| Title | : | The Enchanted Forest Chronicles (The Enchanted Forest Chronicles, #1-4) |
| Author | : | |
| Rating | : | |
| ISBN | : | 0152050523 |
| ISBN-10 | : | 9780152050528 |
| Language | : | English |
| Format Type | : | Paperback |
| Number of Pages | : | 1056 |
| Publication | : | First published January 1, 1990 |
The Enchanted Forest Chronicles (The Enchanted Forest Chronicles, #1-4) Reviews
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This series is absolutely one of the fantasy genre's treasures! It's wonderfully light-hearted and humorous; the author revels in puncturing any number of fairy-tale conventions. Princess Cimorene, for instance, isn't kidnapped and enslaved by a dragon --she voluntarily becomes housekeeper for the Dragon King to escape an arranged marriage. (And the draconian king is female; dragons use that title for monarchs of either gender to keep things "simple.") But though her main characters often don't do the conventionally "proper" thing, they always try to do the genuinely right thing.
Practicing Roman Catholic Wrede [pronounced "Reedy":] writes good clean fantasy (both serious and humorous), free of bad language, unwholesome sexual content, or gratuitous violence. (Here, for instance, Cimorene and her cohorts deal with dastardly wizards simply by melting them into goo with soap and water, like the Wicked Witch of the West in The Wizard of Oz --but they always eventually regenerate.) Her work is informed by an equalitarian feminism, in the best sense of the word, which is not at all anti-male. IMO, she's one of the very best fantasy writers of our generation. Readers who like this series should explore her other work; I can personally recommend The Book of Enchantments and Caught in Crystal. -
Only just recently, it has come to my attention that the final book in this series was actually written FIRST. THIS BLEW MY MIND. The final book ties everything together so very neatly...Goodness gracious my perception of the world is crumbling around my widdle ears. OK so, these books are all really good aside from the whole my not being aware of the chronology of the publication and whatnot. They're all dragony and delicious. And also, it's like one giant fairy tale of awesome. Also, there are some versions of these books that are published with hideous cartoony covers. Those are lame. I can't stand books with ugly covers. The outside should be a glorious sneak-peek of the glory within. I'm rambling.
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This is some of the best young adult fantasy out there, especially if you like some humor in your fantasy. In the first book, the main character gets fed up with her life as a princess. When she tries to learn to fence, she's told it's unladylike, so she has to stop. When she tries to coook, she's told it's unladylike, so she has to stop. So, we begin the story with the main character running away to find a dragon to live with. She does find one, and she spends much of the book making cherries jubilee for said dragon and trying to explain to princes who come to rescue her that no, in fact, she does NOT want to be rescued. That's just the first book. Many other characters come into the series in the later books. All four books are delightfully funny. I really love this series.
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I read and reviewed each of the books collected in here separately, so this is really just for my own records. The rating - 2.5 stars, rounded up to 3 - is an average of the individual ratings. The first two books in the series, Dealing with Dragons and Searching for Dragons, both earned 3 stars. They were fun (and often funny) fantasies for kids, and their strongest point was their protagonist, Cimorene, who ran away from being a princess to be housekeeper for a dragon, making lots of desserts - particularly chocolate mousse and cherries jubilee - while learning magic and seeing off blockheaded suitors. The later volumes, however, only earned 2 stars each. In Calling on Dragons, Cimorene became a background character, replaced by Morwen. Now I like Morwen, but she was saddled, in this volume, with a transformed rabbit called Killer, who is one of the most irritating supporting characters to ever draw breath. And finally, Talking to Dragons had as its protagonist Cimorene's son Daystar, who inherited not a single scrap of his mother's personality or charm.
Basically, the series started well but soon began to suffer from repetition and an unbalanced sense of the ridiculous. Quirk became laboured silliness, and the whole thing just sort of ran out of steam and interesting plot. Cimorene deserved better. -
This is a series for people who like fantasy with a dash of humor and a strong female heroine who is perfectly willing to tell the slightly stupid handsome prince he can kindly throw himself off a cliff. Add some dragons, a few wicked wizard, one very forward thinking witch, a floating blue donkey with a 6-foot wing span, and an entire kindgom made of magical threads and you might begin to understand the stories. Wrede has a way of pulling in a few old fairy tale favorites while forging a story completely unlike anything else. Worth the read!
