How To Slay a Dragon (The Journals of Myrth, Book1) [Kindle Edition]

Bill Allen (Author)

Book Description

Greg Hart can't slay a dragon. He'd be lucky to win a fight against one of the smaller girls at school.His only real skill is that he can run faster than any other twelve-year-old boy in his class, a necessity, since that's who he's usually running from. Oh, it's not like he's never been the hero at the center of an adventure. It's just the kind of adventures he's been involved with have always been the made-up kind he's written about in his journal.Now the magicians of Myrth have yanked Greg into a strange new world, where the monsters he must run from are far scarier--and hungrier--than anything he's ever run from before. He tries to tell everyone there's been a mistake. Ruuan is a very large dragon, while Greg, on the other hand, is neither large nor a dragon. He's barely much of a boy. Unfortunately, such trivialities could never stop the people of Myrth from believing Greg will rescue King Peter's daughter from Ruuan. After all, Greg has been named in a prophecy, and no prophecy has ever been wrong before.Why, Greg wonders, does he have to be at the heart of the first one that is?

Product Details

• File Size: 609 KB
• Print Length: 228 pages
• Publisher: Bell Bridge Books (January 13, 2011)
• Sold by: Amazon Digital Services, Inc.
• Language: English
• ASIN: B004J17VRQ
• Text-to-Speech: Enabled
• X-Ray: Enabled
• Lending: Not Enabled
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #114,693 Paid in Kindle Store (See Top 100 Paid in Kindle Store)

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

32 of 32 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Let Your Imagination Fly February 17, 2011

By Edith Ann

Format:Paperback

Bill Allen's book is full of imagination and charm. How wonderful to leave the humdrum existence of everyday life and fly off with Greg Hart to the land of dragons and kings. From chapter to chapter I never knew what was going to happen and always I was surprised and excited. Allen's use of words and names was creative and often laughable. Oh, to be young again and make friends with dragons. Delightful reading all the way through.

34 of 40 people found the following review helpful

3.0 out of 5 stars Humorous and inventive March 18, 2011

By Dranea79

Format:Paperback

I love daydreaming about being something I thought I would or could never be: a rockstar, a famous actor, an astronaut, a circus performer, and a hero. We all have had that fantasy where we believe we know exactly how we would act if we were placed in a situation where our fantasies became reality. Greg Hart....poor, poor Greg Hart had no idea that he would not have to just fantasize about what he would do, but he would have to face the most challenging of all the popular fantasies.

Greg Hart is a small, well, better say scrawny middle school kid who is always being picked last, beat up, and ignored. He spends his free time writing about exciting adventures in which he defeats trolls and rescues fair maidens in distress. Not only is he not able escape a bully who invades his tree house, but he is also unable to escape a spell that transports Greg into the land of Myrth.

Greg Hart soon learns that the people of Myrth have been waiting in anticipation for his arrival. He is a great hero to these people, everyone knows of Greg and his wonderful deeds and all of the wondrous things Greg has accomplished. The only problem is, Greg has not done any of these things yet. He is given a king's treatment and fanfare befitting a glorious hero, but only because a prophecy stated at Greghart from Earth would be slaying a dragon and saving the princess from a horrible fate.

Accompanied by Lucky, the luckiest person on Myrth, Greg is sent out on this mission that the entire already expects to be a success because the prophecy said so and prophecies are never wrong. Facing trolls, evil witches, 300 foot tall dragons should be a piece of cake right? With the prophecy on his side and the luckiest person alive, how could anything possibly go wrong? Well, add in the fact Greg doesn't believe in this prophecy any more than he can skin a monkeydog and prophecies don't seem quite as obtainable as one would think.

Oh yea, the prophecy was made by a man who appears to have lived longer than the mountains on Myrth and who can only be understood by his wife who is almost completely deaf.....one more thing, the scribe who copied the prophecy is a drunk with atrocious handwriting. I'm all for an adventure with me as the cookable hero...wouldn't you be??

How to Slay a Dragon has a ton of sarcasm in it, something I just happen to be very fond of. You do not go more than a couple of pages without Greg making some sort of remark or humor being thrown in at some point. The humor can be enjoyed by young and old(er) alike. There always seems to be a twist and turn thrown in there as well. The story line seemed to drag for me in several places and I had a hard time keeping from putting the book down and getting a few other things done before returning to the book. Many YA books have a story line that can be engrossing for younger audiences as well as adult readers. This book, I believe, was geared more towards younger readers only. The story is a cute one, but not complex enough to grip an older crowd.

The lessons that are taught in this book I believe are strong ones: never give up hope and only you are in charge of your own fate. Greg had an entire planet pushing him to be one thing and to go down a certain path. Greg knew that life and that path was not for him, and he went against the popular ideas and made his own way. Kudos to Greg for knowing who he was and being the best darn Greg he could be!

8 of 9 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars wonderful quest fantasy February 15, 2011

By Harriet Klausner #1 HALL OF FAME

Format:Paperback

If one was betting on a fight between twelve-year-old Greg Hart and the smaller girls at school, the latter females would be the odds-on favorites. Don't even bother putting up odds for him against the bigger girls.

However, the desperate Myrth mages except for seemingly skeptical Mordred believe Greg is a prophesized warrior. They transport the seventh grader to their world. His mission is to rescue King Peter's daughter Princess Penelope from Ruuan the mightiest dragon. Greg tries to explain he has spent years running from bullies like Manny the Malice who is much smaller than the fiery dragon; but the magicians insist he is the exalted hero foretold in prophecy and everyone knows that prophecies always occur; that is everyone but the geek from earth who keeps saying he writes heroic epics not stars in heroic epics; of course he has experience with dragons like the algebra teacher.

With a nod to the amusing How to Train Your Dragon, How to Slay a Dragon is a wonderful quest fantasy starring the last person one would expect to wear the mantle of prophesized hero saving the world from a powerful dragon. Fast-paced, middle school students will enjoy Greg the geeky tweener as he is sent forth as the reluctant hero to battle a bullying dragon.

Harriet Klausner

More About the Author

Bill Allen may be described as an unusual man who has accomplished an unusual many deeds. In fact, it has been said that if you total up all the things he claims to have done, he cannot possibly be less than seven hundred years old.

No one knows if this is true. All that is certain is that for a good many years he has been living in Melbourne, Florida with his wife, Nancy, writing software by day and, well, mostly sleeping by night. Every now and again he writes stories, too. But then I guess that's why you're here.