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The Last Dragonslayer Jasper Fforde 9781443407489 Books

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The Last Dragonslayer Jasper Fforde 9781443407489 Books

As I stated in my last book review, I have been on a roll recently with YA novels thanks to some really helpful recommendations. One of the books recommended to me was Rick Riordan's Percy Jackson series, which is currently in my TBR pile. On a Book Riot podcast though, one of the podcasters stated- I think the Last Dragonslayer by Jasper Fforde is just as good if not much better than Riordan's books. I had read some Fforde, but didn't know he wrote a YA series, so I immediately downloaded it and read it. Was it worth it? Hint- Super yes!

The story is about Jennifer Strange who is an orphaned indentured servant and current acting director of Kazam. Kazam utilizes magicians, who are no longer the power agents they once were, to now help people with their plumbing problems, wiring problems, finding lost things, etc. Strange keeps things running and helps the magicians keep their egos in check, even when at least one of them feels superior to Strange.

Strange has two more years with Kazam before she is thrust out into the real world and is now in charge of training her possible replacement Tiger, also an orphan and indentured servant. As she is training Tiger, some of the magicians tell her they have had a premonition that the last dragon is about to die on Sunday by the hands of a dragon slayer. Should the dragon die, the dragon lands are open to the other kingdoms and all out war will happen. Strange, it turns out, is the last slayer and must do her duty or face severe consequences.

The premise of the unlikely hero is one that we have read before several times, but Fforde plays with that a bit. Strange isn't just an unlikely hero, but the unlikeliest of unlikely heroes. She is sarcastic to a fault, is a servant, yet understands the power of her actions, should she decide to do her duty.

Fforde's characters are the charm of this book. All of his characters are developed well and full of life. The magicians Strange interacts with are all so much fun and just a joy to be with. Strange herself is placed in a no win situation and to see how she contemplates what to do without changing her character was just great.

This isn't just a great book for teens, but this is a great book for all ages. Yes, there are some "simple" aspects of this book, but it is still worth the read. I gave this one 4.5 stars.


Tags : The Last Dragonslayer [Jasper Fforde] on Amazon.com. *FREE* shipping on qualifying offers. In the good old days, magic was powerful, unregulated by government, and even the largest spell could be woven without filling in magic release form B1-7G. Then the magic started fading away. Fifteen-year-old Jennifer Strange runs Kazam,Jasper Fforde,The Last Dragonslayer,HarperCollins,1443407488,Juvenile Fiction General

The Last Dragonslayer Jasper Fforde 9781443407489 Books Reviews

As a mother of three terrific, now adult, sons I have been introduced to some really great young adult books. The guys are big fantasy fans and they have introduced me to some of their favorites. That is how I came to Brandon Sanderson, Ursula LeGuin, Megan Whalen Turner, and Patrick Rothfuss and learned not to skip over books that are labeled young adult. I introduced them to the Eyre Affair after they had to read Jane Eyre as school assignments. It was that book that made me a fan of Jasper Fforde. Let me start by saying that I like most of Jasper Fforde's books. I laughed out loud on an airplane reading The Eyre Affair. I did tire of that series and I barely touched the nursery rhyme books. But I really enjoyed the Last Dragonslayer and the Song of the Quarkbeast, its second installment. Both are clever and entertaining. Mr. Fforde plunges the reader into a fantastic society with magic on the wane (or on the rise, depending). I like that he does not feel that he has to explain every created word or elements of quasi "techno-babble". Explanations would be tedious and his writing is clever enough that the reader does not get lost. None of it is real, but it is interesting and amusing. I will not give a plot summary, because that would spoil things for you. This book is suitable for a bright young adult reader. I say, bright, not because the writing is ponderous or complicated, but because the humor is witty and it takes some level of maturity to "get" all of it. Our young heroine, a foundling is likeable and very resourceful and those factors would probably add to its appeal to young adults. She works hard, does not whine and takes a practical problem-solving approach to most of the crisis that arise. She does seem to be the only mature person sometimes and that would also appeal to young readers. The book is light and quirky, but it manages to avoid being silly even when it approaches the absurd. I think that takes great talent and precision in a writer. So to sum up with a list of adjectives, the book is fast-paced, humorous, witty, and entertaining. My book group has been meeting for almost 25 years. This book would not be the kind of book that could be a book group selection for us because there is so little to talk about. Not every book is a book group book. This is not a book that will change my life; however, it was fun and worth the purchase price and reading time. I will be looking for a third installment.
The Last Dragonslayer, is another amazing `trip.' Somehow Fforde is able to mingle the ordinary with the extraordinary, and he's a wiz at it. This book is no different than his others. My first experience with Fforde was The Fourth Bear A Nursery Crime. In that book nothing in our nursery rhyme memories is sacred. We meet Detective Jack Spratt and Sergeant Mary Mary. Then there's The Big Over Easy A Nursery Crime. Who pushed Humpty Dumpty anyway!?

I digress. I was supposed to review The Last Dragonslayer.

In the Ununited Kingdom, Jennifer Strange, an orphan from the Blessed Sisterhood of the Lobster (yes, that's where she's from), has been put in charge of Kazam. Kazam is an employment agency for magicians. Seems really bazaar, but wait there's more! It gets more bazaar. Pizzas are delivered on magic carpets. There's Tiger Prawn, Jennifer's assistant, there's the Transient Moose, who just sort of shows up wherever he likes. Then there's the Quarkbeast, and the dragon Maltcassion, of course, and there are many others. Don't for a minute think that all Fforde's silliness, satire and puns are for naught. Not in the least. There are a number of moral issues embedded in the story. Some messages relate to big business, others point directly to environmental issues. We also see a lesson about getting along with each other (an age old problem). You'll recognize your own world, but it will be slanted and twisted while the message somehow shines through. All and all, this is another wonderful story woven by the phantasmagorical mind of Jasper Fforde. Don't miss it, just for the fun of it.
As I stated in my last book review, I have been on a roll recently with YA novels thanks to some really helpful recommendations. One of the books recommended to me was Rick Riordan's Percy Jackson series, which is currently in my TBR pile. On a Book Riot podcast though, one of the podcasters stated- I think the Last Dragonslayer by Jasper Fforde is just as good if not much better than Riordan's books. I had read some Fforde, but didn't know he wrote a YA series, so I immediately downloaded it and read it. Was it worth it? Hint- Super yes!

The story is about Jennifer Strange who is an orphaned indentured servant and current acting director of Kazam. Kazam utilizes magicians, who are no longer the power agents they once were, to now help people with their plumbing problems, wiring problems, finding lost things, etc. Strange keeps things running and helps the magicians keep their egos in check, even when at least one of them feels superior to Strange.

Strange has two more years with Kazam before she is thrust out into the real world and is now in charge of training her possible replacement Tiger, also an orphan and indentured servant. As she is training Tiger, some of the magicians tell her they have had a premonition that the last dragon is about to die on Sunday by the hands of a dragon slayer. Should the dragon die, the dragon lands are open to the other kingdoms and all out war will happen. Strange, it turns out, is the last slayer and must do her duty or face severe consequences.

The premise of the unlikely hero is one that we have read before several times, but Fforde plays with that a bit. Strange isn't just an unlikely hero, but the unlikeliest of unlikely heroes. She is sarcastic to a fault, is a servant, yet understands the power of her actions, should she decide to do her duty.

Fforde's characters are the charm of this book. All of his characters are developed well and full of life. The magicians Strange interacts with are all so much fun and just a joy to be with. Strange herself is placed in a no win situation and to see how she contemplates what to do without changing her character was just great.

This isn't just a great book for teens, but this is a great book for all ages. Yes, there are some "simple" aspects of this book, but it is still worth the read. I gave this one 4.5 stars.