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

James A. Owen (Author)

Book Description

Series: Chronicles of the Imaginarium Geographica | Publication Date: September 26, 2006

The Imaginarium Geographica

"What is it?" John asked.

The little man blinked and arched an eyebrow.

"It is the world, my boy," he said. "All the world, in ink and blood, vellum and parchment, leather and hide. It is the world, and it is yours to save or lose."

An unusual murder brings together three strangers, John, Jack, and Charles, on a rainy night in London during the first World War. An eccentric little man called Bert tells them that they are now the caretakers of the Imaginarium Geographica -- an atlas of all the lands that have ever existed in myth and legend, fable and fairy tale. These lands, Bert claims, can be traveled to in his ship the Indigo Dragon, one of only seven vessels that is able to cross the Frontier between worlds into the Archipelago of Dreams.

Pursued by strange and terrifying creatures, the companions flee London aboard the Dragonship. Traveling to the very realm of the imagination itself, they must learn to overcome their fears and trust in one another if they are to defeat the dark forces that threaten the destiny of two worlds. And in the process, they will share a great adventure filled with clues that lead readers to the surprise revelation of the legendary storytellers these men will one day become.

An extraordinary journey of myth, magic, and mystery, Here, There Be Dragons introduces James A. Owen as a formidable new talent.

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Grade 8 Up–Three Oxford men, brought in for questioning in a London professor's death in 1917, become companions on a voyage through the Archipelago of Dreams where they vanquish a usurper and restore the rightful king, proving themselves worthy to be Caretakers of the Imagination of the World. The three men are Jack (C. S. Lewis), John (J. R. R. Tolkien), and Charles (Williams–a lesser known writer of fantasy thrillers who belonged to the same Oxford literary discussion group, the Inklings). Their identities aren't revealed until the end, along with the premise that their journey became the wellspring for their subsequent fiction. This twist accounts for the extensive use of material from their various imaginations. Readers who have not begun with the publisher's blurb might find the bulk of the story tediously derivative, but those with extensive reading background in both fantasies and mythology may be keen to identify the allusions. The pen-and-ink illustrations, also allusive, include the playing-card royalty of Lewis Carroll and knights that might have been drawn by Howard Pyle. The story itself is unconvincing. The three strangers are quickly identified as friends, although they have shared nothing more than an after-interrogation drink and apparent abduction. Although John is Caretaker Principia and the apparent focus, only Jack's character is developed enough to change, and youth seems to be the only reason for his flirtation with the forces of evil. It is a series of lucky encounters that sets them on their quest and solves the problems that arise. Only for fans of fan fiction.–Kathleen Isaacs, Towson University, MD
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

From Booklist

The unusual murder of an Oxford professor brings together three strangers in World War I London: John, a soldier and the professor's correspondence student; Jack, a young Oxford student; and Charles, an editor at the Oxford University Press. One rainy night they meet a curious man called Bert who tells them that they are the caretakers of the Imaginarium Geographica, an atlas of imaginary lands. Forced to flee in Bert's ship, the group sails to the Archipelago of Dreams, where a battle over Arthur Pendragon's throne threatens to place the evil Winter King in charge. Owen brings together elements from well-known works of fantasy and legend: the lands and characters lean heavily toward Greek and Arthurian myth, while clues from the caretakers' works point to the legendary writers they will become. Although the episodic plot is overlong, and the period narration's formality occasionally slows things down, there's still plenty of action, and Owen's amazingly detailed pen-and-ink illustrations, dark and atmospheric, lend a real storybook flavor. This is the first volume in the Chronicles of Imaginarium Geographica series. Krista Hutley
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 336 pages
• Publisher: Simon & Schuster Books For Young Readers; First Edition edition (September 26, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1416912274
• ISBN-13: 978-1416912279
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 6.3 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.6 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (67 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #394,927 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

James A. Owen has written and illustrated five books in the bestselling Chronicles of the Imaginarium Geographica series: Here, There Be Dragons, The Search For The Red Dragon; The Indigo King; The Shadow Dragons; and The Dragon's Apprentice. The sixth volume, The Dragons of Winter, and the seventh, The First Dragon, are forthcoming from Simon & Schuster. The series is now being published in more than twenty languages. He is founder and executive director of Coppervale International, an art and design studio that also published the periodicals International Studio and Argosy, develops television and film projects, and is redesigning an entire town, among other ventures. James has written and illustrated two dozen Starchild comics, the Mythworld series of novels, and more. He lives in Arizona with his family.

For more information please go to www.coppervaleinternational.com www.heretherebedragons.net or http://coppervale.livejournal.com/

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

39 of 47 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Soars to stratospheric heights, October 2, 2006

By 

Jonathan Appleseed - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Here, There Be Dragons (Chronicles of the Imaginarium Geographica) (Hardcover)

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.

8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars well read, poor read, June 10, 2009

By 

LaughingLion "I am Lion, read me review!" (North of Boston) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Here, There Be Dragons (Chronicles of the Imaginarium Geographica) (Paperback)

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.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Here, There Be Dragons, March 22, 2007

A Kid's Review

This review is from: Here, There Be Dragons (Chronicles of the Imaginarium Geographica) (Hardcover)

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.