THE LAST DRAGONSLAYER SERIES (BOOKS 1-3)

Having watched the 2016 film starring Ellise Chappell as the main character, Jennifer Strange over the Christmas holiday last year (don't ask me anything about it, it obviously wasn't anything that special/too awful as I have no lasting memory of it, the book and not the Christmas holiday that is), I simply had to have the book which as it turned out was in fact a trilogy of books with a fourth, Humans V Trolls, planned for next year. 

Written by Jasper Fforde, all synopsis can be found by clicking on the book title.

THE LAST DRAGON SLAYER.

'Hello,' he said, 'Kazam Mystical Arts Mangement, can I help you?'

There was a pause.

'No, I'm sorry, madam, we can't turn people into toads. Its usually permanent and highly unethical ... no, not even for cash. Thank you.' ... Memorable Moment, Page 110

MY THOUGHTS ... A series that, as with the Harry Potter books, I'm sure adults will enjoy just as much as its intended market which the generally consensus seems to have at 10-15/12-16 years old. 

Hmm! For myself personally there are several things about The Last Dragonslayer that makes me think that adults might just appreciate it that bit more; there are certainly aspects of it (notably its satirical nods to bureaucracy, corporate greed, big business and its attacks on politics, insta fame etc) that I'm guessing may well pretty much go over the heads of many of its younger readers.

Undeniably a fun read (as with the Harry Potter books before it  I can see any number of adults reading copies of this hidden in between the pages of their newspapers) and with the tendency to be very silly ... a dragon named Colin, I ask you! Its just as a well the other dragon, Feldspar Axiom Firebreath IV, has an altogether more dragon like name.

A great introduction to the Ununited Kingdoms and any number of its citizens; that so much time was spent doing so, come the end of the novel, I felt that I had never really got to know any of the characters (its main character, Jennifer Strange, included) and, even more disappointingly, so many potentially amazing characters were given only a cursory glance. 

THE SONG OF THE QUARKBEAST.

Every single pore of her skin, every wrinkle, every eyelash was perfectly rendered in the finest alabaster I had seen. It felt odd being in close proximity to Lady Mawgon, even if she was now a four-hundred-pound block of stone, and although getting turned to stone was bad news, it might have been worse. ... Memorable Moment, Page 79 (Slight spoiler included, please scroll over to read the full text)

MY THOUGHTS ... Though its not written in stone (sorry, that's me having a flash back to part one when one of the characters finds themselves turned to stone), even if there are enough nods to previous events that it is not a necessity, I would suggest that this is a series best read from the beginning in order to get the best out of it. 

That I read the books back to back meant the writing at times felt a bit repetitive; to leave that bit of time between the reading of one book in the series and the next really is best 

Probably my favourite book in the series. Less weightier than its predecessor and therefore reading more like a children's book (not something that will sit well with all of its 'older' audience I'm sure) and yet at the same time, less disjointed, the pacing better; overall I felt The Song Of The Quarkbeast certainly had more to it ... 

And then of course there's more of the Quarkbeast. More adorable than he sounds; an intelligent and loyal companion - Honest, Cross my heart. Its just a shame there isn't more of him but then the author doesn't come across as being really big on mythical characters.

THE EYE OF ZOLTAR.

'No one is curtsying me,' she said in a kind of wonderment as we walked unobserved down a bustling corridor in the palace. 'Is that what being common is like?'

'it's a small part of what being common is like,' I told her.

'Do you think that horrible servant will get my body pregnant?' she asked as we trotted down the steps. 'I've heard about girl orphans having no morals and having babies for fun and selling them to buy bicycles and fashion accessories and onions and stuff.' ... Memorable Moment, Page 49

MY THOUGHTS ... Having read all three of the books back to back I wish I could say its just a case of too much of a good thing but, rated **s 'It was OK' as opposed to the ***s 'Liked it' of the previous books, there was just something about The Eye Of Zoltar  that simply didn't do it for me.  

As humorous as ever but ...

Left feeling altogether a bit Meh!. A bit like when several characters died in Harry Potter ... only worse as this sees the death of several major characters all within the one book. 

Then there's the world building; Pufff! Much of it gone when the UnUnited Kingdoms ... There'll be no spoilers here, you'll have to read the book for yourself in order to find out). 

Essentially my problem with the book however lies in the fact that, Ooh! much as it pains me to say it, much of my problem with the book lies in the fact that at times it truly feels as if its main purpose is to serve as a set up for the fourth book. That there is to be a fourth book a good thing as otherwise, this one landing of the cliff-hanger it does, I'd have been bitterly disappointed.