Dragon Games (Books of Umber) [Hardcover]

P. W. Catanese (Author), David Ho (Illustrator)

Book Description

Series: Books of Umber

Master storyteller P.W. Catanese begins the Books of Umber trilogy with Happenstance Found—now available in paperback—when twelve-yearold Happenstance awakens in a cave with no memory of who he is or how he came to be there. Lord Umber and his companions rescue Hap, and the group sets out on dangerous and unusual missions that continue in Dragon Games.

Hap’s and Umber’s journeys take them to the corrupt kingdom of Sarnica, where Umber’s nemesis has acquired some dragon eggs. Umber wants to study a new magical species, but what starts as a quest for knowledge turns into a dangerous rescue operation. The deft plotting of these actionpacked, heart-stopping adventures will pique the imagination and leave readers anxious for the final installment.

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Grade 5-8 This is a true roller coaster of a book, starting with sea-giants and ending with soul crabs (surely one of the creepier inventions in recent literary history), with plenty of loops and drops and zero-g moments in between. The mostly ebullient Lord Umber and his unusual ward, Happenstance, experience one adventure after another some simply to feed Umber's insatiable need to learn about his world, others with more complicated purposes. At home, the future of the crown is in some doubt. Umber is concerned, but the opportunity to study dragons is irresistible, so he and Hap, along with the incurably honest Oates and some new and/or unusual friends, travel to Sarnica, a kingdom ruled by a corrupt king and his worse son. They soon find themselves caught up in a civil war. Catanese has imagination to spare, with new wonders around every corner. A few scenes of war, slavery, and animal abuse may disturb some readers, though more is implied than actually described. Youngsters learn something of Happenstance's background and get a taste of Umber's early days, but only enough of both to whet appetites for the next book. Familiarity with the first book isn't necessary, but readers will want to get their hands on it after reading this one. Mara Alpert, Los Angeles Public Library
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From Booklist

Young Happenstance has had enough excitement to last a lifetime, but his peripatetic mentor, Lord Umber, is constantly curious. Thus, they are off again in search of mysteries, bidmis, and dragon games. No smooth sailing here, as danger looms at every turn and not even kings are safe. Round two in the Books of Umber delivers more imaginative adventures and tantalizing hints about Hap’s past and Umber’s hopes for him. Catanese is still laying groundwork (the assassination subplot sits apart from the main story), but readers will find plenty of satisfying action and lots of narrow escapes. Grades 5-8. --Cindy Welch

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 384 pages
• Publisher: Aladdin (January 26, 2010)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1416975217
• ISBN-13: 978-1416975212
• Product Dimensions: 8.4 x 5.8 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 13.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (11 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #524,701 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Book 2 in a Trilogy, April 6, 2010

By 

Wulfstan "wulfstan" (San Jose, CA United States) - See all my reviews
(TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Dragon Games (Books of Umber) (Hardcover)

(What's this?)

It's not well labeled or touted as Book 2 in a trilogy, and in this case, it's fairly critical that "Book One- Happenstance Found" is read first. I was three chapters into Dragon Games, found myself confused and not really liking the book, so I got Book One, and now the book makes more sense, and I enjoyed the story more.

This continues the story of young Happenstance and his mentor Lord Umber. Hap is a "Meddler", an extremely rare race with large green eyes which can see exceptionally well, never needs sleep, and has some ability to view or alter the future.

The book does get off to a slow start- we are treated to a adventure which only shows the characters in a bad light- Umber is shown to be reckless to an extreme, risking others too, and Hap just kinda goes along for the ride.

But it gets better. The next quest is a strange island- reminiscent of some in Voyage of the Dawn Treader- where Umber goes to rescue an old "friend". Next the mysterious Island of Soul crabs.

Along the way we get deeper into some political intrigue and mysteries. We learn more about Haps background and abilities.

Finally, we have a heart stopping chase and adventure to rescue some dragon eggs- and more!

It's richly done, but do read Book 1 first.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Best fantasy fiction since Harry Potter and Lord of the Rings, March 30, 2010

By 

Angela Sandelier "CPA Mom" (Virginia, USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Dragon Games (Books of Umber) (Hardcover)

Giddy as a school girl whose crush just talked to her. That's how I feel now that author P.W. Catanese and I have emailed a few times. Seriously. Ask my husband - he thinks I'm nuts after squealing with glee at my computer last night. Because to me, my biggest heroes are authors. Why? Because their talents allow me to escape to a myriad of other worlds at any time I want - all I have to do is open a book. And particularly good books such as The Books of Umber cross all boundaries of age, race and sex - these books will appeal to a broad range of people. It's hard to talk about why I love The Books of Umber so much without giving away the plot. I will say that if you liked the Harry Potter books, the Lord of the Rings and other such fantasy novels, you will LOVE The Books of Umber. The books are set in a world of fantasy but have a very real and believable tie to our modern world. The characters are so well fleshed out I have very real pictures of them in my mind and they seem very real to me - what great movies these would make! Heroes and villains abound in this world of nail biting action - I devoured them both in a matter of days and now I'm afraid I'm left in the unenviable position of having to wait for the last book of the trilogy to find out what happens. Ah well, in the meantime, I just placed the rest of Mr. Catanese's books in my Amazon.com cart to get started on...that will have to do until I find out what happens to Hap and Umber and all of Kurahaven (not to mention our own world!) (from my posted review [...])

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Brilliant Sequel, April 26, 2010

By 

E. Peck "JR Peck" (Orlando, FL) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Dragon Games (Books of Umber) (Hardcover)

(What's this?)

Dragon Games is the sequel to Happenstance Found (The Books of Umber). I thought "Happenstance Found" was an incredibly good read. I had picked it up just so I could review "Dragon Games" in context, and I'm so glad that I did. I jumped immediately from "Happenstance Found" to "Dragon Games" hoping that it would be just as strong, and it did not disappoint.

This book picks up just a few weeks after the ending of its predecessor. Catanese continues to play to his strengths with great imagination, pacing and a steady stream of reveals that give the reader the satisfaction of watching things unfold, but still in anticipating what is ahead. There are great puzzles, incredible plot twists and extremely well written actions scenes. Catanese really ought to be a household name by now, on the strength of a broad body of work.

"Dragon Games" is a touch darker than "Happenstance Found". It deals with rather weighty issues, just as the first did though I think the first book offered more relief. It is still a kids book, though I felt that this second in the series has less of a 'childish' feel. My ten year old tore through it and enjoyed it immensely though she did find some parts frightening. I would think that age and up would enjoy it. As an adult I had a blast reading it and can't wait for the next book to come out.

As much as I enjoyed "Happenstance Found" I'd have to say that as an adult I found "Dragon Games" to be even more satisfying though it even creeped me out a bit at times.

This book is again a complete story, wrapped in a larger context that leaves a lot of questions and is not resolved. I've read that the third book is written, so one need not worry about being left high and dry but I'm not sure what the timeline is like for publication. So their may be a bit of a wait to see how it all wraps up. (I assume it will wrap up based on interviews of the author that I have read. I don't know for certain that it will end with the next book.)

Anyone who wants to give their children the gift of well written, imaginative and exciting fantasy would do very well to do so by introducing them to the books of Umber.