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The Dragon Chronicles #1
The Dragon Chronicles
This recently discovered journal will prove irresistible to any devotee of historical fantasy. It's a carefully executed reproduction of the illustrated diary kept by the Great Wizard, Septimus Agorius, detailing his incredible attempts to hunt down and slay four malevolent dragons in accordance with the wishes of his dying king. Beautifully drawn, with amazing illustrations executed by some of the world's leading fantasy illustrators, The Dragon Chronicles features a unique laminate cover with distressed artwork and gold foil lettering, adding to this journal's unique, evocative appeal.
128 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 2002
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Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews
June 4, 2017
*2.75ish?*
Not really what I was expecting; I was thinking it was going to be a fun little "learn about dragons" type deal. But I don't hate it.
Not really what I was expecting; I was thinking it was going to be a fun little "learn about dragons" type deal. But I don't hate it.
August 21, 2023
Note: This is a Review Dissection, meaning it goes detailed on each aspect of the story.
If you just want to read my general thoughts and wondering if this book is for you or not:
ctrl + f : Closing Thoughts (or) So, who should read this book
Pics of cat and artwork on: https://cannedbreadblog.wordpress.com...
Table of Contents: ctrl + f:
Introduction: &
Twitter Feed (Alpha): #
Dissection: =
Closing Thoughts: ^
So, who should read this book: ()
Spoiler Free Blurb:
A wizard is tasked to kill dragons and stop an evil wizard from taking over the Four Kingdoms. Art and sketches of dragons can be found within as you dive into the mythical world of Temaria.
Set got a lot of cuddles and play time in compensation for being a book model
Introduction: &
Suburbs are a utopia or a dystopia depending on how you look at it.
In my case, it's both. Not because of existential dread that everything looks pristine and we're heading to "Brave New World", but because the last 2 bookstores in this town are Barnes & Noble and Half Price Books.
Both chains, none independent except that Christian bookstore but let's be real, it's not a real bookstore, get your head straight, Deb.
I went back to my hometown in Texas for the first time in a year. First stop, I dove into my local Half Price Books. Technically, there are used bookstores in Sweden called "antikvariat", but they mostly carry Swedish books and I don't read them fluently. (My comprehension is that of a 5-year-old). I love the fact you can find books you wouldn't think of picking up at a B&N.
Anyway, I found this little number in HPB thanks to my fiance who has an eye to yeet books at me that look different.
I was skeptical since I couldn't find the author and GR didn't say many good things about it. Still, I bought it, just because I could learn from it in the worst-case scenario.
Twitter Feed (Alpha): #
- Why take the only heir to your kingdom on a deadly quest? 300 years apparently doesn't include common sense.
- Book is an example if it was run through Microsoft Word and naughties version of Photoshop
- Dollar Store Gandalf is here to take down a Five Below dragon
Dissection: =
True Tags:
GR tags this as:
Fantasy, Dragons, Fiction, Childrens, Adventure, Art
If this was an Ao3 fic:
Tropes, Dragons, Dragon Murder, Dragon Art, Dragon Sketches, Diagrams, Boats and shit, Characters Don't Exist, Suicide for like one page in "Betrayal", Other than that a 10-year-old can read this, Souls leaving a body, 5th - 8th grade, Dragon reference book but not like "How to Train Your Dragon" levels, Feminism is barely alive kinda like my dreams, Dollar Store Gandalf, Evil guy is evil, you'd be mad too if you were exiled, Dollar Store "How to Train Your Dragon" for like 2 pages, No Ships except 1 line
Characters:
None of the characters are deep in any way, shape, or form. The only depth are found in the wizard and the king. They were childhood friends back in my day. Every character that is listed either gets written off, barely mentioned except when they die, or just an imaginary soldier to the number the wizard has with him. I'm still not sure why Amaleh was even mentioned. The story could have progressed without her, same with Bandred except for adding "emotional attachment" to the king.
Vibe:
The closest way I can think of explaining the vibe is...think "Lady Trent", but without any nuance, feminism is dead, and it's a lot more straightforward than anything Brennan came up with.
And you see a lot more dragons. (I only read the first book of "Lady Trent" and I think she experienced dragons like, 3 times. All very short.)
You're on a ship a few times, mountains sometimes, an icy mountain, or a cave. Most of the time you're looking and killing dragons. You also observe the parts they leave behind after they die, fly off, or sit. Since this book is also a visual book, the art in it also plays a factor in making this feel like a real storytime book.
Pacing:
You know when you're a kid and you listened to your parents read to you a story that you swore was interesting, but still nodded off anyway? No? Your parents read "moral stories" to you, but never anything fun? They only read you a book about guilt-tripping you to see your family every second-
If you're a parent and didn't do what my parents did, then you already won at childrearing.
