Customer Reviews

No Such Thing As Dragons

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Phillip Reeve effortlessly spins his latest tale around disproving the above statement. The author is a master at writing stories that capture the true magic of fantasy, while at the same time rewriting all of our preconceived notions. This is a great adventure story with memorable characters, and has a rich descriptive tone rarely seen in children's literature.

Brock is a dragon hunter and Ansel is his squire. Of course, Brock really knows that there is no such thing as dragons and spends his life scamming poor villagers into parting with their money after he miraculously slays their dragons. Ansel is a mute boy sold to Brock by his father. They make for quite a pair; Ansel who is unable to speak and divulge Brock's secret, and Brock; a con artist who dreams of being a hero. Their journey up the mountain, where they encounter Else, the girl meant to be a sacrifice to the dragon, and their discovery that yes, there is such a thing as dragons make for a gripping tale filled with action.

The author includes lots of descriptions that go far in setting the mood and ratcheting up the tension. His use of language is beautiful without being overdone. Parents be forewarned that there are some gruesome scenes when a couple of the groups horses and one of the group members are eaten by the dragon. Perhaps my favorite part of the novel is near the end when Ansel is able to no longer see the dragon as an evil entity, but realizes it is just an animal. A fantastically well written novel that packs a lot of story into its mere 186 pages. This is a solid recommend for kids in grades 5-8 as long as they aren't overly squeamish.

Much as he did in his fictional debunking of the Arthurian legend, Here Lies Arthur, in No Such Thing as Dragons Reeve deals with con men and the origin of legends in the context of the realities of life in the Middle Ages. He gives us Brock, a knight in rusty armor who goes from village to village conquering dragons--or rather, the fear of dragons (as one of his more educated and cynical clients puts it). Somewhere along the way, Brock purchases a young mute boy named Ansel, who comes to believe the pseudo-knight's assurances that dragons aren't real.

Until at last they come to a little village high on the mountainside, where the sly villagers have already sacrificed a young girl to appease the dragon they claim roosts up on the icy peaks. Accompanied by another con man posing as a friar, the dragon-fighting team goes up the mountain, planning to pretend to vanquish the beast and then claim the spoils of victory.

To Brock's astonishment, there really is something up there. But here again, Reeve imagines what might be the real thing--not the sentient, romanticized creature of fairy tale fame, but a vicious and terrifying animal. The little group suffers as they confront the creature, even as they must battle the bitter wintry conditions on the highest slopes.

There's an adventure here, but Reeve seems just as interested in character, if not more so. He wants to know why Ansel is mute, and whether the boy will ever speak again. He wants to think about how a man like Brock might have good in him as well as ill. He wants to consider the fear of the villagers as well as their communal ruthlessness in response to that fear. He wants to show us unlikely feats of courage, although not precisely the ones you would expect. And that, more than the plot itself, is what makes this a very good book.

In addition, No Such Thing as Dragons offers us the joy of reading the work of a gifted wordsmith. Reeve's language is delicious. Then, as if Reeve weren't talented enough, he provides the interior illustrations for the book, too, elegant little pen-and-ink pieces that start each chapter.

I also like the way Reeve includes common tropes about dragons, but gives them his own spin, making, for example, their reputation for hoarding treasure more of a magpie characteristic than a human one.

Plus, the author does intense things with setting, using the snowstorms and glaciers, rockslides and freezing nights on the mountain to pummel his characters--and his readers. Like the dragon, the mountain is unforgiving and utterly inhuman, yet natural. The cathedral scene, with its evocation of The Hunchback of Notre Dame and even King Kong, is another wildly successful use of setting.

No Such Thing as Dragons is a short book at 186 pages, but it's well worth it: a compact, well-told tale combining the best of historical fiction with a sprinkling of fantasy, besides touching on themes like freedom and even animal rights. Reeve gives us a story that feels entirely true, up to and including its (non-)title character.

Note for Worried Parents: This book is for middle grade readers, but it does have a couple of horrific descriptions of a man and a horse being devoured by a monster, also various scenes of peril, some hard-hearted villagers, and a couple of con artists. The overall message is one of kindness, courage, and hope, however, as exemplified by the main character, Ansel.

