Customer Reviews

Here, There Be Dragons [With Earbuds] (Chronicles of the Imaginarium Geographica)

5 star:		(32)
4 star:		(10)
3 star:		(11)
2 star:		(9)
1 star:		(5)

 

 

Here's some interesting news...this book has already been picked up by Warner Brothers, and Batman Begins screenwriter David Goyer and Harry Potter producer David Heyman will be the producers of this movie. Boy was that fast! There is good reason that Hollywood is interested in this, because it is a story filled with magic from the first to last page.

The story begins in 1917, and we are treated to delightful characterizations of J.R.R. Tolkien, C.S. (Jack) Lewis, and Charles Williams, who didn't know each other then but would later become friends and members of the famous Inklings group, a group of Christian writers and, I believe, Oxford professors who - for lack of a better phrase at this moment - hung out, smoked pipes, and talked about the writing they were working on.

I wish their identities weren't already widely known, for reasons that will be clear at the end of the book, but I doubt that many people reading this book would have been at all surprised. Three "Oxford men", all writers, all of whom possessed a strong imagination (according to their initial rescuer and guide, Bert)...who else could they possibly be?

About this book. I didn't just love it. I am amazed, breathless, and nearly speechless - I can't believe the author was brave enough to attempt such a daring undertaking and more so that he pulled it off so perfectly.

We are taken into the most marvelous of worlds, guided by the Imaginarium Geographica, a world where everything that has ever been imagined (and possibly things that are true...depends on your take) exist.

Owens guides us through all of these worlds like a skilled navigator, and time and again we run into situations, people, and physical structures that bear a remarkable similarity to what we have seen in The Lord of the Rings and The Chronicles of Narnia, and I'm sure much of Charles Williams writing, although I am unfamiliar with his work.

It's such a delight to see these similarities, as they act as a time traveling machine, but I will mention only one.

The main characters and their companions are at a structure that they know to be a door, but there is no discernible handle or keyhole. There is, however, some writing in Elvish that says, "Declare allegiance, and be welcomed." For anyone remotely familiar with Tolkien's work, this is immediately recognized as a scene directly out of The Fellowship of the Ring, where the nine companions are trying to gain entrance to the Mines of Moria. In FOTR, the Elvish script read, "Speak, friend, and enter." Eventually Gandalf (although in the movie I think it's Merry) realizes that one needs only to say the Elvish word for "friend" and the doors will open. They do so, and the doors open. In the scene in Here, There Be Dragons, Jack puts forth the idea that perhaps all they need to do is speak the Elvish word for "allegiance", and the door will open. John says, "That's a stupid idea." You can't help but laugh.

Gems like the one described above are all over this book, and the spell they cast over the reader (this one at least) is bewitching. Part of the page turning tension of the book comes from the actual story itself, the other half waiting to see what new "gem" you'll find on the next page.

The author also was the illustrator for the book and they brought this remarkable world and its equally remarkable characters to even greater heights of believability than Owens' *extraordinary* writing. Owens is a very, very gifted artist - here I am also of the written word, not only of the paintbrush. One picture I'm certain was directly influenced by a painting John R. Neill did for one of Baum's original Oz books. It was delightful, to again be taken back to something I so dearly loved as a child.

Orson Scott Card makes a rather powerful statement (see above in his quote). I'm not sure I'd go quite that far, but I'll be extremely surprised if this book doesn't enjoy remarkable success. It's easy to tell by the quality of the book and the paper the book was printed on that Simon & Schuster will be surprised as well. This is certainly better than any other book I've read that had anything to do with dragons in quite some time. Years. Maybe a decade or two - whenever McCaffrey's first Pern book came out would be how far I'd have to go. Yet this really isn't about dragons. It's about the magic we come across every time we pick up a book and that book takes us to a wonderful place. The place doesn't need to be Oz, Prydain, Middle Earth, Narnia, or other distinct and fully imagined world, it can be our world too.

The book is marketed to Young Adults, but this should appeal to any adult who ever read fantasy when younger. You will remember why you read fantasy as a young adult, and wonder why you ever stopped.

10/11/06 - Why isn't this book selling by the tens of thousands? I'm genuinely puzzled, unless the references to Lewis's and Tolkien's works are too "old" for younger readers. But I can't imagine how. Young readers of fantasy have read (or seen)Tolkien, and most have read (or seen part of) Lewis. BUY THIS BOOK. It's truly extraordinary.