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I recently finished reading these books with my ten year old daughter. I read them years ago, so I didn't remember much plot, just that they are fun fantasy. And they are--light and witty, funny, creative, and strong female characters. I didn't like the last book as well. It didn't seem as well written and I missed Cimorene as a main character. But it was needed to finish the story. It was fun to enjoy the books together. We no longer have much of an oral tradition in our society, so it's easy to forget the relish of books read aloud. (Unless, of course, you like recorded books! :)) My voice may sometimes tire, but sharing books personally with my children and husband creates special bonds which I cherish. I would rate the series a 3, but it goes up to a 4 because of the treat of reading them aloud with my daughter.
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So I was waiting for my latest book club's choice to arrive in the mail, and knowing that it was a serious choice this month, I decided to relive some young adult books that used to be great favorites of mine. I own a very ratty hardcover copy of the Enchanted Forest Chronicles, but recently purchased the newly released paperbacks in a box set. Perfect time to read them.
These vary in how much I like them. The first one I've read more than the rest, and do like a lot. It features a feisty princess named Cimorene who runs away to willingly work for a dragon. The second one is great too. It's told from the point of view of Mendanbar, the King of the Enchanted Forest, who hangs out with Cimorene to save the dragon Kazul. The third one is probably the best because it's just so darn cute. There are talking cats, a flying nearly seven-foot tall blue donkey that used to be an ordinary rabbit, and a lot of references to fairy tales and other children's stories. The fourth one is definitely my least favorite. It jumps far forward in time and the main character is Cimorene's teenage son. The writing comes across as more childish, and doesn't feature as much the characters from the three previous books. But all in all, very fast, fun reads. -
I never read Harry Potter or
the Lord of the Rings, or the Chronicles of Narnia, I read The Enchanted Forest Chronicles. And to this day I haven't been able to figure out why these adventure stories aren't films already. Very fun. -
These books shaped my childhood
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Okay, time for a Nostalgia Review!
Recently somewhere on the depths of the internet I came across a list of "badass women of fantasy" or something like that, and Cimorene from this series was on there. And I was like, I remember her! She was awesome! And I was possessed by a sudden desire to reread these books because I hate doing things that I need to do. So that's what I did! Each book is only about 100 - 200 pages long, and it took me around 3 hours to read each one. Unsurprising, given the target audience is like 7 - 11 year-olds, but still.
If you're not familiar with the plot, it goes like this:
Cimorene doesn't look like the typical princess. Instead of being a delicate flower with blonde hair and blues eyes, she is tall and strong with black eyes and long black hair that she likes to wear in braids. She doesn't have princess-approved interests, either: swordplay, cooking, Latin, politics, and magic, among others. When her parents decide to solve the problem by marrying her off to an air-headed prince, she decides to run away and ends up working for a dragon. The first book takes off from here, focusing on Cimorene with the dragons and their fight against some evil wizards. The following books really expand the world and focus a bit more on the nearby Enchanted Forest and its king, Mendanbar, who certainly has one of the greatest names in fantasy literature.
These books are utterly charming. They're basically fantasy/fairy-tale satire for children, which is a concept I can get behind 100 %. Looking back, I can understand quite easily how reading them (and I read each several times in my youth) influenced both my sense of humor and my opinions about fantasy. There is definitely an emphasis on practicality and doing things for yourself, which is quite nice. A funny thing about the first book is that Cimorene runs away to escape from oppressive female stereotypes, but she ends up spending all her time cooking and cleaning for a dragon. At first glance that may seem a bit backward, but does organizing the library count as anti-feminist when it includes translating Latin and dealing with murderous genies? I don't think so, and certainly the whole point is that Cimorene is capable of taking care of herself and thinking outside the paradigm of "what's proper," which for princesses does not include getting dirty or cooking. On that level, I think these books are especially great for young girls to read because Cimorene is a wonderful role model. She's smart, determined, practical, and a bit of a badass.