I don't need to go into the plot details of this book, since the other reviewers have done so clearly and well. But I want to voice a warning: the fear and horror that Reeve evokes so well make this book unsuited for children below the age of 10, at a minimum (and even that would be too young for most kids). I'd actually consider it Young Adult. No Such Thing As Dragons is qualitatively different from all the other dragon fantasies I've read, and it seems far more realistic - that is, if dragons truly were real, this is how they probably would be. But it's precisely that quality that could make it far too much for an imaginative younger child. I almost couldn't bear to read certain sections myself! Don't let the cover mislead you. It gave me and my own children the impression that the book would be funny. Nothing could be further from the truth. A great read - but only for older readers.

Ansel's father has too many mouths to feed and is always on the lookout for a quick buck. So when a traveling dragon hunter --- with a giant tooth on a cord and a sizable scar to prove his heroism --- passes by looking for a young assistant who's good at keeping secrets, Ansel's father has just the solution. Ansel is mute, you see, so he won't be blabbing any secrets to anyone.

That's a good thing, too. Because as Ansel quickly discovers, famed dragon-slayer Johannes Brock is actually an enormous fraud, preying on the fears and superstitions of rural people to gain glory, romantic attentions, and, of course, money. "There are no such things as dragons..." Brock tells his young charge, but "just because worms are only stories doesn't mean that half of mankind aren't fool enough to believe in them."

Soon enough, Brock and Ansel reach a village where the residents believe in dragons all the way; they're terrified by them, convinced that the dragon is at the root of a number of mysterious disappearances near their mountain home. The superstitious villagers are even convinced that sacrificing a maiden is the only way to placate the dreadful mountain-dwelling beast. Joined by a friar of equally questionable morals, and later by the maiden herself, Ansel and Brock climb up the mountain, hoping (at least on Brock's part) to bide their time in a cave or shack until the moment when they can come back down the mountain with a few shards of manufactured evidence of the "dragon's" demise, collect their reward, and be on their way before they can be uncloaked as frauds.

But the dragon has other plans.

Yes, that's right. Ansel and Brock soon discover --- vividly and violently --- that there are such things as dragons, and they'll have to redefine both fear and courage on their own terms, even as they learn to see the dragon for what it is: a very real, very alive, very hungry creature, one that will require Ansel to find courage --- and a voice --- for the first time.

With NO SUCH THING AS DRAGONS, Philip Reeve effectively demonstrates that fantasy literature doesn't need to be epic in scope to be wonderfully imaginative and vividly engaging. His story encompasses a single mountain-climbing expedition --- a far cry from the decades-long, border-crossing, thousand-page fantasy novels that continue to be published in the wake of the Harry Potter series. Reeve's dragon is also, although undeniably a fantasy creature, a surprisingly down-to-earth (and bloody) one, allowing the story to focus primarily on the human drama unfolding on the mountain. NO SUCH THING AS DRAGONS proves that fantasy doesn't need to be dressed up, beefed up, or bloated with world-building details to illuminate an imaginary world or to explore the human heart.

--- Reviewed by Norah Piehl

Ten-year-old Ansel's life has been difficult. His mother died when he was little, and he lost his voice soon after her death. In the years since, his father has remarried and had more children. When a stranger comes to town looking for a young boy to do servant's work, Ansel's father gladly takes the offered bag of money and sends his son on his way despite the potential danger.

Johannes Brock is a dragon hunter. He likes the idea of a squire who cannot talk and will not be able to share his tricks of the trade. But Brock has a secret, and when he tells it to Ansel, the child is torn between faithfulness to his new master - who has been kinder than his own father - and a desire to tell the truth.

When the two venture into the shadow of a mountain called Drachenberg, their lives and very belief system will be challenged. Readers will be pulled in by themes of loss, grief, friendship, and sacrifice as they struggle on the mountainside along with Ansel and his companions.

Philip Reeve, the author of THE HUNGRY CITY CHRONICLES and THE MORTAL ENGINES quartet, as well as many other young adult novels, has once again produced an exciting story that will dare readers to put it down before they have reached the last page!

Reviewed by: Theresa L. Stowell