The Last Dragon

I managed to misplace my copy of Silvana De Mari's The Last Dragon. The book is still on the List, but I have no idea what I did with it. Luckily the library has a copy, so I've started reading that copy instead of mine.

The Last Dragon is about a young elf named Yorsh. Yorsh's village was destroyed by rain. So Yorsh finds himself travelling anywhere to get away. Unfortunately the world he's in isn't a friendly one, particularly for elves. But luckily he finds some good people to help him: Monser the Hunter, Sajra the woman who saved him from starving, and her dog. Together they discover a prophecy about the last elf and last dragon getting together and saving the world from the heavy rains. And so the four of them set off to find the dragon.

Part one is actually where that all takes place. I found it absolutely hilarious because poor Yorsh is extremely young and naive (and only knows what his grandmother told him about humans). He sees the world with a sort of wide-eyed wonder that only the really young seem to have (which leads him to charm a troll by earnestly insisting that the troll is handsome). He also has a hard time understanding the stupid humans to hilarious effect (like calling Sajra a "woman-fool" or thinking the Judge Administrator of Daligar and Surrounding District's title is his lovely name).

So imagine my surprise when Part 2 of the book starts and Yorsh has been living with the dragon for 13 years. Oh yeah, and we're suddenly followibg Sajra and Monser's orphaned daughter, who is living in the House of Orphans in Daligar.  Of course, this is the part where the second part of the prophecy takes place (where the last elf will marry the daughter of the two humans who _____ him).  

One thing that was really interesting about this part of the book was the dragon.  Apparently at the end of their lives, dragons brood an egg for just over 13 years.  During that time, they pass their memories to their egg; the baby dragon inherits them when it first flies.  While interesting, this sort of took away from the one thing I loved about part two: the baby dragon was hilarious, and Yorsh trying to teach him was hilarious, too.  But as soon as he flew, the baby dragon was suddenly seemingly older and wiser than everyone else, becoming patronizing and sarcastic.  It was a total 180 from the sweet and cute baby dragon he was before that time.  It also meant the book didn't get to be about Yorsh and the dragon flying around and having learning adventures together.

I'm sure it's obvious, but I'll state it nonetheless: part one of The Last Dragon was ridiculously cute and funny, and part two I really wasn't fond of.  I actually found part two to be a bit of a slog.  But I did manage to finish it, so that's something.

Dragon's Bait

Vivian Vande Velde's Dragon's Bait caught my eye several weeks ago at work.  I finally sat down and read it today.  I read most of it this afternoon, then finished it off after work.

Dragon's Bait is the story of Alys, who is accused of witchcraft by her neighbours.  Her neighbour was after her father's land, and accused Alys of witchcraft after her father refused to sell.  During her trial, her father passed away, leaving no one to defend Alys (some of the villagers tried, but the Inquisitor confused them into believing she really was a witch).  Rather than burning her at the stake, she is sentenced to be used as a sacrifice to appease a dragon that's been seen in the area.  But rather than eat her, the dragon decides to help her get revenge on the people who accused her of witchcraft.

I honestly don't have a lot to say about this book.  While I liked Selendrile (the dragon), I found the book to be entirely too predictable. I also thought it was taking place on another world, and so got disappointed at how very Earth-like the setting was.  That may not be a fair criticism, but it's still how I felt.  That being said, Dragon's Bait was a fast read.  And I'm probably not the intended audience for it (it felt like more of a kid's book, even though the library marked it as young adult).

Short Story: After the Third Kiss: A Dragon Story

I found Bruce Coville's "After the Third Kiss: A Dragon Story" in an anthology in Chapters.  I wasn't really interested in the anthology as a whole so rather than buy it I went home and looked to see if it was available by itself on my Kindle.  It was.  So yesterday at the doctor's office I started it, then finished it when I got home.  As a short story it wasn't very long, which made it a perfect fit for my day!

"After the Third Kiss" is the story of May Margaret, a young maiden cursed by her stepmother into the form of a dragon.  Only her brother can break the curse, and only by giving her three kisses on the day he returns home.  Despite his extreme reluctance to kiss her hideous form (and being scarred by her hot breath) he does so.  Together they vanquish their stepmother, turning her into a giant toad.

Normally that's where the story would end, with the brother and sister living happily ever after.  But that's not the case in "After the Third Kiss."  The brother becomes king, but he is convinced that no one would desire him now that he is scarred (although that is not the case).  But more troubling is the fact that he is unable to conceive an heir.  And so he starts looking for a husband for May Margaret.

May Margaret has problems of her own.  Although she is beautiful, she has no suitors because of the whole dragon incident.  But that is the least of her worries, because May Margaret was not left unscarred by the dragon.  There is a fire that remains in her blood, making her yearn to be a dragon once more.

"After the Third Kiss" was an incredible story by Bruce Coville.  If you get the chance, I definitely recommend giving it a read!