Customer Reviews

Snapdragon Alley (Dragon City Trilogy)

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

 

 

Tom Lichtenberg writes curiously engaging novellas. His stories are not driven by action but by mood and metaphysics. His premises often begin with fairly standard, often vaguely science-fiction concepts: time travel in Time Zone, for example, or mind control in World Weary Avengers. But he spins those concepts out into melancholy, thoughtful tales.

Lichtenberg cares little about the mechanics of the MacGuffins that underlie his stories. Rather, he explores the emotion and (often) dislocation that people feel when confronted by something outside their normal experience. In Somebody Somewhere that "something" is as commonplace (relatively speaking) as a kidnapping and hostage situation; in Time Zone, as noted above, the "something" is as vast an incomprehensible as travel through time. Lichtenberg's characters may adapt to the situation or ignore it, or become totally overwhelmed; but the true story is always in those emotions and responses, rather than the rote turnings of some formulaic plot device. Although Lichtenberg's spare, quiet style could not be more different than H.P. Lovecraft's ornate verbal extravagance, the two share a conceptual interest in exploring how people respond when conventional reality is stripped away.

Lichtenberg's prose in some of his novellas ranges pretty far into the experimental; although I have enjoyed some of these, my admitted preference is for those works that hew a bit closer to a traditional narrative style. My favorite thus far is Snapdragon Alley, the story of young friends who discover a vacant lot at the end of a bus line that, perhaps, is more than it seems.

Lichtenberg's "launching point" for Snapdragon Alley is nothing new (Lichtenberg himself gives away in his back-cover blurb that, in investigating the lot, the children "encounter the possibility of" a gateway to "another dimension"). Nor, despite some interesting narrative quirks along the way, are the bare facts of how the story plays out particularly novel. But Lichtenberg captures beautifully the poetry of what such a gateway might mean to the people who stumble across it, and the emotions it might inspire. There are no loud explosions in Snapdragon Alley, or, indeed, very much overt action at all. But the novella, like much of Lichtenberg's writing, inspires an appreciation of just how vast, mysterious and majestic "reality" is, and that is both a far tougher task and a greater triumph.

This was a cool little story. It was engaging, interesting, and pretty original. But I also found it seriously lacking an authentic voice. Meaning that the author writes the story as a narration alternating between all of the characters, the main characters being two ten-year-olds, and one five-year-old, and the thought process of all three are just not believable. I thought many times as I was reading that it seemed more like an adult reminiscing about his childhood, and projecting logic and maturity onto the characters that would simply not be possible at their ages. I was also pretty disappointed with the ending, as the author seems to just get bored with the story, and ends it without much care. Overall it was a fun, quick read, but I'm very glad I got it for free.

This was a quick, pleasant read. There wasn't a lot of depth to the story, but it was very engaging, and the two main characters (Alex and Sapphire) were likeable. I do think that there could have been a great deal more charater development for Alex's brother Argus; in fact I almost wonder if HE should really have been the main character - or if he actually WAS the main character, but you don't realize it until all is said and done. There's definite possibilities for a sequel with Argus as the main character...

Even though the characters are 10 years old (or younger, in the case of Argus), this is not a children's book. YA, yes, and adults would enjoy it, although they might find it a bit superficial. Even though I enjoyed this little book (and it was little - it probably only took me 90 minutes to read, if that), I couldn't help feeling that it read as though it was a prequel to a longer, more in-depth book.

I was pleasantly surprised by this little gem. It was a quick, captivating read and left me wishing it had been fleshed out into a full-length novel. I found the writing especially nice - it flowed very easily and felt poetic while at the same time being pleasantly concise and straightforward. You got the sense that the author was quite fond of his characters, as they are lovingly crafted, vibrant and easy to like.

I would highly recommend downloading this, especially while it's free.

I rarely review books online, but since I received a Kindle Fire over the holidays, I've decided to add reviews to the free books available.

Editing/Proofreading:

Snapdragon Alley is actually pretty clean. I found a few typos, grammatical errors, and awkward sentences, but they were few and far between. The handful of minor errors are certainly not enough to detract from the readability or plot line.

My two biggest complaints, and this is largely personal preference, were the use of exclamation points and the dialogue tags, which at times included unnecessary adverbs. I'm not a huge fan of the overuse of dialogue tags in general, and I like them even less if they are more descriptive than they need to be (i.e. he said quickly, she said sulkily, etc...). However, the author isn't heavy handed in this sense, so it's easy to forgive.