The pacing in this is similar to what I described. It drones a lot with information that you thought was interesting, but you still can't help but nod off to your Cymbalta. Action scenes take up at most 2 pages, most often, 1 page. Diary entries are pretty short and some argue that it makes it go by faster, or that much longer if you sequence break a lot.
Plot:
The plot is a typical "go slay dragons and save the day" type of story. There's little if any variance in it except why the evil guy is evil, but even that reason is a bit meh.
At least with Voldemort in HP- wait.
If you're the type that has read LOTR already, don't expect epic levels of plotline here.
If you're reading this for kids (10+), but you didn't introduce the "Hobbit" yet, start here, and then, go to the "Hobbit".
Worldbuilding:
Worldbuilding doesn't really exist so it's hard to even list a method. They're sprinkled in sometimes and even if you put the lore back to back, it won't even make a paragraph.
It's good for certain readers, however, who can't stand Worldbuilding.
Depending on the person, they might appreciate this.
Prose:
You can't expect epic levels of prose here. Think "Lady Trent" but with none of the elongated phrases and all she was trying to say is "pass the butter". It is still long and winding, but none of the charm. It has the prose style of a history recounting and uses the same literary devices frequently. Not as Williams bad, but bad enough.
Book Quality:
Not a permanent fixture to Dissection, but because this is a kid's book, you have to look at the feel and quality of the book. Younger audiences tend to experience the world better through look and feel. The book has the appearance as if someone went to their Fedex and printed this book out but for some reason, took the time to make an OK quality hardback cover?...EEh?...
Pages are glossed like a Microsoft presentation booklet so they're pretty waterproof to imply that it stood up to dragon parts. Probably.
Art:
The art has no style to it except the sketches. I talk about the art because it did not age well. It looks like someone took Photoshop a little too seriously that it just looks like a bad filter was applied to everything. The art isn't bad, but if you ask me again if I would gush about it to my friend, probably not.
For example, the artist Yuumei has a unique style of magical realism mixed in with sketch and digital art style fused together:
Yuumei's work can be found here: https://twitter.com/Yuumei_Art
Whereas the dragon artwork...doesn't have a style to it (except a few pictures that are displayed here after the 1st one):
Fix it AU:
*cracks knuckles*
Before I rail against the book further, I do acknowledge this is a children's book, not an adult book. You can't expect this to be the best book ever. Even so, there were a lot of things that could have been improved.
Make diagrams more detailed, stick to the pen sketches which had personality, invest in better book quality, put more details about the other characters even if it doesn't seem important it makes it feel like these were real people and not just abstract side characters, make the artist have a style, add sub notes similar to Prattchet, spend a little more time worldbuilding so people get something out of it ("Lady Trent" had more worldbuilding than this), and vary the plot.
Closing Thoughts: ^
I know I railed this book hard, though we have to see the faults before we can put something of quality out there if we want to go forward.
I still rated this 2.5/5 (a higher rating than "Ninth Rain") because I loved the idea of the book. I love to see books where it's a history of a fantasy world, but we don't get much of that in the present books these days. The closest mainstream thing we got was "Silmarillion" (loved it) and "Fire & Blood" (which I can't make an opinion, on TBR atm).
I liked following Dollar Store Gandalf look at dragons and seeing what specimens he found for his dragon book. (I still preferred if he didn't kill the dragons, but that's just me)
I liked being next to someone in a fantasy history that has no bearing on our world, but a world of another time. In this way, it brings us a lot closer to a Soulsbourne book without even trying to be. But one we can 100% learn what not to do.
So, who should read this? ()
Read if you haven't read the "Hobbit" yet and want something to get your toes wet that's also short. This book is perfect for kids from 10-12 and adults who like seeing a straightforward plot about dragons and wizards. You also can see this as an early predecessor to visual novels, but not exactly a kid's book, but not a hentai. Huh?
If you liked "Lady Trent" you might like this book, but remember, this is advertised for children, not a grad school peer review.
2.5/5
Link to Blog Post: https://cannedbreadblog.wordpress.com...
If you just want to read my general thoughts and wondering if this book is for you or not:
ctrl + f : Closing Thoughts (or) So, who should read this book
Pics of cat and artwork on: https://cannedbreadblog.wordpress.com...
Table of Contents: ctrl + f:
Introduction: &
Twitter Feed (Alpha): #
Dissection: =
Closing Thoughts: ^
So, who should read this book: ()
Spoiler Free Blurb:
A wizard is tasked to kill dragons and stop an evil wizard from taking over the Four Kingdoms. Art and sketches of dragons can be found within as you dive into the mythical world of Temaria.
