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Highfire
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From the New York Times bestselling author of the Artemis Fowl series comes a hilarious and high-octane adult novel about a vodka-drinking, Flashdance-loving dragon who lives an isolated life in the bayous of Louisiana—and the raucous adventures that ensue when he crosses paths with a fifteen-year-old troublemaker on the run from a crooked sheriff.
In the days of yore, he ...more
In the days of yore, he ...more
Hardcover, 384 pages
Expected publication:
January 28th 2020
by Harper Perennial
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Eoin Colfer writes a comic adult fantasy in his usual trademark style, which readers will be familiar with if they have read his Artemis Fowl series and/or his other books. Here he takes us to Louisiana's bayous, and New Orleans in this tale of a lonely, depressed ancient dragon, Vern (Wyvern), who just may be the last dragon on earth, hates humans who have destroyed almost all his kind, and has taken to living below the radar on a swampy bayou. He has Netflix, is rather keen on Absolut Vodka,
...more
Sounds utterly bizarre... but Eoin Colfer is a childhood fave so I must try it!
Beware there be dragons!
Well, one grumpy and lonely dragon called Vern (short for Wyvern), hiding out in the Louisiana swamp, filling his time watching netflix and drinking Absolut vodka. He is probably the last of his kind and has seen his friends and relatives murdered by angry hordes through the ages. Now he has one friend, a half human called Waxman who lives in a shack on the swamp and looks after supplying Vern with his vodka, favourite Flashdance T-shirts and other essentials (from a ...more
Well, one grumpy and lonely dragon called Vern (short for Wyvern), hiding out in the Louisiana swamp, filling his time watching netflix and drinking Absolut vodka. He is probably the last of his kind and has seen his friends and relatives murdered by angry hordes through the ages. Now he has one friend, a half human called Waxman who lives in a shack on the swamp and looks after supplying Vern with his vodka, favourite Flashdance T-shirts and other essentials (from a ...more
I won this in a GoodReads giveaway. Thanks to GR and Harper Perennial for the book.
Despite what I had read in the blurb, I was not expecting Vern, LOL. This book was just plain fun to read. There were a lot of hi-jinks in a Louisiana swamp with a crooked cop, a juvenile delinquent and his momma (though Squib is still a good kid in the wanna-be-a-bad-guy stage), a mogwai and a dragon named Vern. And yes, it's just exactly as hilarious as it sounds.
And though I had quite a few literal laugh out ...more
Despite what I had read in the blurb, I was not expecting Vern, LOL. This book was just plain fun to read. There were a lot of hi-jinks in a Louisiana swamp with a crooked cop, a juvenile delinquent and his momma (though Squib is still a good kid in the wanna-be-a-bad-guy stage), a mogwai and a dragon named Vern. And yes, it's just exactly as hilarious as it sounds.
And though I had quite a few literal laugh out ...more
With a narrative voice somewhere between Huckleberry Finn and the Dukes of Hazzard, and a keen sense of pop-culture awareness, Highfire is certainly something different.
It's a charming, funny, but sometimes brutal look at poor Cajun life and crime in the Louisiana bayou. Is it really fantasy, though? Well yes, on the surface, on account of having an actual dragon in it, but that's all.
Honestly, the author could have made Vern a Rambo-style retired super-soldier instead and told almost the same ...more
It's a charming, funny, but sometimes brutal look at poor Cajun life and crime in the Louisiana bayou. Is it really fantasy, though? Well yes, on the surface, on account of having an actual dragon in it, but that's all.
Honestly, the author could have made Vern a Rambo-style retired super-soldier instead and told almost the same ...more
3.5 stars
This was not at all what I expected. A lot more swearing, a lot more body humor, and a LOT more swamp-lifestyle dialect and bizarre POVs than I was prepared to read. It was good? But not for me?
Concept: super original
Writing: really polarizing
Overall impression: not for me, but probably a great book for its audience
Highfire comes out on January 28, 2020!
Highfire is the first adult fantasy novel from the acclaimed author of the Artemis Fowl series. I read Artemis Fowl ages ago, and I ...more
This was not at all what I expected. A lot more swearing, a lot more body humor, and a LOT more swamp-lifestyle dialect and bizarre POVs than I was prepared to read. It was good? But not for me?
Concept: super original
Writing: really polarizing
Overall impression: not for me, but probably a great book for its audience
Highfire comes out on January 28, 2020!
