Calling on Dragons ( The Enchanted Forest Chronicles, Book 3 ) [Mass Market Paperback]

Patricia C. Wrede (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: December 1994

Queen Cimorene, Morwen the witch, and a host of other characters once again foil the plots of the perfidious wizards. This time the dastardly wizards have stolen King Mendanbar's magic sword, vital to the health of the forest, right out of the castle armory. Morwen joins Cimorene, Kazul, Telemain, several cats, and Killer on a quest to retrieve the sword. Meanwhile, back at home, the forces of the wizards are gathering.

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Grade 5-9-- Another installment in Wrede's appealing fantasy series, this title will be best appreciated by those already familiar with her cast of characters and their previous adventures. However, those who first encounter Queen Cimorene, King Mendenbar, Morwen (an untypical witch), and Telemain (a very verbose magician), along with their various animal friends and familiars in this book will certainly be inspired to seek out Dealing with Dragons (1990) and Searching for Dragons (1991, both Harcourt). Once again the problem is wizards: they're draining the Enchanted Forest of its magic and, worse, they've invaded the castle and stolen Mendenbar's magical sword. The quest to retrieve it and restore the Enchanted Forest is filled with adventure, peril, and humor, despite the fact that the bulk of the story takes place in only a few days. Wrede's strengths are numerous: sparkling dialogue, amusingly fractured fairy-tale conventions, solid characterization, plenty of action, and truly terrific chapter headings. Both her vocabulary and her sense of humor are pleasingly sophisticated, making this a fun and challenging read. The end result is a captivating and convincing fantasy that sets the stage (and whets the appetite) for future adventures. --Lisa Dennis, The Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh
Copyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Kirkus Reviews

The third ``Enchanted Forest Chronicle'' has the most perfunctory of plots, but fans of Dealing with Dragons and its 1991 sequel will be pleased nonetheless to revisit their favorite characters negotiating Wrede's effervescently logical magic. The evil wizards have stolen King Mendenbar's sword; its loss imperils the forest, and a doughty crew of seven sets out to rescue it: Morwen the witch and two of her talking cats; sensible Cimorene, now queen, and pregnant; magician Telemain, whose parodic technospeak is so relentlessly clever that it's a relief when he falls into a trance; Kazul the dragon; and a blue donkey, a former rabbit, hapless attractor for magic gone awry. There are other amusing new characters here--notably the confirmed traditionalist who helped steal the sword--but mostly the focus is on the comical repartee and the magic itself; a recalcitrant mirror's plaints when it's used as a telephone are laugh-aloud funny. Like return visits to Oz, this doesn't have the original punch but it's still good fun; a cliffhanger close promises another sequel. (Fiction. 11+) -- Copyright ©1993, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 12 and up
  
• Mass Market Paperback: 244 pages
• Publisher: Point Fantasy (December 1994)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0590484672
• ISBN-13: 978-0590484671
• Product Dimensions: 6.7 x 4.2 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 5.6 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (67 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,315,043 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

PATRICIA C. WREDE has written many novels, including Sorcery and Cecelia or The Enchanted Chocolate Pot and The Grand Tour coauthored with Caroline Stevermer, as well as the four books in her own series, the Enchanted Forest Chronicles. She lives near Minneapolis, Minnesota.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

12 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Entire Series Is Phenomenally Brilliant, June 19, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Calling on Dragons ( The Enchanted Forest Chronicles, Book 3 ) (Mass Market Paperback)

What? Only five stars?!? I need more to do this series justice! Patricia C. Wrede writes marvelous fantasy. It's like "Mixed-Up Fairy Tales" or something, but funnier, more engaging, and ripe for repeat reading (I just graduated from high school, and I just finished reading the entire series for the third time in a matter of days). These are timeless tales. Even her NAMES are inventive. Cimorene, Mendanbar, Kazul, Morwen, Telemain, Daystar, Shiara...and let us not forget Zemenar and Antorell. The chapter headings induce chuckles immediately, simply by their existence. She writes in a style that incorporates intelligent fantasy with enjoyable humor. The characters are some you would like to know personally. And nowhere else have I seen as unique a discussion of magic in its many forms as in these four books. I did notice a trend of centralization. Dealing was Cimorene's book. Searching was Mendanbar's. Calling was Morwen's. Talking was Daystar's. I wish the series was not concluded, because I'd love to see Telemain's book. And perhaps Kazul's book could be somewhat of a prequel. Oh, and what about a book from Antorell's perspective? That would make for an incredibly funny story. The Enchanted Forest and its surrounding is a world I want to know about. Not many authors can create an entire world that entices the reader so greatly. But Mrs. Wrede has. Unlike the Douglas Adams' Hitchiker's Guide series, which got progressively worse, each book in the Enchanted Forest Chronicles compares to the original, as fresh and brilliant as ever. Needless to say, this series is one of the best ever. I have not really sampled a lot of the adult fantasy by Piers Anthony and Anne McCaffrey and such, but I doubt they can compare with the Enchanted Forest Chronicles. This is not mindboggling fantasy like the Lord of the Rings trilogy: this is fun. Oh, and remember: <points finger>..."Argelfraster."

