his assistant, Brid, to create a child who will lead his army and defeat the balance dragon.

The story then proceeds to focus on the adventures and challenges of Yorek and his friends Radiata, Felicie, and Edzard. All of them helped each other to deliver the balance dragonling child of Aria and Quinn, and at the same time, struggled to deal with their personal issues and problems.

Friendship and fear of abandonment are two central themes in War of the Third Demon.

Fear of rejection is prominent in Yorek’s actions. He bottles up his feelings for Radiata to himself for the fear that she might reject him. He believes that he doesn’t measure up to her standards, and that Radiata is too beautiful for him.

On the other hand, Felicie used an illusion to prevent her pregnancy from showing. Felicie is happy about the pregnancy but she cannot tell her partner about it because Edzard doesn’t want children. She is afraid that he might leave her once he knows of her pregnancy.

Friendship in War of the Third Demon is an interesting theme. The friendships in this novel are genuine like that of Yorek and Radiata’s. Despite the fact that Yorek is falling hard for his best friend, he sacrifices the chance to be her lover than taking the risk of possibly losing her.

Upon the first few minutes of reading the story, readers will realize that the author has an apparent fascination with accents. Dragons are specified as speaking British, American, Australian, and Filipino. There is also an obvious wordplay like, “Yorek leaped into the air, turning a full 980 degrees in a wind-assisted spin-jump.”

The author has spent much time on building characters—a careful and thorough development of such makes up for a more vivid backstory and a clear plot. While the novel explores on issues on adult themes, like sex, pregnancy, rape, and death in childbirth, it will be a good read to young adult readers. Novels with adult themes are not new occurrences, and in fact, they can be powerful in inspiring and uplifting hope among teenagers. Books like War of the Third Demon may help adolescents understand emotional and social problems better.

The novel ends with Radiata and Yorek having to look after the balance dragon, Electus, for the first three years of its life. However, Electus ends up leaving his family and choosing another dragon Councilor. Who is this going to be?