Customer Reviews

The Dragon's Boy

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

 

 

I read "The Dragon's Boy" originally as a short story in Jane Yolen's collection "Here There Be Dragons," and found it thoughtful, moving, and above all a purely enjoyable story. When I found it had been expanded into a novel, I was a little wary. I wasn't quite sure what would happen to it. Then I read the novel, and all fears were set to rest. While there are distinct differences in the action of the endings of the short story and the novel, the main point remains unchanged, and I enjoyed finding small episodes of the short story fleshed out into chapters of the novel without ever becoming overblown. Most of all, I love the final revelation of "The Dragon's Boy," when Artos, who has been gaining wisdom from a dragon hidden in a secret cave on the moors, finds out at last the true identity of his dragon. I would argue that the ending is the high point of the book, not anticlimactic of all. I was not entirely surprised when I read it for the first time, because I had enough familiarity with various Arthurian retellings to pick up on certain names when they came around-but rest assured, that did not in any way diminish my enjoyment of the story. "The Dragon's Boy" is a fascinating slant on the early life of King Arthur (made famous in "The Sword and the Stone," by T.H. White) and an excellent novel in its own right. Read, by request of the dragon, and you will certainly enjoy.

My son and I raced through this book (on separate but concurrent tracks). While he enjoyed it thoroughly, he was disappointed at the turn at the end. I must admit that I was a bit let down, too. The advantage of reading the book together, tho, is talking about it. In the discussion following our reads, we both made peace with the story. It is really a lovely story about truth, friendship, and courage--as well as a fun spin on the Arthur legend. I would not recommend it for kids who love knight/dragon/adventure books, unless they were thoughtful readers or have a thoughtful guide.

I think this book is totally great. It is a mystery in disguise, and the ending is totally wonderful. I think there ought to be a sequel, but I don't know if there is one!

I started this book as a courtesy to my daughter. Turned into a quick read. It was fun and imaginative. Knowing a bit of Arthurian legend I recognized names and themes easily but the story never got bogged down with mythology. The ending was a bit anti-climactic as some others have said but after thinking about it for a bit. Its not REALLY an ending..its a beginning. Anyone even slightly familiar with the legend of King Arthur will recognize what has to happen next. Thinking of it this way also means there already are plenty of sequels.

I never really cared for any of the books I read by Jane Yolen (there are a few exceptions, such as Commander Toad), and I include this book as one of them. The plot seemed to lack something, and I finished the book with a vaugely dissatisfied feeling. I would've given it two-and-a-half stars if I could've

An ancient dragon teaches young Arthur some valuable lessons. I have enjoyed Yolen's other fantasy and dragon books better.

I REALLY WANNA READ THIS BOOK BUT I CAN'T SEEM TO FIND IT IN STORES. I WOULD BUY IT ON AMAZON BUT I'M ONLY GONNA BUY IT IF I QUALIFY FOR SUPER SAVER SHIPPING.

This story is about a boy that is in a forest who stumbles over a cave with a dragon inside.

i have liked the other books by this author, but this one was disipointing. The story leads up to a suspensful climax but the ending is HORRIBLE.I enjoyed the book untill the end. it wasn't very well explained, as if the author was in a hurry to finish

Ok its a pretty good book. I really LOVE dragons so when I seen this book I was really excited.When you first start to read it it sounds great with adventures and all but the ending was VERY BAD. I won't tell you why cause that would ruin the book.I guess it just denping on what kind of book you like I really don't recommed this book to people how think they know what happens at the end- cause its not as you think, (unless you like that stuff). So just read it for yourself.