Tuesday, April 16, 2013

The Last Dragonslayer

The Last Dragonslayer by Jasper Fforde

Read:  2013

I discovered Fforde's The Eyre Affair many years ago and fell in love with his dystopian UK.  I especially loved how parts of the book took place inside of Jane Eyre, one of my favorite books.  Fforde even had the same sense of Rochester as I do.  I know, but never understand why, not everyone loves him.  The Last Dragonslayer is also dystopian.  Our heroine is one Jennifer Strange, the foundling who is trying to keep the Kazam Agency's magician's afloat.  Their house is falling apart, magic is dwindling and the magician in charge has gone missing.  

Just as Jennifer gets another apprentice from the orphanage that sent her to Kazam, things are getting trickier. Magic is getting stronger and there's talk that the last dragon is going to be killed.  Each dragon has an assigned dragonslayer.  It's not as hunt and kill as it sounds. There's been a treaty for some time with the dragons and none of them have broken it.  A very powerful magician set everything up and now the dragons have lands that can not be entered by humans, until they die. At that time the land is available to anyone who can claim it.    As if things can't get more complicated for Jennifer, it turns out that she is the last dragonslayer.  

The book isn't what you expect when you begin to read it. I really like Jennifer Strange. She's a great girl with  a terrific mind. She wants what's best for everyone, including Maltcassion.  As usual, in Fforde's world, things aren't always what they seem. And, one young woman with the strength and smarts to get things done can change everything.  

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