Customer Reviews

Dragon Games (Books of Umber)

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

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.

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 [...])

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.

This being part of a series I was a little lost at the start of the book and know there is so much I have missed out on so far.

However I enjoyed the story so much I am off to find the rest of the set and be one the look out for more from this author.

Such a wonderful read and enjoyable story line.

Dragon Games begins as Lord Umber captains a ship into a cave inhabited by ancient, hibernating dragons, goes on to follow a group of adventurers to an aerie home, an island of soul crabs that speak with voices of the deceased, a volcanic reef surrounding a captive master of impish creatures whose sole purpose is to do their master's bidding. Then, on to Sarnica, ruled by a tyrant king and heir apparent. All this from the viewpoint of Happenstance, a young man with no memory of his origins or past, who holds mysterious ability to see filaments of fates about to happen. At first, it seems Hap has a passive role in events occuring around him, but he manages to pull off some initiative to rescue some dragon eggs from tyrants.

Catanese never lacks for imagination, and the ride is entertaining along the way. He weaves an engaging tale that keeps the pages turning. As a sequel to Happenstance found, Dragon Games stands on its own without relying on understanding of its forerunner or the worldbuilding of the Books of Umber. There are multiple intrigues. Foremost is the mystery of who Hap is and his destiny to save the world he and Umber seem to have come from. Characters are fresh and not recycled types from worlds of juvenile fiction. If the events seem randomly generated to entertain, we can hope that things come together in forthcoming books of the series. Dragon games gives you enough story to be entertained, while still leaving enough hints at what may come, that you'll want to track the upcoming releases.

This is book 2 in the "Books of Umber" series.

This book moves almost as fast as the first book did. The story continues of Happenstance's (Hap) lost history. Why did this teenaged boy appear with no recollection of life before that moment? Luckily, larger and larger pieces are beginning to fall together and these help keep the readers interested in what is going on.

New characters such as the mysterious Pilot and his creepy crew of spiderlike beings help move the story on and keep readers of all ages interested and engaged. Some of these little sidelights slow things down slightly, therefore the drop in one star. But, if you made it through the first book, this book is a piece of cake.

Characters such as Oates (a strongman cursed to tell only the truth) continue to entertain the reader and still play a significant part of the plot.

This series continues to amuse. I can't wait for book 3!

Recommended for readers 10 and up with an interest in fantasy!

The continuing adventures of Happenstance in this younger readers fantasy adventure. Though it is named Dragon Games, dragons actually only appear at the very end. Not a bad book, but was a bit slow as many middle books in trilogies often are. Authors today seem to write these trilogies as one long story and break it up in 3 pieces. The first book is an introduction to the characters and world, the second gets down to business but does not deliver an ending which comes in book 3. I don't mind trilogies, but I like when each book can stand on its own. But besides that pet peeve, this is an author I will be watching in the future.

I couldn't wait to dive into P.W. Catanese's second entry in THE BOOKS OF UMBER series, because I knew I would be spending more time with amazing characters, intriguing plots, and an overriding series arch that has to be one of my favorite twists in fiction in a long time. And DRAGON GAMES does deliver much of this, but at times seems to steer a little bit to the side of its course, while maintaining the same level of action and mystery that made book one, HAPPENSTANCE FOUND, so amazing.

Lord Umber of Kurahaven is invited to the land of Sarnica to witness the Dragon Games and the dragons captured and ready to star in the events. But along the way, Umber receives a message from Caspar, one of the only people who may know the truth about who and what Happenstance, Umber's young ward, truly is. Along the way, they discover curses, islands filled with horrors unimaginable, and then the ugly truth about Sarnica. And Happenstance must come face to face with the person responsible for his very existence: the mysterious WN.

DRAGON GAMES really is a rollicking good adventure - with some insanely creepy moments, such as a haunting run through the forests near Kurahaven at the beginning of the book. And there's a point where Happenstance finds himself alone in perhaps one of the most disturbing places ever imagined in a book. I kept thinking the whole time that so many of the scenes would make such an amazing visual in a movie, and it really hit me: there is a cinematic quality to so much of Catanese's writing - without overburdening the reader with unneeded descriptions. The suspense and action carries on to the very end, and the last page made me gasp out loud.

The only moment where things fell a little out of place were the scenes in Sarnica - and the side plot of a brutish kingdom abusing its citizens and creatures. It just didn't seem to fit in with the overall plot for some reason. Most of it was still very interesting and good, but I kept wanting to go back to the overarching series plot line and find out more about it.

I must say though, Catanese has won a very enthusiastic fan. I really enjoy his writing, and it's so nice to read a story that uses traditional fantasy elements, but combines them in new ways with such haunting imagery and fun adventure that it creates something completely new. Fans of any sort of fantasy would only be missing out not to read THE BOOKS OF UMBER. I know I will definitely be waiting in anticipation for the next book.

First, let me state upfront that I'm under a bit of a disadvantage because I haven't read the first book in this series. There may be aspects to the characters that I'm not fully appreciating because I read out of order.

However, the pace and plotting of DRAGON GAMES is charming and episodic. Umber, an eccentric nobleman, sails out in his boat or flies around in a spider-silk balloon accompanied by his ward, Hap, a young boy with a mysterious magical destiny and Oates, a man forever cursed to speak only the truth. I completely enjoyed their voyages and adventures which included the isle of the bidmis--an infernal species who show what a crushing burden absolute power can be!

The back story of Hap is a bit of a mess: a boy with green eyes who might be a former peasant boy who died and was somehow enchanted into a Meddler, magical being or race who can affect Fate. Umber who comes from a more technologically advanced world (somehow) is pressuring Hap to gain control of his powers as soon as possible so he can then go (somehow) to Umber's original world and save it from itself. This is pretty spongy and the more the author said about this premise the less I believed it and the less interested I became. Everywhere this back story intruded tended to be dull. The author needs to stick to writing about the adventures his characters are having because he can tell a cracking good yarn that is a heck of a lot of fun.

I deducted another star for the ending which was both inconclusive and sad. In my humble opinion, the author should have ended the book a chapter earlier with our heroes on their homeward voyage, happy, triumphant and looking forward to the future. It doesn't do us much good for them to get home and find that their hopes are dashed, does it?

Here's the problem I have with modern fantasy: there are too many authors inspired by Tolkien who are trying to write the next great trilogy when what they need to be writing is their equivalent of THE HOBBIT. Tell us the amazing tale before trying to write the saga. I'm not really sure what age group this book is intended for--it's not really good enough for children (who are the most demanding audience) and it's not really naughty enough for adults.

This is the second book in the Umber series. Even without reading the first volume, this book easily stands alone. The plot is intriguing and gripping, keeping the reader engaged until the very end. Umber and friends are likable and full-bodied characters. This fantasy world comes to life in a tale of adventure and folk lore. Although this is a "young adult" book, it is suitable for all ages. I enjoyed it so much that I ordered the first book in the series as well!