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89th out of 2,202 books
—
5,807 voters
Talking to Dragons (Enchanted Forest Chronicles #4)
One day, Daystar's mom, Cimorene, hands him a magic sword and kicks him out of the house. Daystar doesn't know what he is supposed to do with the magic sword, but knowing Cimorene, he's sure it must involve a dragon or two!
Paperback, 255 pages
Published
March 1st 2003
by Sandpiper
(first published July 1st 1988)
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93rd out of 1,174 books
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4,762 voters
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In book 4 of the Enchanted Forest Chronicles, the narrator is Daystar, Cimorene's son. He is on a sent on a quest with a magical sword. Along the way, he meets evil wizards, a fire witch named Shiara, and a young talking dragon.
The first time I started this book, I had not read any of the others. I read about 30 pages in a restaurant while waiting for my food because it was the only book I had with me. I didn't finish because I don't really like to read things out of order - but I was intrigued...more
The first time I started this book, I had not read any of the others. I read about 30 pages in a restaurant while waiting for my food because it was the only book I had with me. I didn't finish because I don't really like to read things out of order - but I was intrigued...more
YA Fantasy. Book three in this series ends on a cliffhanger and book four picks up sixteen years later. That was unexpected. We've also got a new narrator for this one: Daystar, a very polite, logical young man, whose mother slaps a sword in his hand and sends him off into the Enchanted Forest one day without really telling him why. His mother is, of course, Queen Cimorene, and his dad's off in a magical coma, but Daystar doesn't know any of that. He's just trying to make sense of this sudden ne...more
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This is the first book in the Enchanted Forest Chronicles. You may have seen it numbered four, but don't let that deceive you: it was the first published and it shows. I bought it when it was the only one and indeed in this edition, there's something that got revised after the prequel was printed. It wasn't even kept in YA at the time; I bought it from the adult SF/fantasy section.
But reading it first has the advantage that you are reading along with Daystar, who is quite justly bewildered with...more
But reading it first has the advantage that you are reading along with Daystar, who is quite justly bewildered with...more
I didn't like the way this story started - from the end of the last book to this one, it skipped about 16 yrs. At this point then, Cimorene encounters the wizard Antorell with whom she has been struggling with since the beginning book, and again she melts him. She then gives the sword of the King of the Enchanted Forest to her son Daystar and tells him he has to leave their cottage and basically figure out what he is to do and learn. Shocked he leavs and enters the Enchanted Forest - looking bac...more
So even though this is chronologically the last book in the series, PC Wrede wrote it first - the first 3 are prequels. So as I was re-reading this book I kept thinking "why, this is really quite impressive the way that PC Wrede created such an elegantly seamless backstory to this book in the form of the first three books! And she's so effortlessly woven it into the details of this story when she didn't even really know what was going to be in them!" But then I got to the end of the book and the...more
Jan 17, 2013
Grace
rated it
2 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
fantasy-or-syfy,
childrens
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it,
click here.
I was going to type a review, but my mind went blank. >.> Let's see - it was better than the previous book, had a lot more action (though rather tame for something with a war), and a long summary of events in the last chapter, which I didn't like. If the series had been memorable enough, why recap it? Felt like the author was unsure of her work or something, and felt a need to explain things and tie up lose ends which could not be more subtly incorporated as part of the narration. Kinda la...more
The fourth and final book in the Enchanted Forest Chronicles was one of my favorites. Sixteen years after book three ends, we pick up the story as Cimorene hands her teenage son, Daystar a sword he's never seen before and tells him to journey into the Enchanted Forest and not to come back until he's accomplished something! Talk about tough love!
Along the way, he discovers a somewhat rude Fire Witch who has a hard time controlling her magic and an assortment of wizards (always bad news), witches,...more
Along the way, he discovers a somewhat rude Fire Witch who has a hard time controlling her magic and an assortment of wizards (always bad news), witches,...more
Apr 27, 2013
Freddy Olvera
is currently reading it
Wouldn't it be awesome if everyone could speak to dragons, well in this book everything on. Is the best thing that would happen to you, from this book people will learn that they would learn how to be friends. The book shows the matter of the friendship but how to be violent too. Imagine the world being like this, talking to dragons and other types of animals. The world would be good because many people would understand nature.
Everything is about good versus evil, for some reason I have no idea...more
Everything is about good versus evil, for some reason I have no idea...more
This last book of the series is from Daystar's perspective. He doesn't know anything about his mom's past, and has no idea who his father is. All he knows is that there was a wizard who came over, his mom melts the wizard, and she sends her son off with a sword into the Enchanted Forest as if he knows what he's supposed to do. I liked this book, and really enjoyed the descriptions throughout it. I didn't like that near the end of the book, they start to explain things that we don't need to know,...more
Argh. Okay, here's my beef - this book makes no sense in light of the first three! It's a good book on its own. And I know that it was published first, which is why there are so many inconsistencies... but reading the series in the designated order, I was doing double-takes throughout this entire book. It's not really fair, but still... *flails*
Okay, so yeah - Wrede completely and utterly failed at having the previous series lead up to this book, or at sufficiently revising this one. One of the...more
Okay, so yeah - Wrede completely and utterly failed at having the previous series lead up to this book, or at sufficiently revising this one. One of the...more
Wow. What a letdown end to a series.