Story:

*Spoiler Alert*

Overall the story is engaging, but probably not for everyone. The author explores the emotion and reactions of the characters more than he explores the actual magical world the children seek out. I thought this technique worked well and grounded the story with a sense of realism. The pain and confusion of Alex that comes when his Uncle Charlie returns a changed man, the initial disbelief of Sapphire who seeks out a rational explanation for the appearance of Snapdragon Alley on the bus map, and the longing and loss that Argus seems to feel as he watches his uncle board the bus back to the magical realm. All of these moments are more touching and important than a frolic through another "facet", as the other realm is referred to in the story.

Unlike other reviewers, I actually felt the novella was complete within itself, although I'm glad there are more books available in this series. I felt the book was about a brief time in the characters' lives where they were able to connect with something outside of the world they knew, and how that experience left them changed. This is implied in the official ending, where Argus is still looking through pop tops at the new Sea Dragon Stadium.

If the novella were longer I would have liked to see more character development when it came to Sapphire. Her eagerness helped push the storyline forward, but at times she seemed a bit flat, like she was only there to be hyperactive and irritating. Overall, she seemed like a smart and strong-willed character, and I would have liked to see more depth there. But considering the length, I can't complain too much.

The story is worth a read, so check it out while it's still available free.

I liked the characters. I liked the premise. I liked the author's ability to make me see the scenes as I read them. My problem with this book is that it has no ending. No questions answered. Nothing resolved. I realize it's the first part of a trilogy, but it should really be the opening chapters of a novel.

I found the story concept interesting - a magical hidden world in an abandoned lot in the city. This magical world is discovered by a couple of kids by looking at a special map of bus routes.

However, there are several problems with the execution of the story. First, at least in the Kindle edition, there are many punctuation errors, plus a few typos and some grammatical errors. While these problems do not interfere with the readability of the story, it does make the story appear unpolished and in need of an editor.

Second, I think the kids in this story act and speak, for the most part, like teenagers rather than ten and five year old kids. Also, many of their observations and thoughts are wise beyond their years. I'm assuming this story is supposed to be for kids, and if so, the kids in the story need to act more like kids.

Third, the kids never actually go into the magical world. This was very disappointing. All the reader gets is a vague description of the magical world that makes no sense. The story needs less talking and thinking about the magical world and more exploring of the magical world.

Forth, there is never a good explanation for why Uncle Charlie wants to go back to the magical world. Charlie was only in the magical world for a short time, and yet he is desperate to leave the real world behind and get back inside the magical world. Why? The reader never finds out.

Finally, the ending was very unsatisfying. Instead of the kids finding a way into the magical world, the nice old guy Mason Henry gets murdered. All I could think was why the heck didn't Mason Henry just sell out when he knew he'd end up dead if he didn't? What is the point of that? Then the story skips ahead tens years to when a shopping mall and stadium have been built over the site of the magical world, and the kids are now young adults. Why do that? If this is a story for kids, the kids need to remain kids for the whole series.

All in all, I think the story has potential, but needs work.

I downloaded all three books of the series to my kindle and finished them pretty quickly. They're short, and have an intriguing seed of an idea, but I felt that they all fell short of their potential. The ending was unsatisfying for me and I felt as if the author forgot to proof-read the story before making it available for purchase. There were a few too many spelling errors and sentences that didn't make sense.

In general all three books were a good read until the ending, where the climax would peak, and suddenly, the story was over. There is no denouement to speak of, making the stories feel unfinished. The other problem I had with this one in particular is that I felt that the protagonists did not speak the way that typical children would speak, and sometimes their reactions to events didn't seem right either.

Bottom line: I'm glad I read them, but I'm glad I didn't have to pay for them either.

Cute, short read about two friends Sapphire and Alex who were setting out to see the world..or what they could reach by walking or taking the bus. These little middle schoolers were cute and energetic. I especially liked Alex's younger brother Argus. There is something about finding old maps and comparing them for missing streets and such. He seemed quiet and the thinker. You meet some other interesting characters and find the mystery very intriguing.

Cute book. Wish there was more guts to it. Easy to follow. Kids point of view, but not necessarily FOR a child to read in my opinion as it has several curse words & off color jokes toward certain male body parts.
So I would recommend to older teens(15 & up) unless you feel the later is OK...as a parent I say not.