Talking to Dragons
by Patricia C. Wrede

DaystarÂ’s mother taught him a lot of things as he grew up, but chiefly, she taught him to be polite to people. Or at least, only to be rude when there is a very good reason. For example, when Daystar is seventeen years old, a wizard comes to visit his mother, and she melts him with a bucket of lemon-scented, soapy water. Immediately afterward, Mom hands Daystar a magic sword and throws him out of their house on the edge of the Enchanted Forest. She refuses to tell him anything about what heÂ’s supposed to do, except (once again) to be polite.

Well, politeness pays for young Daystar as he tramps through the Enchanted Forest. It earns him the company of a hot-headed fire witch named Shiara and a dragon who is too young to have a name. Together with a kitten given to them by the good witch Morwen, they journey towards Daystar-knows-not-what, looking for an explanation of what he is supposed to do with the “Sword of the Sleeping King.” Even though he doesn’t know what he’s doing, lots of other people seem to have a fair idea...including elves (good and bad), magicians (pretty good), wizards (pretty bad), a fire witch with an invisible castle (really, really bad), and many other interesting creatures and people.

Danger, romance, good and bad luck, friendship, mystery, magic, and the looming shadow of war accompany our hero who doesn’t know he’s a hero. Poor Daystar—the only way to succeed in his mission is not to know what he is supposed to do! He doesn’t even know who he is. Maybe this exchange is a clue...

“Thank you very much,” I said. “But I really ought to tell you: I’m not a lord.”
The dwarf smiled tolerantly. “Of course not, my lord. Is there anything else we can do for you?”

If you’ve read Calling on Dragons, you’ll have a good idea who Daystar is and what he is supposed to do. The climax of this book brings the “Enchanted Forest Chronicles” to an exciting, romantic, and magical end. Several readers have written to me that this series is what got them hooked on fantasy, even before they discovered Harry Potter. I think it will bring pleasure to any fan of Harry tales, fairy tales, or just plain fun stories!

Robbie Fischer
USA

Recommended Age: 11+

10/16/2005

If you would like to contact Robbie, you may do so here.