The second book is my favorite, and it introduces us to Mendanbar, who as I mentioned previous is fairly awesome. He's Cimorene's badass male counterpart, basically. In this book, the rules of magic are fleshed out much more, and Mendanbar in particular gets a very interesting way of doing things. Telemain, a magician, speaks almost entirely in magical technobabble, which I found moderately humorous. Most of what he says makes at least some sense if you read it, but I kind of doubt I did anything other than skim it when I was younger. Anyway, I appreciated the way magical things (more or less) made sense from kind of a psudeo-scientific standpoint.
As might be expected, the plots are not too complex. Chekov's Gun is in full force for most plot points, which is fine. The way the heroes stumble upon a critical plot device is lampshaded beautifully in the last book. The villains in particular are rather weak, being little other than cackling stereotype evil wizards who aren't given motivations for their actions other than "we're greedy and evil!" They're also mostly ineffectual and not very threatening. I wouldn't exactly call our heroes round characters either, because they're honestly not. They are, however, interesting ideas and they certainly grab your attention. In my opinion, that's one of the strengths of this series. It's the kind of story that grabs your imagination (it certainly did mine when I was little) and makes you feel like you know a lot more about the characters than is actually written down in the book. The concepts are so fun you wish there was more, that you could really get to know the characters better. The other strength, of course, is that it's quite funny in a gently whimsical manner. The self-awareness of the characters of what happens in a fairy tale is pretty much the whole point.
I definitely thought the first two books were the strongest, and the third the weakess, but I highly recommend this series, especially for young girls. -
I absolutely loved this series and was enthralled by the first book. I didn't mind when there was romance later in the series, but I have to admit that I disliked what happened with Cimorene's husband and the fact that her child was a male. I'd have loved to see a female child of Cimorene as the protagonist of the fourth book, which is why I could only give this series 4 stars. It's still a solid and engaging read, and I would still recommend it as a good fantasy series for kids.
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These are such a delightful chronicle of fantasy! All the stories are bursting with magic, humor, adventure and fun. The hours I spent reading these were some of my favorite moments reading as a child.
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Amazing.
I can’t believe I missed out on this series as a kid. It was amazing. And deserves more than 5 stars. -
I loved these books as a kid. Re-read and still am enjoying them! The audiobooks are fantastic and read by a full cast.
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The Enchanted Forest Chronicles consist, in chronological but not publishing order, of Dealing with Dragons, Searching for Dragons, Calling on Dragons and Talking to Dragons. Talking to Dragons was written first, Dealing with Dragons was written as a prequel, and the other two books were written in sequence to fill in the gap between the two. I'm treating them as a unit, since I purchased them as an ebook omnibus and basically read them as one.
The Chronicles take place in a fairy tale world that gently ribs at and riffs on fairy and folk tale tropes. Magic is everywhere and frequently dangerous, and people react to its presence in their lives accordingly. For example, princess lessons consist in part of learning the appropriate places to scream when carried off by a dragon. A very desirable fate, as the subsequent stream of knights and princes seeking to rescue said princess practically guarantees a good marriage.
Dealing with Dragons (1990) covers the adventures of Princess Cimorene, who is not a very proper princess, and chooses to become the dragon Kazul's princess in order to escape an unwanted marriage.
Searching for Dragons (1991) covers the trials of Mendanbar, King of the Enchanted Forest, as he encounters Cimorene and they set off together in search of a missing Kazul. Along the way, they fall in love.
Calling on Dragons (1993) covers the tribulations of Morwen, a sensible witch who is a recurring character and friend of the main cast. Morwen is part of a party who heads out on an expedition to recover an extremely important artifact stolen from the Enchanted Forest by the series' recurring villains, the Society of Wizards.