Set got a lot of cuddles and play time in compensation for being a book model
Introduction: &
Suburbs are a utopia or a dystopia depending on how you look at it.
In my case, it's both. Not because of existential dread that everything looks pristine and we're heading to "Brave New World", but because the last 2 bookstores in this town are Barnes & Noble and Half Price Books.
Both chains, none independent except that Christian bookstore but let's be real, it's not a real bookstore, get your head straight, Deb.
I went back to my hometown in Texas for the first time in a year. First stop, I dove into my local Half Price Books. Technically, there are used bookstores in Sweden called "antikvariat", but they mostly carry Swedish books and I don't read them fluently. (My comprehension is that of a 5-year-old). I love the fact you can find books you wouldn't think of picking up at a B&N.
Anyway, I found this little number in HPB thanks to my fiance who has an eye to yeet books at me that look different.
I was skeptical since I couldn't find the author and GR didn't say many good things about it. Still, I bought it, just because I could learn from it in the worst-case scenario.
Twitter Feed (Alpha): #
- Why take the only heir to your kingdom on a deadly quest? 300 years apparently doesn't include common sense.
- Book is an example if it was run through Microsoft Word and naughties version of Photoshop
- Dollar Store Gandalf is here to take down a Five Below dragon
Dissection: =
True Tags:
GR tags this as:
Fantasy, Dragons, Fiction, Childrens, Adventure, Art
If this was an Ao3 fic:
Tropes, Dragons, Dragon Murder, Dragon Art, Dragon Sketches, Diagrams, Boats and shit, Characters Don't Exist, Suicide for like one page in "Betrayal", Other than that a 10-year-old can read this, Souls leaving a body, 5th - 8th grade, Dragon reference book but not like "How to Train Your Dragon" levels, Feminism is barely alive kinda like my dreams, Dollar Store Gandalf, Evil guy is evil, you'd be mad too if you were exiled, Dollar Store "How to Train Your Dragon" for like 2 pages, No Ships except 1 line
Characters:
None of the characters are deep in any way, shape, or form. The only depth are found in the wizard and the king. They were childhood friends back in my day. Every character that is listed either gets written off, barely mentioned except when they die, or just an imaginary soldier to the number the wizard has with him. I'm still not sure why Amaleh was even mentioned. The story could have progressed without her, same with Bandred except for adding "emotional attachment" to the king.
Vibe:
The closest way I can think of explaining the vibe is...think "Lady Trent", but without any nuance, feminism is dead, and it's a lot more straightforward than anything Brennan came up with.
And you see a lot more dragons. (I only read the first book of "Lady Trent" and I think she experienced dragons like, 3 times. All very short.)
You're on a ship a few times, mountains sometimes, an icy mountain, or a cave. Most of the time you're looking and killing dragons. You also observe the parts they leave behind after they die, fly off, or sit. Since this book is also a visual book, the art in it also plays a factor in making this feel like a real storytime book.
Pacing:
You know when you're a kid and you listened to your parents read to you a story that you swore was interesting, but still nodded off anyway? No? Your parents read "moral stories" to you, but never anything fun? They only read you a book about guilt-tripping you to see your family every second-
If you're a parent and didn't do what my parents did, then you already won at childrearing.
The pacing in this is similar to what I described. It drones a lot with information that you thought was interesting, but you still can't help but nod off to your Cymbalta. Action scenes take up at most 2 pages, most often, 1 page. Diary entries are pretty short and some argue that it makes it go by faster, or that much longer if you sequence break a lot.
Plot:
The plot is a typical "go slay dragons and save the day" type of story. There's little if any variance in it except why the evil guy is evil, but even that reason is a bit meh.
At least with Voldemort in HP- wait.
If you're the type that has read LOTR already, don't expect epic levels of plotline here.
If you're reading this for kids (10+), but you didn't introduce the "Hobbit" yet, start here, and then, go to the "Hobbit".
Worldbuilding:
Worldbuilding doesn't really exist so it's hard to even list a method. They're sprinkled in sometimes and even if you put the lore back to back, it won't even make a paragraph.
It's good for certain readers, however, who can't stand Worldbuilding.
Depending on the person, they might appreciate this.
Prose:
You can't expect epic levels of prose here. Think "Lady Trent" but with none of the elongated phrases and all she was trying to say is "pass the butter". It is still long and winding, but none of the charm. It has the prose style of a history recounting and uses the same literary devices frequently. Not as Williams bad, but bad enough.