I am an avid fantasy reader and I'm amazed by some of the positive reviews about this book. Owen certainly starts out with a great idea but the plot and characters fail to fulfill their potential. Aven in particular was an incredibly frustrating character. She was captain of the Dragonship and yet Jack is the only one who was ever useful on the ship and particularly in combat. She is the only one who carries a weapon and yet when they go to the Keep of Time she conveniently leaves her sword behind so that the men can rescue everyone instead. She is critical of everyone and overdramatic. At the end of the book she suddenly becomes the love interest of the orphaned boy who is the last remaining descendent of the King (of course). Apparently that's all she's good for. Surprisingly, most other reviewers seem to have no problem with the blatant racial stereotyping of the villains in the book. The descriptions are bad enough but the illustrations made me cringe. Owen is so clearly pleased with his own cleverness at devising this idea that he leaves the plot and characters to their own devices. By the time Owen started pulling rabbits out of his hat at the end of the book (who the three heroes are, who Bert is)I had given up, and so will you. This book is one of the many reasons why people continue to snub Fantasy as something less than literature. Readers need to start demanding a solid story with real characters to complement the fun ideas. This book has plenty of fun ideas, but that's about it.

How will three young men settle a conflict over a book that they are thrown into the middle of when a professor dies and gives it to them? In Here, There Be Dragons, by James A. Owen, you track the paths of three men, John, Jack, and Charles, as they travel through a foreign world to solve the conflict over the Imaginarium Geographica. Owen does an incredible job showing real personalities in his characters, and does an even better job of showing the characters' growth as people. I love how the author shows both good and evil, and how easy it is to go from one to the other, and also how to stop yourself and go back. I also love how the author takes characters and ideas from other fictional stories and mixes them into Here, There Be Dragons. I believe this fantasy book is incredible, and has real ties to life, with the messages it includes. I would recommend this book to most any young adult who likes fantasy that also includes ties to life and other fantasy stories. The only way you will ever know the end of this incredible book is to read it.

Do you have an older relative or friend - a parent, uncle, grandparent; you get the idea - that has ever regaled you with stories of their outrageous youthful escapades? I think we all have one of those relatives. Whether the stories are true or not, the stories are REAL (there IS a difference), and we love them and can hear them again and again. After all, `something' had to make that person such a great storyteller. That's what Here, There Be Dragons by James A. Owen is all about. Better than that, we get to see and EXPERIENCE those escapades. In Here, There Be Dragons we meet many vaguely familiar characters. To most of us, they're already friends. But they're old friends. That is; friends who are `old'. In this incredible story we get a chance to meet them at their youth. When we're first introduced to them we `think' we know who they are, but we're not sure. It's like going back in time and seeing if your old man - young and strong and much less familiar - really `did' save his entire platoon using a slingshot.

The story focuses around three young men; John, Jack and Charles. At the beginning of the story, WWI Europe, they converge, un-coincidentally, upon the death of an old Professor friend of theirs'. While contemplating this horrible incident, they meet another strangely familiar character named Bert; a funny little man who bestows on them the coolest named book in all of literature: The "Imaginarium Geographica." It's a book of maps. Maps of places that have existed only in the realm of imagination. A map of every place that was ever dreamt is in that book. Remember the place that you created yourself, when you were 7? It's in there. It's a very big and exceedingly important book. John, Jack and Charles are then given the task of saving the worlds - the real living and breathing places - that are in the book. Our "heroes" are three somewhat young and quite different men. John just served a tour of duty in WWI. He is a man of intellect, honor and character, but he's been eye-deep in hell and it left him changed. He's not so sure about life at the moment. Jack is young and impulsive. Like all young and impulsive people he makes decisions quickly, and not always with the best results. But he has such a heart. You will love him. Charles is the eldest of the three. The "level-headed" one. The one who can rattle off the funniest line in the world with the straightest possible face. He's also the most English, and I mean that in a good way. When you read it you'll know what I mean.

Once accepting the staggering onus of saving all places imaginary, John, Jack and Charles embark on an adventure in the land of imagination; the "Archipelago of Dreams." It's an adventure that would make Robert Louis Stevenson grin from ear to ear. There are ships, there are creatures of good and darkest evil, there are pirates, there are beautiful warrior women, kings, princes, knights, wizards, sorcerers, heroes, cowards and fools.

And there are Dragons.

Boy, oh boy, oh boy are there Dragons. Majestic, intelligent and resplendently powerful. You won't be disappointed by them. They are everything a Dragon should be.

Our heroes, like all good heroes, grow throughout their journey. They change and yet remain the same people that we have grown to love (after all, we already knew them before we even picked up this book). They learn things about themselves, the histories of the countless worlds they are saving and about their amazing destines as future caretakers of these worlds.

