The Dragon Has Some Complaints
-
- $299.00
-
- $299.00
Descripción editorial
"The dragon may have some complaints, but readers won't. By turns silly, sweet, and subversive, this novel has all of Wiswell's characteristic blend of tension and heart." —Caitlin Rozakis, New York Times bestselling author of Startup Hell
In this heartfelt and humorous fantasy from the Nebula-winning author of Someone You Can Build a Nest In, a dragon whose three heads bear rather…different...personalities finds family in the most unexpected of places.
Garrodigh was once a four-headed dragon, among the most powerful in Kardoša. After an unfortunate incident, he now has three heads, one stump, and a daily whirlwind of internal bickering. Centerhead wants to rain death upon all humanity, Bottomhead is like a feral cat, and Upperhead is under the delicate delusion that he is, in fact, human.
When a nearby battle goes awry, Garrodigh sneaks into an elite dragon rider academy, pretending to be tame to get free food and a warm bed. Lucky for him, rider Rania Charvátová is desperate enough for a dragon of her own that she overlooks his eccentricities.
As Garrodigh recovers under Rania’s care, all three heads start to turn, for the first time, in the same direction. Each wants to protect her from the invaders who killed their fourth head—the same invaders who seek to conquer Kardoša. When the academy comes under attack, can this wild dragon and his wilder rider save their homeland together?
This cozy fantasy intertwines epic battles with loving friendships, sharing an utterly unique perspective on what it means to be a “monster.”
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Nebula Award winner Wiswell (Someone You Can Build a Nest In) delivers an entertaining but simplistic high fantasy about dragons and their riders. Readers meet three-headed dragon Garrodigh as he flees a battle taking place in the sky above him and raining cannonballs below. Now injured and Earth-bound, Garrodigh's Centerhead—the main narrator—poses as a domesticated dragon for a spot aboard a flying ship to the floating city of Kardoša. He intends to get revenge on the humans who live there for the havoc they've wreaked on his home, including killing Lefty, Garrodigh's late fourth head. The two others remaining, Upperhead and Bottomhead, largely serve as one-dimensional comic relief: Upperhead believes he's a human suffering from delusions, and Bottomhead is food-focused and unintelligent, providing a running commentary of cartoonish sound effects ("Nuh!" "Yurk!"). There's fun to be had as, in Kardoša, Garrodigh is adopted by a young dragon rider named Rania, whose obvious care for him begins to soften even Centerhead's antihuman views, but the juvenile tone and unnuanced characters give the story a middle grade feel. Readers may have fun, but many will long for more substance.