Talking to Dragons (1985) covers the coming-of-age of Daystar, Cimorene and Mendanbar's teenage son, as he's unceremoniously sent out into the Enchanted Forest with a magic sword to Seek His Destiny.
I'm afraid that it is impossible for me to be objective about these books. My memories of them are tied very tightly to the tender nostalgia of childhood, an emotion I'm generally leery of but succumbed to in this instance. With nostalgia, there is always the lurking fear that the thing Won't Hold Up in the cold eye of adulthood. That proved both true and false in my case.
The Chronicles remain, as I remember them, a gently humorous set of adventures about some very fun and interesting characters. There is adventure, swordfights, romance! I enjoy the metafictional tack the characters take to their narratively driven world, the matter-of-fact way they deal with tropes like youngest sons and christening curses. I have a fairly good memory for book plots but I was still driven to, well, devour all four all night despite knowing it was an extremely bad idea. So in that sense, they held up very well. The read was quick and entertaining.
...On the other hand, in the cold eye of adulthood, there are definitely places where the seams show. Talking to Dragons, unsurprisingly as it was written first, feels like the weakest section of the quartet. Which is a pity, since it's also the climax and ending. Cimorene remains excellent, but now there is a strong whiff of "I'm not like those other girls" to how she's portrayed in contrast to the other princesses. There's a vague sop of sympathy towards princesses other than Cimorene at some point but it leaves a rather sour taste in my mouth. The various romances also don't hold up very well. Cimorene and Mendanbar are great, but Daystar and Shiara are a struggle for me to see (they certainly don't seem lovey-dovey enough for Cimorene to peg Shiara as future Queen of the Enchanted Forest within minutes!). I like Morwen and Telemain in theory but there's not enough there for their surprise engagement to be anything other than completely out of left field. Some of the humor doesn't land as it used to (Killer, I'm looking at you).
Some of these seams are undoubtedly due to age (Talking to Dragons was first published in 1985, and the quartet concluded in 1993). I'm older, I have different sensibilities and sensitivities. The general conversation about female characters has advanced in the twenty-odd years since the Chronicles were concluded. Some of the surprises, like how quickly the books whipped by, are undoubtedly due to the fact that I'm just older and a more capable reader than I used to be.
I will close my review with this. In the end, I don't regret giving into nostalgia and purchasing the Chronicles in eBook form. Wrede's website FAQ states that she hopes to one day write a fifth book in the series, and if she ever does, I think I will gladly pick it up to complete my set. These books are quick and fun, and I recommend them to anyone else who enjoys both the ritualistic nature of fairy and folk tales and that thing being gently ribbed. -
Very engaging character especially the key princess, Cimorene. she is very empowered to do things her way while looking out for others she cares about.
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According to my Goodreads records, I had read all of these previously in 2012 - nearly 10 years ago, so I had largely forgotten them. I enjoyed the re-read.
They are firmly in the genre of fairy-tale retelling in which practically the whole of society apparently consists of royalty, with the odd knight, the very occasional steward or other upper servant, and maybe a farmer when the plot requires one, plus witches, wizards, sorceresses, non-human talking creatures of various kinds, and a very vaguely implied merchant class who never actually enter into the story. You needn't bother to think about the economic basis of all of this, where the food is coming from or who is paying the taxes that provide the king's income or even who makes the swords and jewellery. That's not what the story is about. It also consciously plays with tropes and characters out of fairy tales, with a bit of a spin, and also adds in a few original touches that fit into the world well enough.
The four books, while complete in themselves for the most part, do have an overall arc, and some characters recur across several books.
Cimorene, the protagonist of the first book, is exactly the kind of pragmatic, sensible, capable young woman I enjoy as a protagonist. She can't see the sense in conforming to what's expected if there's no actual good reason to do so, and so she volunteers to be a dragon's princess and then firmly sends away the knights and princes who try to rescue her. That, by itself, wouldn't be a plot, though; she discovers that the wizards are up to no good, and, by being courageous and level-headed and making good use of allies and resources, brings about a satisfactory conclusion.
