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The Search for the Red Dragon

(The Chronicles of the Imaginarium Geographica #2)

James A. Owen (Goodreads Author)

4.06 · Rating details · 4,584 ratings · 301 reviews

"'The Crusade has begun'...

"There's an old myth in the Archipelago," he went on softly, shaking his head. "A legend, really...I recall it mentioned a Crusade, but those events happened seven centuries ago. We always thought it was only a story."

It has been nine years since John, Jack, and Charles had their great adventure in the Archipelago of Dreams and became the Ca ...more

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Hardcover, 384 pages

Published January 1st 2008 by Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers

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· 4,584 ratings · 301 reviews

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Start your review of The Search for the Red Dragon (The Chronicles of the Imaginarium Geographica, #2)

Mar 05, 2015 Samantha rated it liked it

Shelves: 2015

The Search for the Red Dragon picks up 9 years after the events in the first book. It finds our two protagonists, John and Charles called to London by the their friend and third protagonist Jack. The three friends are soon called back to the Archipelago to deal with a crisis: the disappearance of all the children.

Overall, I did not like this book as much as I if the first. I found the pacing to be a lot more slow and I was not feeling inclined to pick it back up when I put it down. However, I pr ...more

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May 22, 2012 Mith rated it it was amazing

Shelves: fantasy, owned, wizards-n-dragons, love-the-cover, middle-grade, i-needz-moar, time-travel, fairy-tales

Just as awesome as its prequel. I love how Owen ties multiple myths neatly in together; makes one wonder if they weren't all connected to begin with!

P.S - Charles, I know there's an age thing here but, MARRY ME!

UPDATED AFTER RE-READ: I think I figured out the event and the change this time around... If only there was some way to confirm it :( ...more

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Jun 14, 2012 Srinivas rated it liked it

The story starts with the touch of Peter Pan.

And then comes various Historical Figures - Sir James Barrie, Roger Bacon, Dante, Harry Houdini, Arthur Conan Doyle, Amelia Earhart, Richard Burton and several others and their adventures,

Historical Events - Children’s Crusades,

Greek Mythology - Jason and Argonauts, Daedalus,

Folk Stories - “Pied Piper of Hamelin”, “Hansel and Gretel” and “Snow White”,

Ends with the hint of The Second World War.

Adventurous- this adjective is enough to define the sto ...more

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Aug 02, 2013 Liz Friend rated it really liked it

Shelves: fantasy

This is Book 2 in the Chronicles of the Imaginarium Geographica. This series is not for those who are looking for hot-and-heavy romance mixed with their fantasy, nor is it for those looking for magic mixed with graphic violence. It's PG fantasy, heavy on the literary allusions, and meant for middle-school readers (even though the main characters are adults.) It's a lot more fun to read than it sounds, but you have to pay attention!

John, Jack and Charles have been having strange dreams of childre ...more

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Feb 19, 2019 Ellen rated it liked it · review of another edition

This was the second time reading this. I read it about 8 years ago and I don't remember being as confused the first time I read, so I was either paying more or less attention this time around. There was a lot of time travel (sort of...) and I didn't really understand if it was a closed causal loop or open loop situation and I probably spent too much mental energy on it.

Besides that... I enjoyed the twists on the Peter Pan mythology, the character of Laura Glue, and the Sir Richard Burton/Roanoke ...more

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Nov 29, 2018 Lauren rated it really liked it

3.5 stars. This book is a reread. It was a good book for sure but I did not like it nearly as much as the first one. I can't quite put a finger on why that is though. The story just did not grab me as much as the first one. I love Laura Glue and Jack's character development is interesting. I am excited to see where his character arch goes. Owen's use of myth and literature is amazing and the number of jokes about the Oxford/Cambridge rivalry makes my heart happy. I can't wait to continue with th ...more

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Mar 01, 2018 Gillian Brownlee rated it really liked it

I’m such a sucker for stories that weave together mythologies and fairy tales from all around the world. I still don’t like Jack, but I really enjoyed this book.

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Apr 10, 2019 Adriana rated it it was amazing

This marvelous series contains everything I hold dear and everything I want to learn more about. It sticks to your soul. Looking forward to the next one.