Book Quality:
Not a permanent fixture to Dissection, but because this is a kid's book, you have to look at the feel and quality of the book. Younger audiences tend to experience the world better through look and feel. The book has the appearance as if someone went to their Fedex and printed this book out but for some reason, took the time to make an OK quality hardback cover?...EEh?...
Pages are glossed like a Microsoft presentation booklet so they're pretty waterproof to imply that it stood up to dragon parts. Probably.
Art:
The art has no style to it except the sketches. I talk about the art because it did not age well. It looks like someone took Photoshop a little too seriously that it just looks like a bad filter was applied to everything. The art isn't bad, but if you ask me again if I would gush about it to my friend, probably not.
For example, the artist Yuumei has a unique style of magical realism mixed in with sketch and digital art style fused together:
Yuumei's work can be found here: https://twitter.com/Yuumei_Art
Whereas the dragon artwork...doesn't have a style to it (except a few pictures that are displayed here after the 1st one):
Fix it AU:
*cracks knuckles*
Before I rail against the book further, I do acknowledge this is a children's book, not an adult book. You can't expect this to be the best book ever. Even so, there were a lot of things that could have been improved.
Make diagrams more detailed, stick to the pen sketches which had personality, invest in better book quality, put more details about the other characters even if it doesn't seem important it makes it feel like these were real people and not just abstract side characters, make the artist have a style, add sub notes similar to Prattchet, spend a little more time worldbuilding so people get something out of it ("Lady Trent" had more worldbuilding than this), and vary the plot.
Closing Thoughts: ^
I know I railed this book hard, though we have to see the faults before we can put something of quality out there if we want to go forward.
I still rated this 2.5/5 (a higher rating than "Ninth Rain") because I loved the idea of the book. I love to see books where it's a history of a fantasy world, but we don't get much of that in the present books these days. The closest mainstream thing we got was "Silmarillion" (loved it) and "Fire & Blood" (which I can't make an opinion, on TBR atm).
I liked following Dollar Store Gandalf look at dragons and seeing what specimens he found for his dragon book. (I still preferred if he didn't kill the dragons, but that's just me)
I liked being next to someone in a fantasy history that has no bearing on our world, but a world of another time. In this way, it brings us a lot closer to a Soulsbourne book without even trying to be. But one we can 100% learn what not to do.
So, who should read this? ()
Read if you haven't read the "Hobbit" yet and want something to get your toes wet that's also short. This book is perfect for kids from 10-12 and adults who like seeing a straightforward plot about dragons and wizards. You also can see this as an early predecessor to visual novels, but not exactly a kid's book, but not a hentai. Huh?
If you liked "Lady Trent" you might like this book, but remember, this is advertised for children, not a grad school peer review.
2.5/5
Link to Blog Post: https://cannedbreadblog.wordpress.com...
May 23, 2009
I felt totally cheated by this book. It had a great storyline that would have felt rich and exciting, if it had been written as a novel instead of a journal. This is a classic example of telling a story and proves just how boring that can be. Had the author shown the events as they happened I would have been enthralled. Instead, I felt like the author just wanted to slap out a plot and move on to the next project. The artwork is brilliant, but who will take the time to look at it the way it should be appreciated, especially when the story is not there to support it. Too bad. I had such high hopes.
![Profile Image for [ J o ].](/_next/image?url=https%3A%2F%2Fi.gr-assets.com%2Fimages%2FS%2Fcompressed.photo.goodreads.com%2Fusers%2F1673171874i%2F4639825._UY200_CR4%2C0%2C200%2C200_.jpg&w=128&q=75)
January 8, 2016
Should have been written in novel format, though it is no bother. Sometimes it's nice to have a change.
January 26, 2024
Slagalica Zmajske Hronike - Malkom Sanders (piše Karolina, 9 god)
Zmajevi su moja omiljena bića iz zemlje fantazija, odmah pored jednoroga. Volim njihovu snagu, moć da bljuju vatru i lete preko najdaljih predela. Neustrašivi su i često posebni. Ova knjiga je mali nastavak iz dnevnika čarobnjaka Septimusa (iz knjige Zmajske hronike) koji je sa kraljevim sinovima krenuo u lov na zmajeve da bi spasao kraljevstvo. U prvoj knjizi pridružila im se i mlada čarobnica i tako su doživljavali razne avanture u traganju kroz jedno veliko putovanje. I prva knjiga je jako lepo ilustrovana, pa je zato poseban doživljaj listati ovo što ja nazivam praznikom za sva čula.