Highfire is the first adult fantasy novel from the acclaimed author of the Artemis Fowl series. I read Artemis Fowl ages ago, and I ...more
ARC received in exchange for an honest review
I’ve grown up with the Artemis Fowl books by Eoin Colfer, and they’re a staple in our house for my children (my son is called Eoin too), so I went into this with some trepidation. Could Colfer’s wit carry itself in an adult novel? Especially one that sounds as bizarre as this one, with a grumpy vodka drinking dragon and a boy called Squib with major daddy issues and criminal tendencies. As it happens, yes it could, and this ended up being one hell of ...more
I’ve grown up with the Artemis Fowl books by Eoin Colfer, and they’re a staple in our house for my children (my son is called Eoin too), so I went into this with some trepidation. Could Colfer’s wit carry itself in an adult novel? Especially one that sounds as bizarre as this one, with a grumpy vodka drinking dragon and a boy called Squib with major daddy issues and criminal tendencies. As it happens, yes it could, and this ended up being one hell of ...more
So of course I’ve heard of this author but I’ve never read anything written by him because he usually writes children’s books and sadly my childhood is far behind. Yet when I spotted this being marketed as an adult story I was beyond curious and happily can state that this was absolutely fabulous !
This was a riveting read that meandered along and just gradually built up the pace. We meet Vern who believes he is sadly the last Dragon around but he’s far from what you would expect a Dragon to be. ...more
This was a riveting read that meandered along and just gradually built up the pace. We meet Vern who believes he is sadly the last Dragon around but he’s far from what you would expect a Dragon to be. ...more
I always feel guilty DNFing books, especially when they're advanced copies, but it has to be done. This is by no means a bad book, and I can see why people will enjoy this—it's funny, has charming characters—it's just not doing anything for me. Someone please drag me out of this reading slump!!
Not to start another review with a confession that I’ve never read the author’s previous immensely popular books, but I’m sorry to say I haven’t picked up Eoin Colfer’s Artemis Fowl series before diving into his adult fantasy novel, Highfire.
This was a weird little book. It stars Vern, a swamp-dwelling dragon who binge watches television in a Flashdance t-shirt whilst drinking mid-shelf vodka from his La-Z-Boy. So despite being thousands of years old—he’s just like us! He joins forces with a ...more
This was a weird little book. It stars Vern, a swamp-dwelling dragon who binge watches television in a Flashdance t-shirt whilst drinking mid-shelf vodka from his La-Z-Boy. So despite being thousands of years old—he’s just like us! He joins forces with a ...more
I received a complimentary copy of this e-book ARC from the author, publisher and netgalley in exchange for an honest review.
Everett Squib Moreau is a young teenager trying to survive in the Louisiana swamps. He loves his mama very much and despises Constable Regence Hooke who wants to place a hook into his mom. When Squib sees something he isn't suppossed to see, he is stalked by Hooke and an angry dragon named Vern. Will he survive? Read on and find out for yourself.
This was a pretty good YA ...more
Everett Squib Moreau is a young teenager trying to survive in the Louisiana swamps. He loves his mama very much and despises Constable Regence Hooke who wants to place a hook into his mom. When Squib sees something he isn't suppossed to see, he is stalked by Hooke and an angry dragon named Vern. Will he survive? Read on and find out for yourself.
This was a pretty good YA ...more
Dec 03, 2019
thewoollygeek (tea, cake, crochet & books)
rated it
it was amazing
·
review of another edition
Absolutely loved this, a boy and a dragon, need I say more to get most people hooked, not really, but this touches on themes a loneliness, depression and dealing with being the last dragon, it’s well handled, emotional and sensitively done. Yes it’s humorous too and that is done brilliantly, but I think the author deserves credit for dealing with such sensitive issues so well. It deals with lots of other parallels in society at the moment too along the way, but you should definitely pick this up
...more
Dec 17, 2019
Lauren James
added it
[Gifted]
Sassy and lonely grumpy old dragon meets sassy and lovable teenage boy. Against his will, the dragon begins to trust a human for the first time in thousands of years. This was a whole lot of fun - crooked police, a great Southern American setting, and the humourous writing that Colfer is famous for.
Sassy and lonely grumpy old dragon meets sassy and lovable teenage boy. Against his will, the dragon begins to trust a human for the first time in thousands of years. This was a whole lot of fun - crooked police, a great Southern American setting, and the humourous writing that Colfer is famous for.
Nov 21, 2019
Kogiopsis
added it
The last line of this book is just "Balls out." and I feel like that summarizes its tone incredibly well.
(Seriously, though, testes are a frequent topic of conversation.)
Still mulling over how I feel about it and working to disentangle the nostalgia I associate with Colfer from the book itself so that I can properly evaluate it. It doesn't help that his writing style is so singular, even when the dialect/voice is completely different - something about that wry, metatextual third person just ...more
(Seriously, though, testes are a frequent topic of conversation.)