James A. Owen is being touted as a "new" talent in this arena. He's not. He's been doing this now for twenty years. And he's always been good at it. Creating stories and worlds that have won fans all over the world. He already has an award-winning modern fantasy series called "Mythworld." His comic book (yes, comic book) Starchild is acclaimed both critically and commercially as a work of significance and masterful storytelling. If this is your introduction to James A. Owen, I envy you. You get to experience all of his other, many, many great works. And the man can draw.

Did I tell you that Here, There Be Dragons is illustrated too? Not just four or five perfunctory doodles, but dozens of highly, highly, ludicrously highly detailed illustrations. In fact, the illustrations are stories themselves. Think of them as "Easter Eggs" on steroids. And, do you know who the Illustrator is? None other than the author himself. If you know anything at all of James's work, than you can appreciate the exquisiteness of his art. That cover that you're looking at; that's James. If you buy this book for the art alone, it would be worth every penny. Good for us the art is complimented by a story of such greatness.

So there you have it. Here, There Be Dragons is a mystery. It's an adventure. It's fantasy. It's reality. It even has romance. If you've ever created an imaginary place (and who hasn't), then it's safe to say that YOU'RE in this book. It is not only a `story' of the utmost quality; it is a well written story. There are no loose ends. All your questions, the ones that need answering, are answered. The characters, in every sense, are REAL. We see them - our friends - in a way we never have, but secretly always wanted to. We get to look behind the curtain. And, we get to stay there and play. I couldn't recommend this book more. Thank you James for the stories.

Get ready for a mind-bending magical adventure. HERE, THERE BE DRAGONS, by graphic novel artist and writer James Owen, has clues and twists in each chapter. What if the most famous of fantasy authors wrote their stories based on their real adventures rather then imaginary ones?

The tale begins in 1917 England, when college student and soldier John is summoned to his Professor's office, only to find that his teacher has been murdered. He is given a book, The Imaginarium Geographica, and meets Bert, Charles and Jack. Within minutes, the group is racing from a mob of monsters sent to kill them.

It turns out that John is The Caretaker of The Imaginarium Geographica, and Charles and Jack must help him. The Imaginarium Geographica is a map of lands of myth, and Bert is a previous Caretaker who must guide the trio on their quest. They begin at Avalon and learn that the fate of the fantasy worlds as well as the real worlds is in danger of destruction.

Here, There Be Dragons is the sign that greets them when they cross over into the fantasy world. Are dragons friends or foes? They soon learn that an evil Winter King has taken the throne and is after them to find the Ring of Power as well as The Imaginarium Geographica so he can rule everything in both worlds.

John is not at all sure that he is the right man for this mission, and he makes plenty of mistakes. Charles and Jack also struggle to discover their strengths. But John and his new friends travel bravely through famous lands from myth and even the Bible. Fantasy fans will enjoy finding clues from favorite stories. From the Ring of Power to Pandora's Box to a creature who could be Noah to Prydain, favorite fantasy stories meld together.

The final battle affects all in the group, as well as their new allies. When readers find out who Bert, John, Charles and Jack really are, they will realize that the stories are only beginning.

The beautiful drawings by James Owen help make this vivid imagination trip leap off the page. HERE, THERE BE DRAGONS should be read by fans of Tolkien, Lewis, Paolini, Wells and Verne. In fact, it should not be missed by anyone.

--- Reviewed by Amy Alessio

I bought this book quite a while ago when I had been given an Amazon gift card for my birthday and wasn't sure to do with the remaining money on it. Basically, it was a whim.

Yeah. Bad whim.

Don't get me wrong. It's entirely possible (I suppose) that this book would be a good read for children around the age of, say, 8 or 9. But for just about anyone older than that, I don't think the reading experiencee would be very worthwhile. Upon reflection, any book that claims to be a geography of previous authors' imaginations (gives itself an excuse to rip things off) is probably going to be trouble. There are just no original ideas, and what's more, the old ones aren't expressed very well.

Captain Hook joins up with the Ringwraiths. The boy raised by three witches with a name like "Bug" and full of naivete turns out to be High King. We have the obligatory overly-sexed female pirate captain fighting for good. There's a reason I'm emphasizing characters here. Every single one of the characters in this book falls neatly into a stereotype. They all lack depth, and (since they lack depth) none of the (very little) development that takes place is believable. Characters change their outlooks and capabilities at the drop of a hat. For God's sake, one character spends the first seven chapters complaining about how he can't read any of the languages on the map, and then in a couple of paragraphs manages to translate every one of dozens of languages, some ancient, based on the common phrase "Here be dragons."

IT'S ONLY THREE WORDS LONG! Less, depending on the language. You CANNOT translate all the writing on a map based on only a couple of symbols, especially if you don't know the alphabet or if there isn't one. It would be more believable if the man was granted knowledge by magic.

