Here, There Be Dragons by James A. Owen

Name: Caitlin

Grade: 12+

Title: Here, There Be Dragons (Book 1 of the Imaginarium Geographica Chronicles)

Author: James A. Owen

I love dragons. That is a simple fact of my life. So, when I picked up Here, There Be Dragons, I was expecting a really good fantasy read chocked full with magic, mythical creatures, and adventure. I'm very happy to say that this did not disappoint in any way.

In the book, three Oxford scholars are joined together by the mysterious death of Stellan, a mentor to John, one of the men; they are given a book called the Imaginarium Geographica to protect with their lives, as it seems whoever killed Stellan killed him to get their hands on it. The trio find themselves whisked off into a magical land ruled by Mordred, the Winter King; Mordred is creating an army of shadow minions to take over the land of Archipelago...he wants to use the Geographica for his own evil purposes. When the trio learns this, they decide to destroy the Geographica and all of it's power; this leads them on a journey through beautiful, magical and definitely dangerous places as they try to save themselves and the Archipelago.

This book was awesome; it had everything I could have ever wanted from a fantasy adventure book. Magical lands, an evil king, pirates, ancient maps, dragons, and three normal people who have to save the day. Here, There Be Dragons is like every fantasy novel I've ever read crammed into 300 pages and that made it spectacular. If for any moment while you're reading it, you think to yourself "this is familiar," hold out until the final pages. The twist at the end left me surprised and pleased; I hope to continue the series as soon as I possibly can.

Why I picked up the book: It looked like a really good book about dragons. It also had a really cool title.

Why I finished it: It was super spectacular.

I'd give this book to: Anyone looking for a really great, fast, fantasy read.

My Rating for this book: *****