Still mulling over how I feel about it and working to disentangle the nostalgia I associate with Colfer from the book itself so that I can properly evaluate it. It doesn't help that his writing style is so singular, even when the dialect/voice is completely different - something about that wry, metatextual third person just ...more
I have to confess I'm at a little bit of a loss on what to say about this so am really struggling to review. I didn't dislike anything about it but there was nothing I especially liked either. I seem to have found myself in the position of having literally no feelings about it which is probably not a good sign for me but doesn't mean others won't love it.
I did love the sound of it, I mean it's dragons who doesn't love the sound of any book with a dragon, it just seemed so weird and quirky and ...more
I did love the sound of it, I mean it's dragons who doesn't love the sound of any book with a dragon, it just seemed so weird and quirky and ...more
THE FIRST ADULT FANTASY NOVEL BY EOIN COLFER YESSSS PLEASE!
![Namera [The Literary Invertebrate]](https://images.gr-assets.com/users/1533067230p2/31792110.jpg)
Nov 14, 2019
Namera [The Literary Invertebrate]
rated it
really liked it
Shelves:
3rd-person,
abduction,
adult,
dragons,
fast-paced-book,
poor-hero,
contemporary,
working-class-hero,
action,
arc
ARC received in exchange for an honest review - thank you!
When I was about ten or eleven I LOVED the Artemis Fowl series. Absolutely couldn’t get enough of it. It’s still one of my all-time favourite kids’ series, and I can’t wait for the film next year!
It must be said that I’ve been a lot less overwhelmed by Colfer’s adult offerings. Airman, which I read when I was 15, is decent but unimpressive; Highfire certainly has the potential for greatness but doesn’t quite get there.
The action is ...more
When I was about ten or eleven I LOVED the Artemis Fowl series. Absolutely couldn’t get enough of it. It’s still one of my all-time favourite kids’ series, and I can’t wait for the film next year!
It must be said that I’ve been a lot less overwhelmed by Colfer’s adult offerings. Airman, which I read when I was 15, is decent but unimpressive; Highfire certainly has the potential for greatness but doesn’t quite get there.
The action is ...more
Thank you Harper for my review copy
Well I be doggone. I was not expecting to love this book as much as I did. It came up from the swamps and got me.
Alright, so I go into this novel with the premise that this is about a Louisiana living, Flashdance loving, and vodka drinking dragon named Vern. It really was so much more. Heartfelt. Suspenseful. With that lovely touch of magical realism.
Let’s talk about what I loved.
Vern. One of the most delightful characters I’ve met this year. Mind you...he ...more
Well I be doggone. I was not expecting to love this book as much as I did. It came up from the swamps and got me.
Alright, so I go into this novel with the premise that this is about a Louisiana living, Flashdance loving, and vodka drinking dragon named Vern. It really was so much more. Heartfelt. Suspenseful. With that lovely touch of magical realism.
Let’s talk about what I loved.
Vern. One of the most delightful characters I’ve met this year. Mind you...he ...more
I received an ALC from the publisher via Libro.FM in exchange for an honest review.
I got about 30% through the audiobook and couldn't do it anymore. This was out of my comfort-zone to start, but between the deep-south setting, crude humor, and almost all-male cast, I just wasn't interested in continuing.
I got about 30% through the audiobook and couldn't do it anymore. This was out of my comfort-zone to start, but between the deep-south setting, crude humor, and almost all-male cast, I just wasn't interested in continuing.
Highfire was an intriguing adult fantasy novel. I'd never delved into adult fantasy before, or Eoin Colfer's writing, so this was a great starting point.
The plot of Highfire is unlike anything I've ever read and it took around 50 pages to wrap my head around Vern being a dragon but so human-like at the same time. Throughout the book, there are glimpses into Vern's long life and fellow dragons, though I would have liked more information. He is a well-developed character and those flashbacks ...more
The plot of Highfire is unlike anything I've ever read and it took around 50 pages to wrap my head around Vern being a dragon but so human-like at the same time. Throughout the book, there are glimpses into Vern's long life and fellow dragons, though I would have liked more information. He is a well-developed character and those flashbacks ...more
I was excited to be approved for this title. I did request it on a whim because the synopsis was just out of this world weird. I really didn’t know what to expect when picking this up to start. Although it sounded good, I had a hard time enjoying it. Not because there was anything wrong with it but because I just don’t think it was suited for me.
