Rain & Fire: A Guide to the Last Dragon Chronicles

The Last Dragon Chronicles

by Jay d'Lacey, Jay d'Lacey

This intriguing and entertaining guide will not only appeal to all fans of best-selling series The Last Dragon Chronicles, but will also appeal to everyone with an interest in dragons! In a collaborative work between Chris and his wife Jay, the book features character profiles, information on backgrounds and settings in the series, and explores relevant themes such as climate change. It includes stunning illustrations and photographs and is a book that everyone can enjoy, dip into, and indulge their passion for dragons!

Genres: Fantasy, Dragons, Fiction, Middle Grade, Young Adult, Mythology

192 pages, Paperback

First published October 7, 2010

Reviews

[Elizabeth · Rating 5 out of 5]

As a companion book for the Last Dragon Chronicles, it is excellent for a follow-up for the series. I did not realize in my reading of this series the many characters I met. This also illustrated the interacting within the series and gave me a great appreciation for the author in the way the series developed. I already loved every book on the series and kept hunting for them. I guess I have to admit the hunting is over and now I can visit old friends for a great treat.

[Rhys · Rating 4 out of 5]

Rain and Fire isn’t a ‘real’ book, so I can’t really give a full-blown review, but I’ll try my best!

Written by Chris d’Lacey’s wife, Jay, Rain and Fire is a guidebook to The Last Dragon Chronicles, written by Chris d’Lacey. Rain and Fire has a glossary of terms, something that I’m sure many fans will find very useful, particularly before reading Fire World, the next book due. Character biographies and other such things also feature in Rain and Fire, although most of it is more of a narrative of how The Last Dragon Chronicles came to be, what they mean, and various bits about the author himself.

For fans of the series, I’m sure that Rain and Fire will be very interesting; it’s very much like the behind-the-scenes features on a DVD. For those who haven’t read the series though, Rain and Fire will seem odd and irrelevant – and I suggest you start reading The Fire Within, which is the first novel in the Chronicles. continue reading...

[Elena · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book had some really interesting background info on The Last Dragon Chronicles, but I had hoped for a bit more. Approximately half of it is just recaps of all the books in the series. Since I have already read them, that was not really necessary.

I read the UK version of the book, as that is the copy I have on my e-reader. I am however interested in the changes they made for the US copy, because apparently that came out after all seven books had been published already, while the UK edition is only about the first five. Luckily, the physical copy I own is the US version, so I might flip through it in the future to make some comparisons.

[Gillie · Rating 2 out of 5]

It was OK. I liked the insights on how d'Lacey wrote the series, and I liked some of the pictures. But I did not like how most of the book was restating what had happened in the series, I thought that was boring and redundant. I did like the character profiles of the dragons and the emails from fans to the author. I especially liked his top ten moments in the books.

[Victoria · Rating 1 out of 5]

Note to self: DNF'd, read like a vanity project and I did not enjoy the character description of my favourite character as a kid, which made her into a Wife and Mother. Maybe it would be useful if you love the series, I just wanted a way to remember them without rereading them all! And it did not particularly serve the purpose.

[Kalena ୨୧ · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a nice companion to the Last Dragon Chronicles. It explained lots of things that you were left to wonder about in the book. But there is still some mystery to some things. I suggest that if you have read this series, definitely read this companion.

[Zoe Dabney · Rating 1 out of 5]

There is nothing worth knowing in this book. Do yourself a favor and skim the last chapter or two in the book store or library and don't bother purchasing it. I gained next to nothing from this book.

[Christine · Rating 5 out of 5]

It was a great companion book. Wish I had had it when I read the partial series before.

[Taylor · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very cool to see how he came up with everything and the process.

[Kyle · Rating 3 out of 5]

I’m not entirely sure why this book exists or who its intended reader is. But I enjoyed reading it more often than not.