The second book centres on the King of the Enchanted Forest, who joins forces with Cimorene to thwart the wizards' next gambit. Compared with Cimorene, he's not as vividly drawn, but he's courageous and determined and, importantly, open to considering Cimorene as an equal partner.
The third book's protagonist is Morwen, a witch who has nine cats (none of them black; she doesn't care for convention any more than Cimorene does). The author has given the cats distinct personalities, and conveyed them so successfully that I could remember clearly which was which and what they were like, which is something that a lot of authors can't manage with human characters. One thing I didn't particularly enjoy in this book; the magician character is given to explaining magic in somewhat complicated terms, and Cimorene, who has shown herself previously to be intelligent and well-read and capable with magic, has to keep asking Morwen for a plain-language translation. I suppose someone had to, as a reader proxy, but really the explanations aren't that complicated in their vocabulary for the most part, and it seemed out of character for Cimorene to be the one who didn't follow them.
The fourth book was actually the first to be written, as a standalone, though when you read them all together the first three books are very necessary backstory for it. Cimorene's son Daystar must go on a deliberately ill-defined quest, and he does so by meeting a series of obstacles and overcoming them largely through politeness (Cimorene has trained him to be almost comically polite) and firm perseverance, plus the help of people he meets along the way. He mostly doesn't solve difficult problems by intelligence, though he sometimes comes to correct conclusions when he needs to. I didn't feel that he had a lot of development as a character, nor was the plot as satisfying as in the other books. Daystar is too sensible to succumb to the usual temptations to leave the path that fairy-tale heroes are often faced with, and it means his quest is mostly linear.
This one-volume edition is worth having for the author's introductions, which talk about how and why she wrote the books.
Overall, recommended. -
I loved these books in grade school and I love them still. The author does a great job of making fun of what is considered a typical fairytale. Princesses take classes on how to scream correctly when a dragon carries them off & knights are constantly trying to find a damsel in distress to rescue (even if they don't wish to be).
Dealing with Dragons
Princess Cimorene of the kingdom of Linderwall decides that being a princess is too boring and confining, leaves home to work for the dragon Kazul, and discovers and subsequently dissolves a plot by the wizards to take control of the King of the Dragons.
Searching for Dragons
Cimorene meets the King of the Enchanted Forest, Mendanbar. With their new friends, they collaborate to rescue Kazul—now the King of the Dragons—from the wizards who have captured her.
Calling on Dragons
Morwen discovers that the wizards have stolen Mendanbar's sword, which keeps them from stealing the Enchanted Forest's magic, and works with Cimorene to retrieve it.
Talking to Dragons
Daystar, Cimorene and Mendanbar's son, is sent off into the forest with his father's sword and no knowledge of his heritage. Written and published first, and then revised later to better fit with the prequel books. -
I'm not quite sure why Alex grabbed this bigger book, or if he really understands what has happened from chapter to chapter. But I know that, as a family, we've read a chapter a night, cuddled up in his bed. That alone would make it a favorite.
Add to that, this is Kristina's childhood favorite, this is an excellent mix of magic and meta-fairy-tale, this has a well-lived in world and a complex set of central characters, and it's very well paced and you have everything you need for a beloved series.
I'd still argue that the first in the series (Dealing with Dragons) is the high point for what's to follow, the humor and point of view seems to jibe beautifully with Wrede's own. But the others have equally charming moments, even if they feel like a little more of a stretch to connect characters, plots, and themes. But whatever your personal opinion, I can't recommend the series enough, especially when it involves, you, your loved ones, and a quiet moment at the end of the day. -
As a child, I know I re-read this series several times, and really loved it! I did recently re-read them as an adult, and they were more boring than I remember. It's hard for me to decide how to rate them, because child-me absolutely adored them! So, should I rate them based on that opinion, or my opinion of them now? Child-me would give them 5 stars, and adult-me gives them a 3. So do with that what you will.
