Hannah Greendale (Hello, Bookworm)'s Reviews > I'm Afraid You've Got Dragons

I’m pleasantly surprised by how much darker this is than The Last Unicorn.🖤



"Horrifying visions out of the oldest nightmares, with their long jaws stretched wide and their great wings thundering, there was even so a ravenous joy about them, as though they could only barely contain their pride and pleasure in being what they were."

Gaius Aurelius Constantine Heliogabalus Thrax (aka Robert) is a reluctant dragon exterminator in the backwater kingdom of Bellemontagne, where dragons are as common a pest as rats or mice. Robert is just the first of many characters who do not subscribe to familiar tropes in this book. He holds an unorthodox opinion about dragons and is a compassionate killer, if such a thing can be managed.

Robert finds himself in the company of Princess Cerise, who is anything but a damsel in distress. She hires Robert to rid her family's castle of verminous dragons so that she might woo the handsome Prince Reginald when he comes to visit. Like Robert and Cerise, there is more to Reginald than is apparent at first glance.

This is a story of longing. Of secrets kept and desires held close to the heart. While Robert's adventure with Cerise and Reginald does not take him far from home, it does test his understanding of himself and who he is meant to be. Cerise proves a brave, if stubborn, traveler, and Reginald makes for an intriguing mystery.

They traverse a land where girls are educated and boys are not, where the princes are dandies, and the dragons range from cute and cuddly to downright deadly. Here can be found brave women, a dastardly wizard, buffoonish kings, compassionate young men, and stalwart companions.

Peter S. Beagle's signature writing style is most apparent when the dragons are revealed in lyrical descriptions that range from their bodies having "been dusted with bits of brass and crushed diamonds" to their "great midnight wings" flapping furiously while flames lap from their "blazing red gullet".

Another example:

"The karchee were like nothing else in the market: all rainbows from one angle, shimmering like the sky after a storm; and a deep blue-green from another, as though they were wrapped, head to tail tip, in the sea."

I was very intrigued by the three wise women in the book's prologue and would have loved to see them feature in later chapters.

While the book's climax is not wholly unexpected, it does sway into something surreal and surprising.

Most of the story threads are tied off by the book's conclusion, but some remain quietly unfinished (merely alluded to). A sequel would be most welcome!

I'm Afraid You've Got Dragons is generally sweet and cozy, but remember, there are dragons here, so be on the lookout for razor sharp teeth and charred corpses. Where are my dragon lovers at? This book is for you!

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My deepest gratitude to Saga Press for sending me a free ARC in exchange for an honest review.