[Its Cha Boi Uhh Pope the Froge]

It was a pretty okay book in general. Although it wasn't that interesting like some of the other books but it was around the main point of the series.

[Kara Pedley · Rating 3 out of 5]

DO NOT read this book before reading the series! OH My God, there is so many spoilers. I guess it definitely is my fault for reading it before finishing the series. Its definitely worth reading if you have read the series it opens your mind and gives you an insight into the though process of how the series came to be. I don’t regret reading.

[Maria · Rating 5 out of 5]

I thoroughly enjoyed this book as kind of a recap of the story and a look into some of the life of the author. For example, now I know why the first book was so focused on squirrels as opposed to dragons, which annoyed me to no end while reading The Fire Within. We also discover why he incorporates polar bears, or ice bears, in the story, which initially I thought was a weird thing to do (what in the world would dragons and polar bears have in common?), but turned out to work nicely with the rest of the story.

All in all, well worth a read.

[Kit · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is basically a book that is an overview for all seven books in The Last Dragon Chronicles. I started reading it thinking it was a separate story or even an additional book and was bumped to find out it is just a review book. It gives details of how the author came about to writing the books and what led to the plot line and characters. It gives some interested tidbits that I didn't know. Like that you can actually buy the clay dragons that are in the books from a gal the dragons were inspired from. I'm going to be checking out her website!

[Carolyn Berglund · Rating 4 out of 5]

These books are the first series to get my very reluctant reader son to read in fifth grade! He loves them! He is now in ninth grade and just read the last book back in Spring. I have not read books since first book but I have proofed every book report along the way. I found this guide to be a fantastic refresher and a great way to relive a great story. I am sure we will bw getting the hard copy... as the oldest is expecting the youngest to start the series soon.

[Caitlan Meyer]

As this book is a companion I do not feel the need to really rate it. It answers general questions about how the series came about and characters through tout. I honestly just wish I would of had this when I read the series as I remember when it took a year or two in between sometimes picking up the next book did get confusing. But I will definitely look forward to looking back at this for reference when I finally do my reread of the series.

[Liah · Rating 3 out of 5]

A pretty good refresher on what happened in the last five books which began a while back now, so it didn't feel unnatural for this book to be added as an extra/bonus book of the series. A tasty backgrond insight into the writing of the series, great for fans.

[Brianna · Rating 4 out of 5]

An excellent and concise guide to the Last Dragon Chronicles up to Dark Fire. Contains fascinating tidbits on Chris's inspirations, research, writing process and idea development when it came to writing the series.

[Abbie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Even though I've only read the first two books in this series I love it. This was a fun book to read with background info and summaries. It was the perfect way to get back into the series. I'm thinking about restarting the series soon.

[Aaron · Rating 4 out of 5]

Awesome book! I love getting behind the scenes on any book writing, so this is great for anyone else who does too.

[The Literary Connoisseur · Rating 4 out of 5]

I found this book to be a "must read" to fully appreciate the end of the Last Dragon Chronicles. I'm incredibly sad to say goodbye to them (for now) but until next time, "hrrr!"

[Marty O'hara · Rating 2 out of 5]

for the book Rain and Fire you have to read the series before you read this book. It's not really even about the book series in my opinion. It's more about the author.

[Z'sania · Rating 5 out of 5]

Good book

[Joe the Cat (katie) · Rating 5 out of 5]

really cool and useful

[jisdle · Rating 4 out of 5]

WWWWHHHHAAAATTTT IS THIS!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Krista · Rating 5 out of 5]

Explains a ton of stuff!!

[Chris Meads]

This is the companion to the Last Dragon Chronicles.

It is written by Jay D'Lacey about her husband Chris and how he went about writing the series (there are 7 in all). The book talks about the characters, the settings, and the dragons (I wish I could have a Pennykettle dragon). There is also a glossary and a question and answer section at the end of the book.

It is a great companion to the series and there is snippets of what each book is about without telling all.