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The Dragons of Candlewood
As children, magic and dragons lived in our imaginations. Most of us grew up and forgot about them. But author Ellen Newton-Driscoll hasn't. And from that imagination has come a wonderfully magical book, The Dragons of Candlewood. With personalities as different as night and day, you'll take these dragons into your mind, and they will live in your heart for many years to come. Magic and dragons are real in Candlewood, and you can live there, when you read The Dragons of Candlewood.
Paperback
First published June 1, 2006
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
August 16, 2012
Dragons of Candlewood is a pleasant, fun book to read to young children. Kept in that context I would recommend this to parents. The concepts of good and evil are clearly defined. Each of the "good guys" can be related to by younger audiences. Ms. Driscoll also makes the dragons and magic in her book interesting. I also like the way she built suspension through the book at the level of the younger reader and did not wrap them all up in a nice, self-contained package, but left some things for the reader to ponder at for future stories.
I did have some issues with the primary "bad guys" who came across with much less depth and focus. It read to me as if they are there as nothing more than a foil for the good guys. The "neutrals" were by far more interesting. Part of that, though, is my level of reading compared to the target audience, so keep that in mind as you make your selection.
I want to give my personal thanks to Ms. Driscoll who I met briefly in Barnes and Nobles in Round Rock, TX where I purchased my autographed copy during a random visit to the store. After speaking with her and letting on that I am also an author (fantasy and science fiction) she spoke with me for a bit and encouraged me to keep at the writing and on the dogged trail of publishing. Thanks in part to her encouragement, I did, and my first novel is now available for purchase from Hero's Guild Publications.
Ernie Laurence Jr.
Sundered
I did have some issues with the primary "bad guys" who came across with much less depth and focus. It read to me as if they are there as nothing more than a foil for the good guys. The "neutrals" were by far more interesting. Part of that, though, is my level of reading compared to the target audience, so keep that in mind as you make your selection.
I want to give my personal thanks to Ms. Driscoll who I met briefly in Barnes and Nobles in Round Rock, TX where I purchased my autographed copy during a random visit to the store. After speaking with her and letting on that I am also an author (fantasy and science fiction) she spoke with me for a bit and encouraged me to keep at the writing and on the dogged trail of publishing. Thanks in part to her encouragement, I did, and my first novel is now available for purchase from Hero's Guild Publications.
Ernie Laurence Jr.
Sundered
June 21, 2023
It would be very easy to be mean to this book. Seeing as this was from a small time indie pub though, I think that maybe it deserves more kindness than that. Especially since I assume that in the decades since this was published, the author has improved.
Instead, let me say something, maybe not nice but adjacent to it. I think this book is a very effective case study in how and why releases from the big publishing houses are the way they are. A lot of the writing that forms the meat of other works can be somewhat invisible to the reader. Little details and flourishes seem small in the moment but add up to form the atmosphere of the experience.
When you read this book, the absence of those elements is deeply felt. The prose is intensely functional with the core of the authors interest in the broad action of a scene. The details that are missing (set dressing, character descriptions, background world building) occlude every moment leaving the impression of not a painting but a rough sketch. Much and more is left to the audience to imagine on their own, and so it becomes immediately evident what would have been there in other works.
So I recommend any practicing writer to read this book and really study and examine it. Not to mock it, but to understand its cavities. When you can recognise the empty spaces of this book, you can see them in works of your own. I really feel this is a rare kind of book with some very compelling lessons to teach on how books are written.
I can tell Newton Driscoll wrote this with a lot of love. If the latest capital l Literature from Penguin Random House or Harper Collins is the latest summer block buster, then this is one guy on the corner jamming with his guitar. It doesn't need to be the height of art for it to be worth studying.
Instead, let me say something, maybe not nice but adjacent to it. I think this book is a very effective case study in how and why releases from the big publishing houses are the way they are. A lot of the writing that forms the meat of other works can be somewhat invisible to the reader. Little details and flourishes seem small in the moment but add up to form the atmosphere of the experience.
When you read this book, the absence of those elements is deeply felt. The prose is intensely functional with the core of the authors interest in the broad action of a scene. The details that are missing (set dressing, character descriptions, background world building) occlude every moment leaving the impression of not a painting but a rough sketch. Much and more is left to the audience to imagine on their own, and so it becomes immediately evident what would have been there in other works.
So I recommend any practicing writer to read this book and really study and examine it. Not to mock it, but to understand its cavities. When you can recognise the empty spaces of this book, you can see them in works of your own. I really feel this is a rare kind of book with some very compelling lessons to teach on how books are written.
I can tell Newton Driscoll wrote this with a lot of love. If the latest capital l Literature from Penguin Random House or Harper Collins is the latest summer block buster, then this is one guy on the corner jamming with his guitar. It doesn't need to be the height of art for it to be worth studying.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews