Guess the the Title of this Scifi/Fantasy book...

[Eric82]

So, out of the blue I get this urge to read this Book I never finished 20 years ago. Trouble is I cannot remember the dang title or author. I'll list what I do remember below in the form of clues, and perhaps some of you can guess what the title of the book is. Have fun!

CLUES:

• Protagonist was a Young Boy (pre-teen age?). An orphan?
• Boy seemed to have recently arrived at this New Planet.
• Boy seems like an Orphan, might have come to the planet to be an Apprentice.
• Apprentice feels like a Blacksmith shop or something, but it is really vague...
• Planet was distinctively Foggy and Swamplike, with settlements.
• Planet's Name might have even sounded foggy like "Fog", "Foth", "Hoth", "Moth"...
• Remember this Swamp Hovercraft that was able to hover or glide on the rough swamp terrain due to having this Super Low-Friction bottom surface.
• Remember some sort of chase with these Hovercrafts that may have culminated around a lake or clearing.
• Remember a Baby Dragon or Small Dragon.
• Seems like the boy found the dragon and Kept it on his Shoulder, or something..
• Boy might have worn a Hooded Cloak...
• Seem to remember a Slave Block auction in town, or something...

That's all I've got. It's up to you now to help me bridge the gap. Good Luck!

 

[Sneaky Burrito]

I always wish I could help with these, but I never seem to be able to. Good luck with your search...

 

[Eric82]

I always wish I could help with these, but I never seem to be able to. Good luck with your search...

I appreciate the moral support nonetheless.
This has become one of those itches I'm unable to scratch. And what makes it worse is I remember that book being really good, too! It kept me going back in 7th grade when self had no friends... Really want to purchase that book now that I'm an adult, and revisit that magical world once again!

 

[João Ribeiro]

Hi Eric82, I've been going up and down Google trying to solve your riddle but with no luck. I've been trying several different combinations.
Do you remember any additional details?

 

[Eric82]

Hi Eric82, I've been going up and down Google trying to solve your riddle but with no luck. I've been trying several different combinations.
Do you remember any additional details?

I think that's all I've got as far as details... I know than I never finished the book, was perhaps 1/3rd of the way through. Then maybe we moved and it was lost or something... I've done a lot of googling (and Amazoning) too with no luck. My hope is that someone very well-read in the scifi/fantasy sphere would see the clues and know.

Not sure if this will help but the year must have been around 1994-1996.

• Other books I read around that time were:
• Enders Game (Orson Scott Card)
• Speaker For the Dead (Orson Scott Card)
• Xenocide (Orson Scott Card)
• Seventh Son (Orson Scott Card)
• Red Prophet (Orson Scott Card)
• Redwall (Brian Jacques)
• Mattimeo (Brian Jacques)
• Mossflower (Brian Jacques)
• The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy (Douglas Adams)

*Most of these are either Brian Jaques or Orson Scott Card books, but I'm feeling like the book I'm trying to remember is by a different author...

 

[Belg]

Hmm how about -- Dragon and Thief: The First Dragonback Adventure by Timothy Zahn seems to fit some of your criteria ... its my best shot

 

[Eric82]

Hmm how about -- Dragon and Thief: The First Dragonback Adventure by Timothy Zahn seems to fit some of your criteria ... its my best shot

Sorry that's not the one unfortunately. Efforts much appreciated however.

 

[blitzburns4]

Eric Nylund's A Game of Universe comes to mind...It fits some of your criteria and was written in the time period. However, I don't think that's it...

Are you sure it's 20 years old? Because Yolen's A Pitt Dragon Chronicles is very close/similar to what you are suggesting.

http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Pit_Dragon_Trilogy

Orphan Slave, Auction House, Dragon Tamer, Stealth Scenes (Use of cloak?)

Was born on the planet, but has to adjust to an entirely new life. My memory is a little shaky, but the planet may have been a relatively newly- colonized planet; I'm not too sure. Even so, I think you'd enjoy both the works I suggested.

Regardless, good luck.

 

[Eric82]

Almost a year later and the answer suddenly came to me last night.

Alan Dean Foster - For Love Of Mother-Not

Nothing beats the feeling of re-discovering a long lost memory.. Thanks everyone for your help.

 

[Sneaky Burrito]

Wow, never would have guessed that. Glad you found it. I suspect there are a whole lot of books from that general era that had short publication runs and are now largely forgotten, unless they've been on Good Show Sir or Kindle promo.

 

[TANSTAAFL]

Darn it, I came here too late - I got it immediately - in fact, I read the entire series!

Grrrr!