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Tumbleteller
Mikulyrian has only one to become a tumbleteller and wow the entire world with a story all her own! As an apprentice, she must complete her own solo performance to earn her tassels and ribbons. When her aging master gives Miku an unusual assignment, she believes this could be her big break. She swears her debut will be one for the history books! Little does the apprentice tumbleteller know that not only is her audience right out of history and legend, the story she performs could be the difference between life and death.
- GenresDragons
222 pages, Kindle Edition
Published November 27, 2022
28 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
January 4, 2026
A Story Well Tumbletold
I find that books about writing books are often trite. "Write what you know" has its limits. But this book about a dragon storycrafter did it exceptionally well, combining it with excellent worldbuilding, delightful characters, and a narrative-within-a-narrative done nicely.
In this book, the young dragon Mikulyrian (Miku for short; no, not that Miku) is an apprentice Tumbleteller, a magical bard who wants so badly to tell her own story. She is instead sent on a journey to provide her performances to a most unusual client, who changes the course of her life. This is done delightfully well for the most part. We watch her ply her craft and grow as a dragon, letting herself get close to others along the way. The characters here are solid, not numerous but very fun to dig into.
Where I think this book really shines is the worldbuilding. Usually, good worldbuilding is like a garnish to a good book, not necessary but nice to have. However, my most favorite and dear pieces are ones that actually sell you on settling you into that feeling of how life is for the people of the world, ones that really think things through and provides just the right details to make a world feel both lived in and full of wonder. The world too hits on a lot of the buttons I love to see. Dragons are powerful magic users, power tied to their hoards, and many dragons seem a sort of delightfully eccentric, even the more evil ones. The magic system has unusual elements, and I'm dying to hear of the full list. Morphological diversity among dragons is casual and common, casually mentioning wyvernous, feathered, wingless, and even two-headed characters. The dragons have a good lot in life, but friction brews constantly below, and some seek to change the world. It's all rather beautiful. I quite love the world, and I wouldn't mind being a dragon in it at all.
It also had something curious to say about the purpose of art. All art is political, such in that its creator exists within a societal context that they intentionally or unintentionally replicate or defy in their work, and indeed art in turn affects societal belief. ...? You could interpret this unkindly, in so far as that maybe this is a rejection of one's political responsibility when making art, but I choose to interpret it as Miku believing in herself and embracing only the causes she chooses.
My only complaint is that it could have been a tad longer, using less glossing over and more actual dialogue in the parts of the book . It would have helped pacing there. Mostly, however... I was just sad to see it go! That of itself is perhaps another compliment.
All in all, a delightful little read. I absolutely loved the heck out of this world and now I desperately need more. It was well written, and even the stories within the story being told really sell themselves as what they are. It's an impressive work, and I heartily recommend the story of this cute little white-feathered playwright.
I find that books about writing books are often trite. "Write what you know" has its limits. But this book about a dragon storycrafter did it exceptionally well, combining it with excellent worldbuilding, delightful characters, and a narrative-within-a-narrative done nicely.
In this book, the young dragon Mikulyrian (Miku for short; no, not that Miku) is an apprentice Tumbleteller, a magical bard who wants so badly to tell her own story. She is instead sent on a journey to provide her performances to a most unusual client, who changes the course of her life. This is done delightfully well for the most part. We watch her ply her craft and grow as a dragon, letting herself get close to others along the way. The characters here are solid, not numerous but very fun to dig into.
Where I think this book really shines is the worldbuilding. Usually, good worldbuilding is like a garnish to a good book, not necessary but nice to have. However, my most favorite and dear pieces are ones that actually sell you on settling you into that feeling of how life is for the people of the world, ones that really think things through and provides just the right details to make a world feel both lived in and full of wonder. The world too hits on a lot of the buttons I love to see. Dragons are powerful magic users, power tied to their hoards, and many dragons seem a sort of delightfully eccentric, even the more evil ones. The magic system has unusual elements, and I'm dying to hear of the full list. Morphological diversity among dragons is casual and common, casually mentioning wyvernous, feathered, wingless, and even two-headed characters. The dragons have a good lot in life, but friction brews constantly below, and some seek to change the world. It's all rather beautiful. I quite love the world, and I wouldn't mind being a dragon in it at all.