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Feb 24, 2013 Nigarsan rated it really liked it

Shelves: adventure, fantasy, march2013

The Search for the Red Dragon by James A.Owens
This book is about three professors from London named "John, Jack and Charles" go on an adventure to an imaginary world called " the Archipelago of Dreams" to help save the world from any great evil.In this book,they come back after nearly nine years after their first visit to it to investigate the disappearance of all the children and "Dragonships" in the world. Their only hope is to fine the rare Dragonship,the "Red Dragon" in order to find all o ...more

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Dec 14, 2008 Amanda rated it really liked it

I was really rather pleased with the first book in the series, and even more so with the second. The author, having found his stride at the end of the first story, has managed to write a tighter novel while retaining the same clever twists and references that I found a delight in the original. Several weak characters from the first story were rounded out quite a bit in the second, and the newly introduced characters seemed more motivated (although Laura Glue reminded me so much of Suzy Blue from ...more

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Aug 17, 2013 Lena rated it it was amazing

Sadly I don't remember much about the first book.One thing though that I remember strongly is the tower of time and fortunately plays a great role in this book. In this one there is a great plot which connects Peter Pan, greek mythology and of course some great literature figures. Oh and also Hudini. I loved what he did with Hudini!!The way the author connects all the dots is so great!The characters were more real in this one and we found out more about them.I think I am starting to have a favor ...more

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Apr 21, 2008 Max rated it really liked it

Once again, pretty good. I actually think that the first one was a bit better though.

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Dec 10, 2010 Whitaker rated it really liked it

A really great book shows us how everything is great and worth to die for

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Sep 15, 2016 Taryn rated it really liked it

Shelves: 2016, books-for-my-children, epic-fantasy, books-about-books

Absolutely loved this sequel that characterized C.S. Lewis and J.R.R. Tolkien and fantastic fairy and mythological tales ☺️

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May 24, 2019 Michelle Spencer rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: fantasy, young-adult-lit

Much of my thoughts on this one are tied to the identities of the main characters (one in particular), which was kept a secret until the very end of book one, so if you haven’t read book one and don’t want that spoiled for you, stop reading. Though really, if you are well-read, you will likely have an easy job of figuring out who they are.

But anyway.

I admire all of the careful tying together of various fictions and mythologies that James A. Owen accomplished with the main story arc in this book. Much of my thoughts on this one are tied to the identities of the main characters (one in particular), which was kept a secret until the very end of book one, so if you haven’t read book one and don’t want that spoiled for you, stop reading. Though really, if you are well-read, you will likely have an easy job of figuring out who they are.

But anyway.

I admire all of the careful tying together of various fictions and mythologies that James A. Owen accomplished with the main story arc in this book. He blended the storylines of Orpheus and Peter Pan to make them feel like part of the same narrative, and I thought that was pretty skillful.

Some of the bits he tied in, though, seemed a little slapdash. He even admitted to “throwing in Amelia Earhart for good measure” in the author’s note. And indeed, a lot of the random elements in this one felt a little too random and less organized than they did in book one. And also, I saw that Monty Python’s Flying Circus reference, Mr. Owen. That was totally and completely random and threw me off for a bit.

And this is where the identity of our hero is gonna get spoiled, because I think he would have some major opinions about the chaotic nature of random story bits and mythologies flung together. Tolkien, on whom the character John is based, didn’t even like Narnia because he felt Lewis cobbled together too many different pieces from too many different mythologies. If he knew he was essentially the main hero in a series that is based in that method of storytelling, I just think it would reeeeally set his teeth on edge. I do like that he was shown so much respect for his philology and his inventiveness - what Tolkien had went far beyond the word “creative” - but I just couldn’t help but think for the entire book that he more than likely would not have enjoyed reading this story, let alone taking such a central role in it.

I also am not entirely convinced I like his portrayal of Jack. It continues to trouble me in some way.

In book one, I remember being a little underwhelmed with the narrative and the character development. That was also a theme here. The narrative in the prologue and epilogue was lovely, but in the main body of the book, it fell flat. And I’d really like to see a bit more of each of the three main characters’ lives at home to really ground them and make them have more dimension, rather than just seeing them seconds before getting launched into another adventure.