U knjizi sa slagalicama postoje isečci dnevnika čarobnjaka gde opisuje strahote približavanja zmaju, bežanje od njegovog gneva i nalaženje načina da se nadmudri. Opisan je plavi zmaj koji bdi nad vodom i koristi talase kao svoju prednost, onda su tu bezizlazne situacije na brodu sa kog bi se trebalo suprotstaviti zmaju, pa sve do napada katapultom na litice gde boravi zmaj braon boje. Svaka slagalica sadrži pored nje živopisnu avanturu iz dnevnika, i svaka je upečatljiva. Ima ih šest. Upoznala sam Severnog zmaja, Ganzikusovog zmaja i Gorlenu. Svaki moćniji i strašniji od drugog. Zaboravila sam na stvaran svet i često se u mislima nalazila iznad krovova kuća očekivajući proletanje neustrašivih krila.
Najzanimljivija su tema za maštanje a osim što mogu da uživam u porodičnom slaganju slagalica, imam i odlične ideje na osnovu čega da ih nacrtam. Ovakve knjige nikada ne trebaju da napuste naše police. Jednom ćemo odrasti ali ljubav prema zmajevima neće prerasti (bar tako shvatam gledajući svoje roditelje).
Zmajevi su moja omiljena bića iz zemlje fantazija, odmah pored jednoroga. Volim njihovu snagu, moć da bljuju vatru i lete preko najdaljih predela. Neustrašivi su i često posebni. Ova knjiga je mali nastavak iz dnevnika čarobnjaka Septimusa (iz knjige Zmajske hronike) koji je sa kraljevim sinovima krenuo u lov na zmajeve da bi spasao kraljevstvo. U prvoj knjizi pridružila im se i mlada čarobnica i tako su doživljavali razne avanture u traganju kroz jedno veliko putovanje. I prva knjiga je jako lepo ilustrovana, pa je zato poseban doživljaj listati ovo što ja nazivam praznikom za sva čula.
U knjizi sa slagalicama postoje isečci dnevnika čarobnjaka gde opisuje strahote približavanja zmaju, bežanje od njegovog gneva i nalaženje načina da se nadmudri. Opisan je plavi zmaj koji bdi nad vodom i koristi talase kao svoju prednost, onda su tu bezizlazne situacije na brodu sa kog bi se trebalo suprotstaviti zmaju, pa sve do napada katapultom na litice gde boravi zmaj braon boje. Svaka slagalica sadrži pored nje živopisnu avanturu iz dnevnika, i svaka je upečatljiva. Ima ih šest. Upoznala sam Severnog zmaja, Ganzikusovog zmaja i Gorlenu. Svaki moćniji i strašniji od drugog. Zaboravila sam na stvaran svet i često se u mislima nalazila iznad krovova kuća očekivajući proletanje neustrašivih krila.
Najzanimljivija su tema za maštanje a osim što mogu da uživam u porodičnom slaganju slagalica, imam i odlične ideje na osnovu čega da ih nacrtam. Ovakve knjige nikada ne trebaju da napuste naše police. Jednom ćemo odrasti ali ljubav prema zmajevima neće prerasti (bar tako shvatam gledajući svoje roditelje).
May 28, 2023
Loved this book as a kid. If your kid loves dragons and magic - THIS IS THE BOOK FOR THEM.
August 10, 2013
At the request of his failing king, Great Wizard Septimus Agorius goes on a quest to slay the dragons that are threatening the kingdom. Along with him are the king's son, Bandred and Amaleh, a 16-year-old young woman who has the gift of wizardry within her. The Dragon Chronicles represents Septimus's journal of the dangerous trek complete with illustrations and sidenotes to record the adventure for history.
Fans of dragons, adventures, and wizardry will love this carefully crafted book.
Fans of dragons, adventures, and wizardry will love this carefully crafted book.
Read
February 24, 2015The Dragon Chronicles: The Lost Journals of the Great Wizard, Septimus Agorius (Dragon Chronicles) by Malcolm Saunders (2004)
Read
December 2, 2010The Dragon Chronicles: The Lost Journals of the Great Wizard, Septimus Agorius (Dragon Chronicles) by Malcolm Saunders (2004)
April 6, 2015
Filled with lots of great dragon pictures. It's more like a dragon-reference book for kids than anything else, but still great fun if your a dragon lover like I am.
March 6, 2014
This is a good book, it's a good story and has the coolest Dragons in it!
October 12, 2015
Odlična, odlična knjiga. Poučna, polna praktičnih modrosti. Zgodba o "delanju prave stvari kljub temu, da je zoprno" in ne glede na vse zmaje zelo zelo resnična. Obvezen nakup.
February 18, 2016
Nice filler story between my other reads
Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews