Customer Reviews

The Dragon's Apprentice (Chronicles of the Imaginarium Geographica)

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I love the idea of this series, all these famous authors (long dead and gone) working together (mostly) to stop the destruction of an alternate "fictional" world. However, with that said, there are too many characters to keep straight in this series. And, with this 5th book, Owen adds even more characters! I am an English teacher and know many of the authors, however, I have several students who have read these books and they easily get confused and miss many of the underlying puns and jokes. Owen really, REALLY, needs to include a list of characters in these books, explaining who these people are in real life, as well as how they are connected to the story.

I have enjoyed every one of the books in this series and have read each more then once. And, each time I always seem say this one or this one is the best. And, once again that rings true for this the fifth one in the series. But, this time, unless the next ones are even better, which if they are I am certainly going to have long nights reading in the future, I have truly found my favorite of the series so far. To anyone whose has yet to read the series, if you like fantasy, read it, and if you have been following the books then you best get to reading this one and soon. Once again my hats off to the author.

Not just another fine installment in the Chronicles of the Imaginarium Geographica series, this book seems to mark a change of direction, setting up new goals for our heroes. I love this series, but if James Owen's characters were as deep and intricate as his plots, it would be perfect. That aside, it's a great book in a great series, but absolutely not the place for new readers to start.

I purchased this book for my 20 year old son. He enjoyed the book, and said he would recommend the book to others.

The Dragon's Apprentice is the fifth entry in the Chronicles of the Imaginarium Geographica, the Atlas of Imaginary Lands, which has been protected by famous writers of our world -Dante, Shakespeare, Cervantes, Verne, etc.- for over a millenium.

This time around, as the time-flow finally cracks, and with it the Archipielago of Dreams, present Caretakers, J.R.R. Tolkien and C.S. Lewis, are hard-pressed to find the solution: finding the Dragon's Apprentice and mapping time to make things right. As events from the future effect the past, and the new past affects future events, the Caretakers and their allies fight their most fearsome enemies yet: The Primordial Shadows.

James Owen presents another compelling story, with great pace, interesting plot, and as always, the wonderful gift of the motivation to look into the classics, and discover -or re-discover- all the wonderful stories the great men of the past have left us as heritage.

This is another great installment to this series. I have enjoyed every one of these books, and was very happy not to be disappointed here.

For all those who have enjoyed the previous books, get this one, and enjoy it as well.

A GREAT sequel to the series. Very exciting, very funny. Owen lives up to my expectations one again in continueing his story. I can't say enough how wonderful it is and whenever I go to a bookstore and I see someone standing nearby the shelf with his books on it i always go over and say, "Hey, you should really read this!" and walk away. They usually pick it up. =) A great series and worth reading again and again!

I've enjoyed all of the books in this series and each has gotten progressively better. I love that you can just enjoy the story or look deeper at the famous characters or myths to see how everything connects. There are a ton of characters, but most are familiar from history and are secondary. My only disappointment with this book is that the next in the series is not available.

Another fantastic installment in the Chronicles of the Imaginarium Geographica. This one picks up just where the fourth book ended, and while the fourth book was slower and left a lot a plot holes lying about, this one resolves them in that Owen style we know and love. Complicated plot twists, changing alliances, and one of the best combinations of fantasy, science fiction and traditional literature. Also, it seems the kid gloves are coming off, as this novel gets darker and more dangerous than the previous ones. The caretakers are discovering that their actions are not merely confined to a specific event, but that they are all tied up together, with repercussions into both the past, and more disturbingly, the future.

In this novel the Caretakers discover the consequences to the destruction of the Keep of Time, the dismissal of the Dragons, and their meddling in time have caused a rip in the Archipelago, separating it completely from the Summer Country. As they investigate, they discover that indeed, for every action there's a reaction, and that their actions, from the first novel to the last one, were perhaps, not the wisest. They also find themselves fighting with their inner demons, and with the loses of their closest friends to the war (both in the Summer Country and in the Archipelago).

As has become common with this series, there is a huge amount of characters, from the good and the bad, to the tragic, pathetic, and ambiguous, and Owen does a great job of molding and developing each character. We see more of Rose Dyson and Laura Glue, who are maturing into young women, we learn more about the history of Bert and Jules, we discover more of the secrets to Termalene House and its mysterious caretaker, among other things. And the ending is a great surprise that leaves you waiting for the next book, cursing that it will be a year till it comes out. Anyone who loves this series will love this book; anyone who loves literature, fantasy and science fiction will love this book, and anyone who hasn't read these books... where have you been?

I love this whole series. The premise behind the stories is brilliant and even after five books the approach and narrative is fresh and exciting. I bought each book as they came out for my youngest son. He is 14 now and I think I'm going to have to buy a set for myself.