This book has multiple point-of-views that aren’t always separated by chapters. It wasn’t hard to follow along as it was all in third person. It made it ...more
This book has multiple point-of-views that aren’t always separated by chapters. It wasn’t hard to follow along as it was all in third person. It made it ...more
I need more follow up with Squib and Vern! I want a sequel! That being said, I really enjoyed this book - the characters, the location, how the events unfolded - I was never bored, and nothing felt forced or unnatural for the characters. I am not usually a fan of adult fantasy novels (past experience has left me bored with a lot of them), but since it's Eoin Colfer, I decided to put my distaste aside and give it a chance. I sure am glad I did! If you're like me, I urge you to give this book a
...more
More reviews up on my blog Inside My Library Mind
Stuff I Liked
First of all, I really loved the concept of this book. It’s completely outlandish, but that’s what makes it so funny and interesting. Moreover, Colfer’s writing is always quirky and eccentric, which works perfectly for a story about a dragon living in the Louisiana swamp, slugging vodka and reclining in his La-Z-Boy. It’s a really unique premise, that has a lot of charm and that ultimately works.
I am a huge fan of Colfer’s ...more
Stuff I Liked
First of all, I really loved the concept of this book. It’s completely outlandish, but that’s what makes it so funny and interesting. Moreover, Colfer’s writing is always quirky and eccentric, which works perfectly for a story about a dragon living in the Louisiana swamp, slugging vodka and reclining in his La-Z-Boy. It’s a really unique premise, that has a lot of charm and that ultimately works.
I am a huge fan of Colfer’s ...more
Everett Moreau, known to everyone as Squib, tries to do whatever he can to help his single mother. Nonetheless, he struggles with his temptations to cause trouble. When he takes on an extra job, it takes him into the bayou, where he witnesses events that shakes up his entire life. He is saved from death by one of the most unlikely creatures in the swamp, a dragon that believes he is the last of his species. Squib has no choice but to become Vern’s familiar. Constable Regence Hooke sets out after
...more
Surprisingly and explosively hilarious.
On the surface, a Cajun dragon buddy comedy didn't seem like my cup of tea, but I read this book out of a sense of librarian curiosity. IT IS A RIOT, and apparently "dragon buddy comedy" is something I'm really into. I'm absolutely preordering the audio of this and forcing my husband to enjoy it, too.
Vern (short for wyvern) has long accepted that he's the last living dragon, and has settled into a quiet and sedentary life of retirement in a little shack in ...more
On the surface, a Cajun dragon buddy comedy didn't seem like my cup of tea, but I read this book out of a sense of librarian curiosity. IT IS A RIOT, and apparently "dragon buddy comedy" is something I'm really into. I'm absolutely preordering the audio of this and forcing my husband to enjoy it, too.
Vern (short for wyvern) has long accepted that he's the last living dragon, and has settled into a quiet and sedentary life of retirement in a little shack in ...more
Feeling stressed from the holiday season, I grabbed this galley and everything else just melted away. I had a rollocking good time with a great cast of characters: young un’ Squib, the villainous Hooke, and Vern, the vodka drinking dragon. Trust me.
wow. wow. wow. dragons? yea, i'll love it.
Received a digital copy of this via Edelweiss. Thank you, Harper Perennial and Eoin Colfer!
Received a digital copy of this via Edelweiss. Thank you, Harper Perennial and Eoin Colfer!
I found this book’s premise to be intriguing— a dragon in hiding in modern times. He is the product of too long a lonely life, nursing his grudge against humanity in general, and passing his time watching cable TV, drinking, and asserting himself over the denizens of the Louisiana swamps.
But the execution of this story seemed ham handed, like the addition of excessive crudity, violence, and simplistic characters could define the book as adult fare vs the author’s usual young adult stories.
But the execution of this story seemed ham handed, like the addition of excessive crudity, violence, and simplistic characters could define the book as adult fare vs the author’s usual young adult stories.
For fans of Christopher Moore! A fantastic, quirky ride through the swamps of Louisiana with a vodka-swilling dragon caught up in the criminal machinations of a crooked sheriff. But it's not just action and wit, there's depth and heart. I couldn't put it down!
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Eoin Colfer (pronounced Owen) was born in Wexford on the South-East coast of Ireland in 1965, where he and his four brothers were brought up by his father and mother, who were both educators.
He received his degree from Dublin University and began teaching primary school in Wexford. He has lived and worked all over the world, including Saudi Arabia, Tunisia and Italy. After the publication of the ...more
He received his degree from Dublin University and began teaching primary school in Wexford. He has lived and worked all over the world, including Saudi Arabia, Tunisia and Italy. After the publication of the ...more
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