Saturday, September 4, 2010

No Such Thing as Dragons by Philip Reeve


Everyone knows there are no such things as dragons. Dragons are the stuff of fantasy and legend.

Back in the old days, many people were afraid of dragons. Lonely shepherds disappeared high on the mountain pastures, or their sheep did. When the people in a village became afraid they hoped a brave knight in shining armor would come to slay the dragon. Johannes von Brock was one of these knights.

Or rather, he pretended to be a dragon killer. Because, as all intelligent and rational people know - there are no such things as dragons. Ansel is his ten-year-old servant boy, left unable to speak by the tragic death of his mother and sold into servitude by his greedy father. Ansel knows that his master is a fake but at night when he hears sounds on the high spaces, he wonders and worries. What if dragons are real?

This story of a con man takes a frightening turn when a real dragon appears. And really captures people and animals. And suddenly Ansel's very life is in real danger. From this moment in the story, hang on tight to your favorite reading chair because you are in for a non-stop, action-filled, scary adventure!