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A review by paperprivateer
Upscaled by Joseph John Lee
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.75
I have to admit I didn’t expect to enjoy this as much as I did. It’s a somewhat campy but ultimately cozy book with plenty of dragons, jokes, and fun characters.
A review of this book would probably be inadequate without noting some of the names of essential elements. The fact that the Inquisition of the Priory of the Thrice-Dead Prophet decided to ban dragons and forbid all questions about their heroic mission tells you a lot about the kind of humor and hijinks the book will contain.
The stakes are pretty high (the Inquisition is after them, after all!), but it never feels tense. Everything stays lighthearted and fun. The book’s humor might not be for everyone, but I enjoyed it. The humor reminded me somewhat of The Hero’s Guide to Saving Your Kingdom series by Christopher Healy. There are stupid jokes and pop culture references that characters shouldn’t be making, considering that they’re in a fantasy world, but the book's silliness encourages the reader to just roll with it and enjoy the book for what it is. It’s not trying to be a serious fantasy with intricate rules. It’s trying to be a book with pie and dragons and silly jokes to make you smile, and it more than delivers at that. Once or twice the jokes pulled me out of the story for a moment and occasionally the jokes were a little forced, but overall I got a few chuckles.
I’m not entirely sure who the audience for this would be. A lot of the humor wouldn’t make sense to a kid, but an eleven-year-old main character (who doesn’t always act her age, unfortunately sometimes seeming much younger) isn’t going to appeal to a lot of older readers. Maybe it would be a fun read-aloud?
I wish the dragon had a lot more time because it sometimes felt like it was an afterthought in spite of being a main plot point, and some of the descriptions were repetitive or confusing. Despite the faults, though, I thoroughly enjoyed reading it.
While I wouldn’t say it’s a perfect book, I had a perfectly enjoyable time reading it. The flaws were overshadowed by the charm of the characters, the silly humor, and the overall fun time.
Thank you to the author and NetGalley for giving me a free copy to review in exchange for my honest review.
A review of this book would probably be inadequate without noting some of the names of essential elements. The fact that the Inquisition of the Priory of the Thrice-Dead Prophet decided to ban dragons and forbid all questions about their heroic mission tells you a lot about the kind of humor and hijinks the book will contain.
The stakes are pretty high (the Inquisition is after them, after all!), but it never feels tense. Everything stays lighthearted and fun. The book’s humor might not be for everyone, but I enjoyed it. The humor reminded me somewhat of The Hero’s Guide to Saving Your Kingdom series by Christopher Healy. There are stupid jokes and pop culture references that characters shouldn’t be making, considering that they’re in a fantasy world, but the book's silliness encourages the reader to just roll with it and enjoy the book for what it is. It’s not trying to be a serious fantasy with intricate rules. It’s trying to be a book with pie and dragons and silly jokes to make you smile, and it more than delivers at that. Once or twice the jokes pulled me out of the story for a moment and occasionally the jokes were a little forced, but overall I got a few chuckles.
I’m not entirely sure who the audience for this would be. A lot of the humor wouldn’t make sense to a kid, but an eleven-year-old main character (who doesn’t always act her age, unfortunately sometimes seeming much younger) isn’t going to appeal to a lot of older readers. Maybe it would be a fun read-aloud?
I wish the dragon had a lot more time because it sometimes felt like it was an afterthought in spite of being a main plot point, and some of the descriptions were repetitive or confusing. Despite the faults, though, I thoroughly enjoyed reading it.
While I wouldn’t say it’s a perfect book, I had a perfectly enjoyable time reading it. The flaws were overshadowed by the charm of the characters, the silly humor, and the overall fun time.
Thank you to the author and NetGalley for giving me a free copy to review in exchange for my honest review.