My expectations were higher for this one because it was a second in series, and I think that left me a little disappointed overall. Also, there were no dragons in this one, which was a bummer since they were kind of a huge deal in book one, and I missed them. But I admire Owen’s weaving of Peter Pan and Orpheus, and I love Laura Glue, and Owen writes really good dialogue, so I can easily see myself picking up the next book or two in the series. I mean, come on, it’s hard to walk away from Tolkien and Lewis having adventures in magical lands together. I do hope Owen grows as a writer as the series continues, though.

2.5/5 ...more

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Aug 04, 2020 Mia rated it it was ok

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. Sigh! How do I go from a solid 4 stars for "here there be dragons" to a measly 2 stars for the sequel, you ask?

Warning: here there be disappointed book rant and multiple sighs...

Sigh! number1.Well, after the fascinating reveal of who our three main characters where on the very last page of book 1, I had some pretty big hopes for book 2. And since 10 yrs have passed since book 1 I expected the characters, two of them now fathers to have some maturity, some wisdom. Some understanding and appreciat Sigh! How do I go from a solid 4 stars for "here there be dragons" to a measly 2 stars for the sequel, you ask?

Warning: here there be disappointed book rant and multiple sighs...

Sigh! number1.Well, after the fascinating reveal of who our three main characters where on the very last page of book 1, I had some pretty big hopes for book 2. And since 10 yrs have passed since book 1 I expected the characters, two of them now fathers to have some maturity, some wisdom. Some understanding and appreciation of how magical their previous experience has been. But, that is not what I got. Not only did they not spend any time together since their adventure, but when the Archipelago comes calling for help, in the form of Laura Glue, they sit around eating sandwiches. They act like Laura Glue is a burden. They comment on who will sit next to her the car (!) They make disparraging comments about her, to her face!

Not only do they not deserve to be caretacers of magic and geographica, they do not deserve to think of themselves as adults! Or fathers!

I wanted to grab them and yell at them: You are grown men! Act like it!

Once Laura Glue saves the day, THEN they act like she is precious and they are nice to her??????

Sigh! number 2. Aven, who might be the coolest character of the lot, is delegated to the sidelines. She is important, buuuuut we barely get to see what is going on in her head, or what she has to say. She keeps walking off with Laura Glue.

Sigh! number 3. This time the story doesn't flow. It stumbles along. Things keep happening, though they not necessarily make a lot of sense. A lot of greek mythology gets thrown in, along with Peter Pan and the Pied Piper, but we do not get enought time to care about the characters that pass through. They show up, serve their purpose and disappear.

Sigh! number 4. Not enough Tummeler.

Sigh! number 5. Not enough Artos. Artos who was a fascinating character in the previous book, is now another scholar. Content to sit in the sidelines studying.

Big Spoiler alert(!)
Artos making the sacrifice to stay home instead of looking for his boy might have been an interesting development until we find out that *Steven is not his son and * he plans on dismantling the monarchy. He cares about Steven but he doesn't do much to show it. He could have put a regent in place? if he cared for the boy- if he planned on walking away from the kingdom anyway(?)

The story didnt really need another scholar. We have too many of those as it is. ...more

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Apr 08, 2018 Em rated it liked it

Shelves: arthurian-legend, fairy-tale, fantasy, historical-fiction, retelling, young-adult, adventure

If you liked Here, There Be Dragons, the first book of James A. Owen’s Chronicles of the Imaginarium Geographica, you’ll probably like its sequel The Search for the Red Dragon, as it has many of the same highlights—and the same flaws.

Red Dragon takes place in 1926, nine years after Caretakers John, Jack, and Charles first discovered the Archipelago of Dreams, a realm where there be dragons, talking badgers, and flying ships. There are sailing ships, too, but they’ve all disappeared overnight, al If you liked Here, There Be Dragons, the first book of James A. Owen’s Chronicles of the Imaginarium Geographica, you’ll probably like its sequel The Search for the Red Dragon, as it has many of the same highlights—and the same flaws.

Red Dragon takes place in 1926, nine years after Caretakers John, Jack, and Charles first discovered the Archipelago of Dreams, a realm where there be dragons, talking badgers, and flying ships. There are sailing ships, too, but they’ve all disappeared overnight, along with most of the children in the archipelago. It’s up to the Caretakers to find the missing children—including the crown prince, their friend Aven’s son.