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Another wonderful Enchanted Forest story, December 22, 2001

By 

Daniel Jolley "darkgenius" (Shelby, North Carolina USA) - See all my reviews
(HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)    (TOP 100 REVIEWER)    (VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Calling on Dragons ( The Enchanted Forest Chronicles, Book 3 ) (Mass Market Paperback)

Yet again, Wrede has produced an interesting, funny, thoroughly enjoyable work of fantasy. The troublemaking wizards are back again, despite multiple meltings in the past, and are once again trying to increase their power by draining and stealing the magic of the Enchanted Forest. Our heroes are also back to counter the dastardly plan--Queen Cimorene, King Mendenbar, Kazul the King of the Dragons, Morwen the witch, and Telemain the magician. This time, they are joined by Morwen's nine magical cats, who are finally allowed to give their full voice to the story (although only some of the characters can actually understand their cat language), and also by the good-hearted but annoying Killer. Killer, through a series of magical misadventures brought about primarily by his eternal hunger and lack of good sense, has changed from a normal rabbit to a giant rabbit, then to a giant blue donkey, after which he has also managed to grow giant wings, get himself stuck six inches above the ground, and become physically insubstantial. This time, the wizards have managed to penetrate Mendenbar's castle and steal his magic sword. With the sword now outside the Enchanted Forest, the wizards find themselves able to once again drain the magic from that land. Mendenbar is compelled to stay at home as the other protagonists, including his pregnant wife Cimorene, leave the forest in search of the sword. Wizards are melted (and finally even eaten by Kazul and some other dragons), strange characters are encountered, and things go pretty much as one would expect. However, things do not all work out this time around; the ending is thus not wholly satisfying, but it does provide a lead-in to the book Talking With Dragons, the action of which takes place several years after the events we read about in the present story.

All in all, this is a fun, entertaining, quick read. Morwen takes center stage for the most part this time and Mendenbar remains away from the action for the most part, but Cimorene, my favorite character, does play a large role in the affairs. The fire-witches encountered are a little annoying, and Killer takes belly-aching (both literally and physically) to great heights. I did love the nine cats, however. Their constant arguing and teasing, along with their heroism and importance, gave a new dimension to the story, and it was gratifying to see the pains to which Wrede went to give them the traits, emotions, and affectations of cats in general. The introduction of the magic mirrors, through which individuals can contact one another, is also a novel twist on both modern telephones and traditional fairy tales (Mirror, mirror, on the wall I would like to make a call), and the "operator" provides a good bit of humor. This book falls a little short of the greatness of its predecessors, but it clearly succeeds as a enchanted work of fantasy sure to delight young and old alike. I feel compelled to say that you really should read the two preceding books, Dealing With Dragons and Searching for Dragons, in order to really appreciate the characters to the utmost, especially the fair and lovely Cimorene.

16 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Entire Series Is (Still) Phenomenally Brilliant, May 31, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: Calling on Dragons ( The Enchanted Forest Chronicles, Book 3 ) (Mass Market Paperback)

What? Only five stars? I need more to do this series justice! Patricia C. Wrede writes marvelous fantasy. It's like "Mixed-Up Fairy Tales" or something, but funnier, more engaging, and ripe for repeat reading (After graduating from high school, I read the entire series for the third time in a matter of days). These are timeless tales. Even her NAMES are inventive. Cimorene, Mendanbar, Kazul, Morwen, Telemain, Daystar, Shiara...and let us not forget Zemenar and Antorell. The chapter headings induce chuckles immediately, simply by their existence. She writes in a style that incorporates intelligent fantasy with enjoyable humor. The characters are some you would like to know personally. And nowhere else have I seen as unique a discussion of magic in its many forms as in these four books. I did notice a trend of centralization. Dealing was Cimorene's book. Searching was Mendanbar's. Calling was Morwen's. Talking was Daystar's. I wish the series was not concluded, because I'd love to see Telemain's book. And perhaps Kazul's book could be somewhat of a prequel. Oh, and what about a book from Antorell's perspective? That would make for an incredibly funny story. The Enchanted Forest and its surrounding is a world I want to know about. Not many authors can create an entire world that entices the reader so greatly. But Mrs. Wrede has. Unlike the Douglas Adams' Hitchiker's Guide series, which got progressively worse, each book in the Enchanted Forest Chronicles compares to the original, as fresh and brilliant as ever. Needless to say, this series is one of the best ever. I have not really sampled a lot of the adult fantasy by Piers Anthony and Anne McCaffrey and such, but I doubt they can compare with the Enchanted Forest Chronicles. This is not mindboggling fantasy like the Lord of the Rings trilogy: this is fun. Oh, and remember: <points finger>..."Argelfraster."