No Such Thing As Dragons - Hardcover

Reeve, Philip

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0545222249 ISBN 13: 9780545222242

Publisher: Scholastic Press, 2010

Synopsis

A thrilling new adventure from award-winning master storyteller Philip Reeve!

Ansel is a mute boy whose master is a dragon-slayer. Brock has shining armor, and scars that prove his heroic stories. Ansel suspects there are no such things as dragons. So what is the man-eating monster that haunts the crags of Dragon Mountain?

About this title

About the Author

Philip Reeve is the bestselling author of the Mortal Engines quartet, which is now a major motion picture, and the award-winning Fever Crumb series. His other books include the highly acclaimed Here Lies Arthur and No Such Thing As Dragons. He lives in England with his wife and son. Visit him online at philip-reeve.com.

Reviews

Gr 4-8–Reeve explores a more "realistic" vision of classic dragon tales in his newest novel. Ansel is a mute boy who is callously sold by his father to be a servant to an itinerant dragon hunter who is happy to have someone who can keep his secrets safe. Brock truly has secrets, and before long he reveals to Ansel that dragons do not really exist, and that he is, in fact, a charlatan who preys on the fears of villagers. However, a book with this title surely has to contain a dragon, and inevitably, Ansel and Brock must face off against the real thing. There is some graphic description of horses and a human being devoured by the dragon. The creature itself is portrayed somewhat sympathetically, as Ansel realizes it is just an animal. The real story, however, is how in the course of this quest, the boy is able to find his voice, both literally and figuratively. This is certainly different from anything that Reeve has done previously, but is still shot through with his trademark imagination and feel for action. It will be eagerly devoured by young readers.Tim Wadham, St. Louis County Library, MO
© Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

As he did in Here Lies Arthur (2008), Reeve explores the cracks between life and lore in this short but not simplistic novel. Ansel, a mute boy, becomes the assistant to the dragon-hunter Brock, who travels the land looking for superstitious rubes to trick into believing he is the champion they need to rid them of their dragon scourge. Of course, as Brock confides in Ansel, dragons simply don’t exist, and his ruse is to return with an old crocodile skull as evidence of his heroic feats. So, when they run into a real, live dragon, things get awfully terrifying awfully fast. What emerges is a naturalistic viewpoint that dragons aren’t evil, fire-breathing maiden stealers but simply hungry creatures trying to survive, handily outfitted with vicious teeth and killer instincts. Most refreshing is the honest take on courage as something that’s left over when fear strips away everything else. Although this is a more thoughtful treatment than typical dragon fare, it still has all the excitement of a thrilling adventure story that readers will be expecting. Grades 4-7. --Ian Chipman

Edition details

• Publisher: Scholastic Press
• Publication date: 2010
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0545222249
• ISBN 13: 9780545222242
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 192