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pridiansky's review against another edition
adventurous
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
1.5
Andre Norton wrote a ton of fantasy and sci-fi, so not every book could be a winner, and this one certainly isn't. Still, I wish this had been developed a bit further instead of a loose plot connecting four fantasy vignettes about different dragons and the modern-day boys transported to the past when they make each section of a puzzle found in an old mansion. It’s kind of a shame that such a neat idea turned out to be so half-baked and boring. The writing is dry and doesn’t have the same feel as the modern-day sections of the book. All short stories are attempts at altering real mythology, where the modern day counterparts are side characters who witness real historical happenings which are different to how they're told in modern day. I was excited at the beginning, but once I saw the direction the story was taking, it disappointed me. I would have much preferred the boys working together and having their own dragon powers to fight in each world they’re transported to. Something like that would have given room for more character development and friendships. This is just too disjointed and surprisingly dry to read. Because they’re short one-off chapters, it was impossible for me to get invested. There’s not enough time to develop a liking for the characters, both the modern version and the life of the character they’re transported to when they finish their section of the puzzle. It didn’t help that a couple of the stories had religious tones to them, which I found deeply annoying. Not to mention the fact that there is a whole side plot about one of the character’s brothers, which didn’t need to be there at all, since there isn’t even enough time in the book to develop the main characters. I’ll have to look up this author’s most popular works to see if anything interests me. I have a feeling this isn’t one of them. I know this is part of a whole series of magic books, but none of them interest me after reading this one. As a side note, the dragons featured are evil or lack intelligence in these stories, and two of them don't even feature an actual dragon, opting for metaphor which is just lame... The best part of the book takes place in modern day where the characters bond over their shared experience ala magic puzzle, but there wasn't enough of that to make me care about them a whole lot.
zentientpeach's review
2.0
A fun plot, modern teenager thrown back in time and dragons and magic to boot. Unfortunately I didn't find it very engaging, there was almost no character development, the protagonist learned magic instantly, everyone is clearly friend or foe, etc. Perhaps it was for younger readers, though I didn't see anything to that effect.
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