Cimorene escapes her palace to live with Dragons, so that she doesn't have to continue taking boring lessons on how to be a perfect princess. I do have to mention that during my re-read, adult-me was annoyed with her putting down the more “girly” princesses, like she was better than them. However, I will chalk that up to being a product of the time period in which it was written. I feel like feminism has evolved a lot since my childhood. I did enjoy Cimorene taking charge of her life, and fighting for her right to be happy. I also loved the mystical creatures and the charming, comical side characters throughout the series. Overall, I still think it’s an excellent series for children. -
I rediscovered the first volume, Dealing with Dragons, which I really enjoyed when I was a kid, and after a short online search, found out it was part of a series and ordered the whole box off amazon.
After having read through the latter three books in one week now, I am ready to give my verdict.
At 23, I am probably a little too old for this, but I still thoroughly enjoyed the books and plan on reading them to my future children.
The wacky and whimsical wit paired with the believable characters, especially the strong female protagonists, added to the addicting quality of the series.
The first two volumes, narrated from Cimorene and Mendanbar's points of view respectively, are my favourites, with the third one close behind. (I would have liked the third volume better if I hadn't been so annoyed with Killer.)
The fourth book was a little disappointing. I don't usually like first-person narrators, and the prose felt a little flat same as the characters. Daystar lacked personality, and I couldn't really see what was so great about Shiara. Also, I missed Cimorene and the other characters who actually DO something, plus the above-mentioned wit. -
i loved these books!!!!! you don't have to read the first one to understand the second or third or fourth one. they are hilarious books with a lot of magic in them. they aren't that serious, but that is what makes them fun to read!!!!!
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Clever and witty with strong female characters. A favorite family read-aloud. I think we read it at least seven times. Beginning when the boys were in primary school through the winter of our eldest’s senior year when we were all home with the flu.
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This series is my favorite series of all time. I read it when I was very young and I continue to read it over and over again. It is short, fun, magical and perfect for anyone who enjoys a fun fantasy book.
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These are fun to read. I really like the central character in the first book. She's the princess who doesn't want to get married. LOVE that! This is a nice modern fairy tale series.
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I read these books in junior high and I remember really loving them. I think they really opened me up to my love for fantasy novels.
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This series is great. I've read it a few times even as an adult. :)
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Check out my reviews on the main versions of each book.
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Приключения и куча персонажей.
Похоже надо было поставить эту книгу в раздел - надо читать в детстве. Слишком много приключений. Они каким-то комом просто неслись на героев и очень утомляли меня как читателя. Особенно начиная с третьей книги. Встречи с ненужными людьми, ненужные крылья. Никаких выводов, зачем ослик стал голубого цвета... для смеха что ли? Ну, вот лет в восемь в девять, мне наверное, все это волшебное нагромождение могло понравится, но когда тебе под сорок - это утомительно. А еще ты становишься занудой и замечаешь, что в первой книге принцесса была золотоволосой, просто у нее волосы были в косицы собраны, а не локонами по плечам струились. А во-второй, влюбленный в нее король видит прекрасные волосы цвета воронова крыла. Ну и что стало с девочкой за тот период времени жизни с драконшей, которая король драконов, что она аж головой почернела?!
И опять же, в первой книге были разговоры о том, что один из драконов уже третью принцессу съел, а во всех последующих, драконы били себя лапой в грудь заявляя, что они так не делали НИКОГДА, а это просто наговоры. Как такое читать, если то одно, то другое вываливается из канвы? В детстве, возможно, отлично, потому что, ну кого волнуют эти частности, когда вот ОНИ приключения. А когда ты взрослый и зануда, такое уже не прокатывает, тебе уже надо чтобы мир на глазах вместе с главной героиней не менялся, а то ты начинаешь чувствовать себя сумасшедшей.
