The Last Dragon (Dragon Speaker, Book 1) [Paperback]

Cheryl Rainfield (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: 2009

In the year 1144, dark times have fallen over the kingdom. The evil Lord Manning rules through fear and magic, and the only hope seems to lie in a prophecy that a dragon speaker will appear to save the people. Yet there are no dragons, and no one who knows how to speak to them ... except, perhaps, young Jacob of Maldon. Jacob is an unlikely hero - a small young man who walks with a limp. But when the last dragon returns, it is only Jacob who can speak with her. And it is Jacob - with his friends Orson and Lia - who must rescue the egg of the world's last dragon.

Product Details

• Paperback: 112 pages
• Publisher: High Interest Publishing, Inc; 1ST edition (2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1897039468
• ISBN-13: 978-1897039465
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,930,999 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

"I write the books I needed as a teen and couldn't find." - Cheryl Rainfield

Cheryl Rainfield is the author of the award-winning SCARS, a novel about a queer teen sexual abuse survivor who uses self-harm to cope; the award-winning HUNTED, a novel about a teen telepath in a world where any paranormal power is illegal; the forthcoming STAINED (Nov 2013), about a teen who is abducted and must rescue herself, and PARALLEL VISIONS, about a teen who sees visions of the future--but only when she has an asthma attack. Cheryl Rainfield is an incest and ritual abuse survivor, a feminist, and an avid reader and writer. She lives in Toronto with her little dog Petal.

Cheryl Rainfield has been said to write with "great empathy and compassion" (VOYA) and to write stories that "can, perhaps, save a life." (CM Magazine) SLJ said of her work: "[readers] will be on the edge of their seats."

You can find Cheryl on her website http://www.CherylRainfield.com or her blog http://www.CherylRainfield.com/blog

Books By Cheryl Rainfield:
SCARS: http://www.amazon.com/Scars-Cheryl-Rainfield/dp/1934813575/
HUNTED: http://www.amazon.com/Hunted-Cheryl-Rainfield/dp/1934813621/
STAINED: http://www.amazon.com/Stained-Cheryl-Rainfield/dp/0547942087/
PARALLEL VISIONS: http://www.amazon.com/Parallel-Visions-Teen-Psychic-Novel/dp/1480204196/

and two hi-lo books:
Last Dragon: Dragon Speaker: http://www.amazon.com/Last-Dragon-Speaker-Book/dp/1897039468/
Walking Both Sides: Skinwalkers: http://www.amazon.com/Walking-Both-Sides-Skinwalkers/dp/1926847156

My fantasy books often hold hope that I need, and feel others might need, too, while reflecting on forms of oppression or pain, while my realistic fiction is gritty, intense, and emotional. All of my books have fragments of the abuse I experienced. I write about some of the harsh things teens go through...things that I think shouldn't be hidden. But I also write about healing, hope, and love, and finding courage and strength.

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars The Last Dragon--a great easy fantasy for reluctant readers October 21, 2009

By Charlotte

Format:Paperback

I have a nine-year old who enjoys reading, but is a picky reader. He won't read anything that he finds at all intimidating. No Harry Potter for him, yet.

So when The Last Dragon arrived at our home, and he pounced on it, and sat and read it cover to cover, emerging at the end to enthuse about it, I was very, very pleased indeed.

It's a simple story, about 16-year old boy growing up in a medieval village in a land oppressed by an evil lord and an even more evil magician. But Jacob has a gift that could overthrow the tyrants--he is the Dragon Speaker, foretold by a prophecy. He's an unlikely hero, scrawny and lame from an old injury, but with the help of his friends Orson and Lia, he must set out to rescue the egg of the last dragon, before all hope for his country is lost....

This book, and volumes 2 and 3 of the series, are specifically written to be high interest, low vocabulary, and are marketed for older readers who need encouragement, rather than nine-year olds like my son. There is nothing here, however, that is unsuitably YA for a child my son's age--there's a bit of scary stuff, but nothing nightmarish. And consequently, I'm don't think this would hold the interest of anyone, say, over 14.

If you have a fourth grade boy who likes fantasy, and who needs encouragement to finish a book cover to cover, this one is a winner. Rainfield's crisp sentences and nicely (in the old fashioned sense of the word) honed story are spot on. And although the plot might seem not so fresh to a reader who has read thousands of fantasies, for a child like my son this is still new and magical territory.