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3.7 AVERAGE
3.7 AVERAGE
A knight, damsel and dragon tale told from the point of the dragon. A grad student nerd (redundant?) guy finds himself as a dragon in an alternate world and must save his girlfriend. Definitely a bit dated but still cute.
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
This book is a lot of fun, despite the ending feeling less like an ending and more like "saving explanations for the next book, we're outta time here".
I love the characters, and the very archetypal fairytale feeling of it.
I love the characters, and the very archetypal fairytale feeling of it.
Loved this where the hero becomes a dragon only to be hunted by an evil knight.
adventurous
medium-paced
Like self absorbed main characters?
I read this because I knew it had something to do with Flight of Dragons but…geez. The main character basically doesn’t question anything, or not much, and he totally forgets about his girlfriend for MOST of the book and didn’t care at all what happened to the dragon who’s body he was in and somehow he’s ‘a great guy’? Somehow his girlfriend still remotely likes him at the end? And most of the characters basically get no development and talk in a sort of ‘canned fantasy trope’ sort of way. The wolf is really bad with that. And the wizard just gets mad when anyone asks him to explain anything so that’s ridiculously convenient to not have to, I guess since no one calls him on it enough or pushes him. I actually liked the first few chapters and the way some things were described… until I noticed how what I started calling ‘weather reports’ seem to fill the paragraphs instead of the characters behaving intelligently or being developed. So… yeah. I think I’m not heading to book two. If for no other reason than Angie didn’t kick him in the fun bits. I sure would have.
I read this because I knew it had something to do with Flight of Dragons but…geez. The main character basically doesn’t question anything, or not much, and he totally forgets about his girlfriend for MOST of the book and didn’t care at all what happened to the dragon who’s body he was in and somehow he’s ‘a great guy’? Somehow his girlfriend still remotely likes him at the end? And most of the characters basically get no development and talk in a sort of ‘canned fantasy trope’ sort of way. The wolf is really bad with that. And the wizard just gets mad when anyone asks him to explain anything so that’s ridiculously convenient to not have to, I guess since no one calls him on it enough or pushes him. I actually liked the first few chapters and the way some things were described… until I noticed how what I started calling ‘weather reports’ seem to fill the paragraphs instead of the characters behaving intelligently or being developed. So… yeah. I think I’m not heading to book two. If for no other reason than Angie didn’t kick him in the fun bits. I sure would have.
adventurous
funny
inspiring
lighthearted
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
funny
mysterious
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
N/A
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
It was clearly from a different era, and I never really gelled with it. It was good enough to finish but I wouldn't recommend it. Interesting concept, though.
A fun fantasy romp that does some clever things and overall sounds like a pretty cool D&D module. Interesting post-hoc avoidance of the "damsel in distress" trope, too. Main character Jim Eckert gets a nice growth arc as he figures out how to be a dragon and has some self-realization along the way. All other side characters are more broad but each has at least one distinguishing trait so you're in no danger of confusion.
Probably the biggest weakness is that there's no clear antagonist, except some nebulous Dark Powers. Not that a story *needs* a direct villain, but Dickson sort of splits the difference and as a result the "final battle" seems a bit rushed and convenient.
Overall 3 stars.
Probably the biggest weakness is that there's no clear antagonist, except some nebulous Dark Powers. Not that a story *needs* a direct villain, but Dickson sort of splits the difference and as a result the "final battle" seems a bit rushed and convenient.
Overall 3 stars.
adventurous
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
This book was so old and dated that I got bored reading it. When two weeks passed and I kept stopping to read other books, I gave up. I still managed to read halfway, though. Perhaps I'm just too young to fully appreciate this book. After all, I was born in the 90's which would make this book old enough to be my parent. There would be a real generation gap in core values.