Review: The Last Dragonslayer
Jasper Fforde creates new worlds in a rather matter-of-fact way. His England either has color castes, living literature, cloned dodos or dragons on the best real estate. In The Last Dragonslayer , it is the latter. Jennifer Strange is in a bit of a pickle. Her claravoyant has predicted that she will kill the last dragon in the kingdom. It's unlikely that the impoverished orphan, indentured to Kazam by the Blessed Lady of the Lobster, will do more than keep their doors open for as long as the magic lasts. Only with a strange surge, a new assistant, a persistent king, this young woman with fiercely loyal Quarkbeast may have no choice. The Welsh writer will not disappoint with his first young adult novel. Readers outside the UK may have to rely on their British sources for their copies (thanks, Jo!), or purchase a copy from someone on the Internet. (I haven't found it in U.S. bookstores.) Maybe some gentle nudging (no bricks!) will encourage Houton ...