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A review by clumsypenguin
The Dragon and the George by Gordon R. Dickson
3.0
Surprisingly, my favorite aspect of this book was its characters. None of them are really all that deep and the "arcs" they go on are pretty insubstantial, but this book wasn't really interested in doing all that, to begin with, and instead focuses on using the characters to further the overall humor and tone of the book. There's already a lot of entertainment to be had from Jim's escapades as a sudden dragon in this mystical fantasy land, but it's all heightened by the wacky characters he meets along the way. And while they are as flat as a cardboard cutout, I still found myself liking a good few of the characters. Namely, Aragh and Brian (but mostly Aragh).
In addition to all that, the main plot leaves a lot to be desired. It's a pretty simple adventure story that felt pretty aimless at times; for a good amount of the book, it just feels like the characters are going back and forth between places with no real end destination. Although, just like the characters, this book isn't interested in setting up this complex storyline, and instead focuses on just setting up more and more humorous scenes. Your enjoyment of this book will hinge on whether you actually enjoy these scenes or comedic bits, with the Auditing Department being the ultimate deciding factor.
For the most part, I did enjoy this book! I also think a lot of that is due to this book's relatively short length. I'm definitely interested in continuing this series (and boy is this a long one), but I'm not in a rush to.
In addition to all that, the main plot leaves a lot to be desired. It's a pretty simple adventure story that felt pretty aimless at times; for a good amount of the book, it just feels like the characters are going back and forth between places with no real end destination. Although, just like the characters, this book isn't interested in setting up this complex storyline, and instead focuses on just setting up more and more humorous scenes. Your enjoyment of this book will hinge on whether you actually enjoy these scenes or comedic bits, with the Auditing Department being the ultimate deciding factor.
For the most part, I did enjoy this book! I also think a lot of that is due to this book's relatively short length. I'm definitely interested in continuing this series (and boy is this a long one), but I'm not in a rush to.