In conclusion, the characters are flat, the dialogue is poor, the narration is tedious, and the plot is trite. Tolkein must be turning in his grave- after all, the poor man is the main character.

I am a big Inkling fan. I am the only one I know personally who has read Charles Williams. I have read the LOTR, Silmarillion, and other Tolkien works. I have read most of C. S. Lewis and paged through OHEL and Allegory of Love. I have read biographies of Tolkien and Williams and several biographies of Lewis. I was excited when I read about this book and immediately bought it. I haven't read "Young Adult" fiction for a long time so I'm not sure how this book measures up. The book is well paced and it has some interesting scenes. It steals creatively from Lewis, Tolkien and other fantasy writers. It reminds me most of a Williams novel, but Williams, confusing as he is, wrote far more interesting novels than this. Though, I admit I had a hard time putting this book down.

The bad side is if you know anything about the Inklings, you'll be disappointed in the novel. Lewis, Tolkien, and Williams are ill defined. Lewis becomes a figure of decisive action and spunk. Williams becomes the practical one, who must keep both feet on the ground. Excuse me, this is the guy who wrote a play and forced all his coworkers to be in it at the Christmas party. He made his boss a king. He viewed London as a magical New Jerusalem. Williams had his head and body in the clouds.

The logic of the plot is deeply flawed at times. They lose the map and the ring of power. The villian who stole them is in a row boat. They are on a magical ship that does not need the wind to move and that seems to sense where the magic objects are. Should they chase the villian? No, they must continue onto a person who may or may not help them. One more thing. He keeps the identity of characters secret. He reveals at the end that Jack is C. S. Lewis. The author claims that Warnie started calling him that and it stuck. The real story is that Lewis chose the name for himself when he was a toddler and refused to answer to anything else (actually, it was Jacksie and it was shortened to Jack when he was older.) This is how his parents and his brother, Warnie, started calling him Jack. Another problem, Lewis, Williams and Tolkien were all Christian writers. This book has one of the characters encouraging the three amigos to pray to the stars. Lewis and Tolkien would object to that I'm sure. Williams would probably argue both sides.

I'll stop. The book is a fast read and somewhat fun one. The book has some nice scenes and an imaginative plot. I am disappointed in the poor execution of a cool plot idea and some of the sloppy writing.

Here There Be Dragons is one of my favorite sorts of fantasy: Three strangers meet in the mundane world of 1917 London and shortly find themselves plunged into a struggle to save the Imaginarium Geographica, an atlas which holds the key to understanding (and saving) the Archipelago of Dreams.

John, Jack, and Charles are all well drawn characters, and their adventures as they journey through the Archipelago are exciting. The young adult audience at which this book is primarily aimed will find it irrestistable.

But the reader who has a bit of background knowledge and experience with fantasy will quickly recognize that there's more to Here There Be Dragons than that. Such readers will find themselves enjoying the clever allusions to other fantasy works and will quickly get more than an "inkling" that Owen has tapped into the main veins of the works of three major writers. They will not be surprised when John, Jack, and Charles' full names are revealed at the end of the book.

Young adult readers may not be as familiar with the milieu from which Here There Be Dragons springs, but it is to be hoped that they will go on to read many other fantasy works, and in so doing will come to recognize Mr. Owen's accomplishment even more.

It's obvious the writer of this story is well read. It's equally obvious he doesn't have the subtlety to write quality fiction. I am greatly surprised that this book is getting so many high ratings.

There are no surprises in this book that actually move the plot. Each limpid tremble of the plot is broadcast at high volume. The characters could not be more formulaic if the writer tried. This makes the movie "The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen" look especially subtle and low key in its collecting of virtual cool points for literary awareness, I kept expecting a few more famous characters or people to show up. I mean there were plenty of opportunities to add in characters from Bronte, Poe or Twain, not to mention others.

Honestly, not worth reading.

I was willing to let the weak dialogue and sloppy scene set-ups go, as long as the author delivered a good story. By the fourth chapter, I realized I couldn't even remember what the characters were supposed to be accomplishing. The entire book exists to bring in allusions to the Inklings' writings, and even for a Lewis fan that isn't very interesting to read. I knew it was in trouble when they were arguing over whether to take a certain path or not, and I found myself thinking, "Oh, just go. You have to because you'll need some information you'll find there."

The worst part, though, was the off-the-cuff writing and bad word choices. "Crisp ink," "eloquent structure," a "deep and brutal gash" across the chest that never get another mention, and Jack who manages to fire a cannon at a pursuing ship and hit his mark "exactly."

I suppose it was a good idea but it's not well executed. Skip this book.