This sequel is as much of a mystery novel as it is a fantasy or adventure. Initially, unraveling the clues alongside the main characters is a welcome change of pace from the hero’s-journey format. There’s a particularly satisfying reveal early on that results directly from actions taken in the first novel, without said actions ever feeling like a set-up. Charles delivers another standout performance no matter whom he’s paired with, centuries-old men made of wood or little girls with mechanical wings.

Unfortunately, this mystery eventually becomes overstuffed with mythology, both in the literal and literary sense. The allusions to Greek mythology follow the law of diminishing returns; I particularly disliked how the myth of Echo was revised to so that the removal of her voice was actually a reward. (Because what woman doesn’t love being speechless and only regurgitating what men shout at them? Sorry—Mary Beard’s Women & Power: A Manifesto is still fresh in my mind.) The bigger problem, though, is that exposition bogs down the dramatic climax, which feels more like a build-up to future adventures. All these plot-heavy developments come at the cost of characterization.

Owen does address one of the biggest problems I had with the first novel, which was the lack of diversity in a world that is not bound by early twentieth-century social conventions. A new character calls out the Caretaker organization as being overwhelmingly made up of light-skinned, male Europeans. This criticism would mean more if it weren’t coming from a light-skinned, male European who appointed himself leader of a predominantly Native American society. In making Richard Burton (no, not that Richard Burton) the mouthpiece of this observation, Owen devalues it. It’s a cheap way of forcing the readers to align with the Caretakers, who naturally oppose Burton.

Now, it would be one thing if John, Jack, and Charles held some sexist or racist views, in line with what an upper-class man in early twentieth-century Britain might believe. Instead, Owen tries to walk a middle line best demonstrated by an exchange where Jack remarks to Aven, “I’m a man. We’re made to think more quickly.” Aven, of course, is quick with a punch and a snappy comeback, cheered on by John and Charles. This kind of grandstanding ignores the subtle sexism baked into the novel, most evident in the fact that the majority of the characters (especially those in positions of power) are men who do have a tendency of thinking more quickly than the women. There’s a reason these lines sound so out of character. If Aven is a token woman, this altercation is a token as well, meant to emptily empower women while disguising the bigger issues.

None of these developments are surprising, considering the series’ influences, and now that I’ve finished the first two books, I won’t let myself by disappointed by the third in that regard. What you can expect to find in The Search for the Red Dragon is a good old adventure laced with mystery and mythology, aimed at children but enjoyable for adults. Especially those who never grow up. ...more

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Oct 10, 2011 Littlebearries rated it really liked it

The Chronicles of the Imaginarium Geographica
by James A. Owen

Story Title: 5/5
Plot: 5/5
Characters: 5/5
Ending: 5/5

Synopsis:
John, Jack and Charles, three young men from Oxford, find themselves called to duty to care for what is possibly the most well protected book ever, the Imaginarium Geographica.

Character Likability:
John: The Principal Caretaker of the Imaginarium Geographica, John is logical, wise and patient. He’s not only likeable, he endears himself to the reader with his compassion and at t ...more

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Sep 05, 2017 jess (bibliophilicjester) rated it really liked it · review of another edition

I really love these books!! They remind me of once upon a time (yes, the TV show) in that they take history and mythology and folklore and stories and they weave it all together in such interesting ways. This particular book had a lot of Peter Pan sort of lore, and I really loved it!

Compared to other books I've read and given 5 stars to, these books don't quite make it there. But so far this is a 5 star sort of series for me. It's lighthearted and fun, but there are real consequences. Character ...more

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Nov 07, 2017 Mary-Jean Harris rated it really liked it

Shelves: fantasy, historical-fantasy, young-adult-fantasy, high-fantasy

I really enjoyed this book, though not as much as the first one (hence the 4/5 stars instead of 5/5. If I could give it any rating, it would be 4.5 stars, but I'm rounding down to 4 because I want to differentiate it from my 5/5 rating for the first book). I LOVE how lots of myths and legends come into play in the book, especially the characters, both historical and fictional, who appear, such as James Barry, Peter Pan, Circe, etc. My favourite character is definitely Charles, though Aven and Jo ...more