Четвертая часть, вроде неплохая, но герой-сын утомительный. Он ведь здоровый лоб, ему семнадцать лет, а ведет он себя, как груша переросток. Ну, мямля! Его мама в свои шестнадцать, собрала волю в кулак, дюжину носков в котомку и отправилась прочь из-под венца на встречу неизвестному, а этот живя у зачарованного леса дуб-дубом вырос и мямлей. А еще все такие в лесу загадочные, все знают, но молчат! Это самое мной не любимая повествовательная штука. Что в книгах, что в фильмах. Если знаешь - говори. Если не знаешь - молчи. Но чтобы вдруг все жители леса договорились молчать... И кстати, где все жители, ну, там птички, бабочки, еще какие твари лесные? Герои шляясь по лесам встречают кучу всего, но лес при этом не населен - никем! Это у меня уже второй раз претензия к авторам из-за сказочного леса, они как сами в лесу не бывают и не знают, что он не бывает тихим, даже зимой! А тут между прочим дело происходит летом. То есть все жужит, свистит, перекрикивается) В общем эх... Но это, конечно, сказка, так что не до реализма, но я все равно возмущена и негодую.
Я на самом деле надеялась на смешные истории, особенно учитывая одну из аннотаций, что короля заставляют жениться на принцессе да еще ко всему этому начинают буянить драконы. Но ничего смешного не было. Непослушные принцессы в принципе присутствовали. Но вот коварные драконы... Нет. Этого не было. И вообще больше было про принцессу и короля, а потом вообще про сына-мямлю и Огненную ведьму, чем о драконах. Ну и куда это годиться? Название - чистой воды обман. Эх...
В принципе, книжка, как сказка неплоха, но все же для детей, взрослым от скопа приключений и ненужных людей станет тошно. Не сильно розово, мечами махают, огонь извергают, о том, что надо мыться - наставляют) Хотя, наверное, своей племяннице я бы эту книжку не подарила бы, но я еще та злыдня, я за смысл и поучения) И не только о том, что надо мыться) -
I adored this series the first time I read it as a young teenager: an un-princess-like princess who chooses to work for a dragon to escape societal expectations and make more of herself, a king who doesn't put on airs, dragons who are wise (mostly), and a whole host of magical beings that are just plain likeable. I found it again recently at my local library and, deciding that I needed to escape for a few hours from dreary adult work, set to work re-reading all four books.
The first two books are just as delightful as I recalled. The majority of third book was entertaining, but very clearly a stage-setter, one to get the main characters from point A to point B. And then I remembered how the third book ended in order to set up the fourth and final book of the series. And I remembered why I didn't remember the fourth book very well at all.
Princess Cimorene is the kind of person I aspired to be when I was a young girl. She knows her mind and wants to be more than what anyone expects of her; more importantly, she sets out to do it. Her rebellion against her parents and societal expectations is, frankly, laudable, and she is a genuinely likeable and entertaining character throughout Dealing With Dragons.
King Mendanbar is the kind of leader we all hope to have: good-hearted, self-motivated, and wants to do right by the people he rules. He may grumble a bit about what all needs to be done (and clearly needs a lesson in delegation) but, like Cimorene, is genuinely likeable and everyone is rooting for him and Cimorene in by the end of Searching For Dragons.
Daystar is... just there. He's a convenient son of heroes who happens to be born at the right time under the right auspices and gets sent on his merry way to accomplish some deed that is definitely outsized for him. His diffident nature doesn't change much, he has a good heart and clearly always tries to do the right thing but all the conflict is external rather than internal. There's not much character growth in the 255 pages that you're tagging along with him and while he's likeable, there are definitely times you want to shake him until his eyes rattle for his utter silliness. And Shiara is, frankly, just annoying, for almost the entire book.
It just seems unlikely that two heroes (well, one) could raise such a wallflower of a human, given all that they themselves went through. The clear difference in character development and general storytelling ability is explained by the fact that the author wrote Talking To Dragons first, then filled in the backstory with the three prequels five to eight years later, but that doesn't make the final book any more of a letdown.
So, if you want a two-book, feel-good series, read Dealing With Dragons and Searching For Dragons, and then STOP. If you want to read a meh story that has a great backstory, then read Talking To Dragons first before going back to Dealing With Dragons. But don't read them in series order.