I think mostly this book failed to get me simply because I KNEW how it was going to end. The end to book three made the ending to this one abundantly clear. All these characters and purposes that were vague in this book, like who Cimorene was, and who Daystar really is and what he has to do, have already been answered in the previous book. The only new things coming were the last few chapters, in which the action we've been primed for since book 3 now happened...more
I think mostly this book failed to get me simply because I KNEW how it was going to end. The end to book three made the ending to this one abundantly clear. All these characters and purposes that were vague in this book, like who Cimorene was, and who Daystar really is and what he has to do, have already been answered in the previous book. The only new things coming were the last few chapters, in which the action we've been primed for since book 3 now happened...more
This book was pretty funny when Daystar got born because from the time he arrived to the world he was already learning magic!
Also when he was doing this journey he met magical witches, lizards, wizards, dragons, and other magical creatures as well as people. For example,
*A fire witch named Shiara.
*A important lizard named Liz.
*A badly behaved baby dragon with no-name yet.
With chaos going around the woods like crazy!
So Daystar has a quest to find his father who he doesn't know anything about, and...more
Also when he was doing this journey he met magical witches, lizards, wizards, dragons, and other magical creatures as well as people. For example,
*A fire witch named Shiara.
*A important lizard named Liz.
*A badly behaved baby dragon with no-name yet.
With chaos going around the woods like crazy!
So Daystar has a quest to find his father who he doesn't know anything about, and...more
Although I am so reluctant to recommend books in which a Dragon is turned into a protagonist, (curious why? Excellent non-fiction on the topic of myth and popular culture today is "A Landscape With Dragons"--highly recommend it to parents who have children heavily invested in fantasy literature. You don't have to agree with all his points to realize that he is raising an issue than many parents might not even know is there. http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/10...) I cannot help but love these b...more
The last of the Enchanted Forest Chronicles and I think the strongest of the lot. Wrede moves from 3rd person narration to 1st person as she moves forward in time by a generation to follow the quest of Daystar, Cimorene's son. Large chunks of the early part of Daystar's adventures in the Enchanted Forest reminded me of Neil Gaiman's poem Instructions: Everything You Need to Know on Your Journey.
May became rather enamored of the brash fire-witch Shiara. She now wants to dye her hair fire-engine r...more
May became rather enamored of the brash fire-witch Shiara. She now wants to dye her hair fire-engine r...more
By this point the Enchanted Forest Chronicles start to feel pretty repetitive. The ending was totally obvious from the very beginning of the book (and even from the ending of the last book). I thought Daystar was an annoying protagonist. Just once I would have liked to see him do something impetuous! It would have helped the reader to identify with him much more. Also, Shiara was a totally unsatisfying sidekick. She was so annoying I couldn't figure out why Daystar would actually fall in love wi...more
I thought this was a nice end to the Enchanted Forest series. Daystar was a fun main character--I liked being in his head but Shiara was a little annoying. Just sayin'. I did have some problems with this book, though. Like, when Daystar leaves, Cimorene can't even offer an I-love-you-please-come-back-soon-and-safe? She just shoves him out the door. Also, how does Daystar figure out that Mendanbar is his dad? It's just like, all of a sudden, he knows. And one last thing--when Daystar is like, "He...more
Hooray, a fine ending to the series. Though, admittedly, I think the problem with the last book in the sequence having been the first written led to many problems. Generally, the reader is a little too aware of what is happening to Daystar. So, when Daystar finally gets around to discovering some things on his own, they aren't so surprising to the reader.
I also question how much Patricia Wrede had planned out the earlier novels, since there was a clear wrap of the series at the end. She clearly...more
I also question how much Patricia Wrede had planned out the earlier novels, since there was a clear wrap of the series at the end. She clearly...more
I enjoyed the first book in this series (Dealing with Dragons), but I became increasingly disappointed with the series. The last book was better than the third, but still lacked the quirky originality that I loved in the first book.
My biggest problem with Talking to Dragons is the name of the main character. "Daystar"? Seriously, do a search and replace on Daystar with just about anything else and the book would be better.
Other than that, Talking to Dragons is fun. It's another light fantasy; the main character goes on a quest, meets some companions, and (pretty much) saves the world. I don't like Daystar as much as I do his parents, and there isn't anywhere near enough about said parents, and I can't help thinking about w...more
Other than that, Talking to Dragons is fun. It's another light fantasy; the main character goes on a quest, meets some companions, and (pretty much) saves the world. I don't like Daystar as much as I do his parents, and there isn't anywhere near enough about said parents, and I can't help thinking about w...more
This last book in the Enchanted Forest Chronicles is as delightful as the others. I love the cranky fire witch, Shiara, but my favorite character is Suz, the talking lizard.
This book got a little off the direct fairy tale references that the author made in the other books, but it wraps up the story line begun in Calling on Dragons, and it has, of course, a happy ending. It also contains dwarfs, elves, witches, cats, wizards, dragons, and fairly fast action. This would make a great read-aloud st...more
This book got a little off the direct fairy tale references that the author made in the other books, but it wraps up the story line begun in Calling on Dragons, and it has, of course, a happy ending. It also contains dwarfs, elves, witches, cats, wizards, dragons, and fairly fast action. This would make a great read-aloud st...more
This book was pretty good, although considerably different from the previous two in the series, which I strongly prefer. It focuses primarily on new characters—that and some other things probably account for the differences.
There isn't as much magical innovation in this book. It seems to focus more on the quest and development of the characters.
The narration of the audiobook was pretty good, although during the first half of the book or so the characters besides the narrator had much quieter voi...more
There isn't as much magical innovation in this book. It seems to focus more on the quest and development of the characters.
The narration of the audiobook was pretty good, although during the first half of the book or so the characters besides the narrator had much quieter voi...more
I liked this book almost as much as I liked the first one in the series! Unlike it's prequels, this book was written in the first person. Like it's prequels, it's filled with awesome fairy-tale references and spoofs, lots of awesome and humorous dialogue, and genuinely likable characters.
This book could, in theory, be read without reading the other three, because Daystar is just as clueless as a new reader would be, and you get a quick run-down at the end of the book of previous events. However,...more
This book could, in theory, be read without reading the other three, because Daystar is just as clueless as a new reader would be, and you get a quick run-down at the end of the book of previous events. However,...more
It's a children's book. It's not very long, but I thoroughly enjoyed the humor. In it, a princess runs off to avoid getting married against her will. She ends up with a group of dragons who keep princesses as servants to raise their status. Funny enough, Cimorene enjoys working for her dragon. If only the heroic prince would stop trying to rescue her.
I loved this book for the quirky ideas it had. Princess Cimorene is a spunky character, and the Enchanted forest just the place I'd love to be. Eve...more
I loved this book for the quirky ideas it had. Princess Cimorene is a spunky character, and the Enchanted forest just the place I'd love to be. Eve...more
Talking to Dragons is a delightful, light middle grade story that would be great fun to read aloud to your kids (I would vote is is age-appropriate as soon as your child enjoys chapter books). Chronologically, this is the fourth in the series, but it was the first written, with the other three written as prequels to tell Daystar's mother's story. I haven't read the first three in the series, but I think Talking to Dragons works fine as a stand-alone. I'd actually recommend reading this one first...more
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it,
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No. Just, no. I think I'll send my niece the first two books and pretend they are the entire series.
I can't . . . I just can't do it.
I can't send her a series of books that says that girls who reject the traditional roles society has for them end up as single mothers living on the fringes of society with no friends or family.
I can't send her a series of books that says the most important thing a woman can do with her life is raise a son, because he's who needs to save the day.
I can't even read...more
I can't . . . I just can't do it.
I can't send her a series of books that says that girls who reject the traditional roles society has for them end up as single mothers living on the fringes of society with no friends or family.
I can't send her a series of books that says the most important thing a woman can do with her life is raise a son, because he's who needs to save the day.
I can't even read...more
This installment is enjoyable, but I honestly don't like it quite as much as the previous three books. It doesn't have as much humor as the previous books, especially as it largely lacks references to and parodies of fairy tales. Also, I don't like Daystar as much as the other viewpoint characters there have been over the course of the series. There are some fun parts, though, especially Shiara, the main new character. So, while I didn't like it quite as much as the rest of the series, it's defi...more
I really enjoyed this entire series, and I think that it is perfectly written for its target age group (perhaps 8 to 14 year olds). I enjoyed having Daystar as a main character. I really liked how polite and kind he was. Cimorene was apparently a very good mother. Shiara did not seem as fortunate. I am not sure why she never wanted to be polite, why she was always so angry. I hope she learns self control with the dragons. I know she is still a teenager, but you can be a nice teenager.
I didn't w...more
I didn't w...more
My initial reaction to this book was loathing, unadulterated loathing. The ending of the previous book had been obviously made to set up the situation at the beginning of this one and to make matters worse the protagonist (in a first-person point of view) was Cimorene’s son Daystar. Making if obvious right away that she would have a negligible role in the proceeding adventure.
It was also a fairly standard quest fantasy. Boy gets magic sword, sets out into enchanted forest (in this case The Encha...more
It was also a fairly standard quest fantasy. Boy gets magic sword, sets out into enchanted forest (in this case The Encha...more
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Patricia Collins Wrede was born in Chicago, Illinois and is the eldest of five children. She started writing in seventh grade. She attended Carleton College in Minnesota, where she majored in Biology and managed to avoid taking any English courses at all. She began work on her first novel, Shadow Magic, just after graduating from college in 1974. She finished it five years later and started her se...more
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Mar 17, 2012 07:10am