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Dec 26, 2017 Cindy Mitchell *Kiss the Book* rated it it was amazing

Shelves: elementary, middle-school, essential

Owen, James A. The Search for the Red Dragon, pgs.368 Simon and Schuster, Inc. Launguage-G; Sexual Content-G; Violence-G;

It's been nine years since John, Jack, and Charles had their adventure in the Archipelago of Dreams and became Caretakers of the Imaginarium Geographica. Now they are going back to save the Archipelago again, this time someone has been stealing the children of the Archipelago. Their only clue is a message from a odd girl with artificial wings: "The Crusade has begun." Worse, ...more

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May 13, 2017 Mkittysamom rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: fantasy-genre, anthropomorphism, i-luv-luv-dragons, funny-comedy-satire, tt-alt-hist-parallel-dim, seems-adultish, myths-folklore-mythologic

Ok so this book was even better than the first!! Here we find out the names of the characters and their mythology/historical background! We even have a mystery bad guy who is literally a shadow! Dragons, a badger, machines, strange creatures, new islands..an underworld... and an awesome adventure awaits! The lost boys are featured in this mystery.. as all the children are disappearing onto stolen dragon ships and no one can figure out why!! The author has an awesome imagination, because he can t ...more

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Jan 19, 2020 Krys rated it it was ok

Content warning: prejudiced language and descriptions

I know... It's quite the fall from the first book.
I really enjoyed seeing the characters I liked in the first book again, however I was a little lukewarm about the storyline. I knew immediately what the story was based off of, and I realized that I really don't like the story source material Peter Pan . The pacing was also a little slow. I only give it two stars because I like the original characters from the first book a lot.

...more

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Mar 12, 2020 Kersi rated it it was amazing

And again: this book was wonderful!!!
You get to know so much about (Greek) mythology and the lifes of so many great people while reading a wonderful and wholesome story about three young men.
It truly is an amazing series and I could really see former Percy Jackson readers enjoying this!

Still, I don't know if I want to continue with this series because I read the first two books in German now and the next ones haven't been translated into my language.. So, I can't decide if I want to read those a ...more

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Oct 10, 2017 Brian Koser rated it liked it

Shelves: first-read-2017, fiction, own, read-2017, fantasy, crossover

I think the author tried too hard with the pastiche/crossover elements in this one. As much as I like Greek mythology, here it was confusing and unnecessary; cutting it out would have really improved the story.

Unfortunately the clunky dialog and characters continue from the first book, but I wasn't able to overlook them as much this time.

The third book is my brother's favorite in the series, so I'll read that one and then probably be done.

2.5 stars ...more

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Aug 15, 2017 Kay rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: overdrive-audio

The premise for this series is fabulous, and the way the history of myth is woven into the plot line in this second volume feels even more natural than it did in the first story.

I'm also really enjoying the audio version as the narrator uses excellent voices to delineate the characters (he has one voice that is so like Winston Churchill it isn't even funny). ...more

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Feb 12, 2019 K.G. Wilkie rated it it was amazing

If you've read the first book, you know this will also be full of magic and adventures.

There's also new characters and the book has a satisfying ending, so you won't have to binge through the entire series before you feel like you've finished anything.

I loved the extra twist in this book of a seeming hero and good guy being revealed as anything but! ...more

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Aug 14, 2020 Autumn rated it really liked it

This was a very good book. I found the beginning a little slow but once the action started it was hard to put it down! The character dynamic is so well written, you feel like you are a part of the story. I love how the characters are inspired by real people in history. The depths of these characters is amazing and I really enjoyed this book.

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Jan 17, 2021 Kathleen rated it liked it · review of another edition

I received a free review copy of this book.
This one felt like even more of a mashup than the first volume! More stories and myths have been piled on top of the ones already making up the Archipelago, and they're getting a bit harder to follow if you aren't already familiar with them. I enjoyed the inclusion of the panoply of Pans, though. ...more

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Nov 21, 2017 Riley rated it really liked it

Shelves: middle-grades

Started off a little slowly, but picked up about halfway through. I really like the way he intermingles characters from a variety of different stories, genres, and historical periods into one connected plot. Will be reading more of the series.

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