It also had something curious to say about the purpose of art. All art is political, such in that its creator exists within a societal context that they intentionally or unintentionally replicate or defy in their work, and indeed art in turn affects societal belief. ...? You could interpret this unkindly, in so far as that maybe this is a rejection of one's political responsibility when making art, but I choose to interpret it as Miku believing in herself and embracing only the causes she chooses.
My only complaint is that it could have been a tad longer, using less glossing over and more actual dialogue in the parts of the book . It would have helped pacing there. Mostly, however... I was just sad to see it go! That of itself is perhaps another compliment.
All in all, a delightful little read. I absolutely loved the heck out of this world and now I desperately need more. It was well written, and even the stories within the story being told really sell themselves as what they are. It's an impressive work, and I heartily recommend the story of this cute little white-feathered playwright.
February 24, 2023
Unique tale of a dragon performer and storyteller
I picked up this book for the distinctiveness of a story told through a dragon's perspective and didn't expect to find a rather unique premise instead: Mikulyrian, an aspiring dragon performer and writer with a story of a dragon heroine to share and a debut solo performance to prepare for.
While I'm not a writer nor do I strive to be one, reading snippets of Miku's work-in-progress along with writing tips or novice doubts was highly entertaining and made me think of and appreciate more the hard work writers, traditional or self published, are putting into their stories.
While I think this book could still use more editing to fix the occasional but distracting misspelling and missing or redundant words, it's a great start of a journey into Drachonia. Its worldbuilding, locale and geography, historical figures and events, unique phenomena ("God's Guilt" was a novel one to me) are very interesting. I hope to see more sequels or off-shoots taking place in this peculiar world in the future.
I picked up this book for the distinctiveness of a story told through a dragon's perspective and didn't expect to find a rather unique premise instead: Mikulyrian, an aspiring dragon performer and writer with a story of a dragon heroine to share and a debut solo performance to prepare for.
While I'm not a writer nor do I strive to be one, reading snippets of Miku's work-in-progress along with writing tips or novice doubts was highly entertaining and made me think of and appreciate more the hard work writers, traditional or self published, are putting into their stories.
While I think this book could still use more editing to fix the occasional but distracting misspelling and missing or redundant words, it's a great start of a journey into Drachonia. Its worldbuilding, locale and geography, historical figures and events, unique phenomena ("God's Guilt" was a novel one to me) are very interesting. I hope to see more sequels or off-shoots taking place in this peculiar world in the future.
September 5, 2023
Enjoyable story with more than shows first
It starts like slice of life of an apprentice bard with intertwined bouts of the stories she works on, dealing with the challenges of storytelling and authoring, their doubts...
Then by the second half, it expands further with a larger plot.
I enjoyed both Mikulyrian's character who's well delivered and endearing, and the many elements of worldbuilding always coming in context without info dumping.
Those hint at an interesting setup of world and history, where marching civilization and brutal conflicts mix into a promising lore.
The story manages to show both grim aspects of its world and hopeful expectations yet become neither dark or naive.
The story ending, while this would work as a standalone, is open to a sequel that I'd be glad to see.
Editing is not perfect, but the little mistakes are not hindering the read, they're even hardly annoying unless one decides to be annoyed at them (but then one must be annoyed at a lot of things).
Most importantly, the delivery of the story is competently done.
It starts like slice of life of an apprentice bard with intertwined bouts of the stories she works on, dealing with the challenges of storytelling and authoring, their doubts...
Then by the second half, it expands further with a larger plot.
I enjoyed both Mikulyrian's character who's well delivered and endearing, and the many elements of worldbuilding always coming in context without info dumping.
Those hint at an interesting setup of world and history, where marching civilization and brutal conflicts mix into a promising lore.
The story manages to show both grim aspects of its world and hopeful expectations yet become neither dark or naive.
The story ending, while this would work as a standalone, is open to a sequel that I'd be glad to see.
Editing is not perfect, but the little mistakes are not hindering the read, they're even hardly annoying unless one decides to be annoyed at them (but then one must be annoyed at a lot of things).
Most importantly, the delivery of the story is competently done.
March 18, 2025
I think the world building was what put this book over the top for me. I was interested in reading this book as it had an interesting premise. A dragon storyteller tries to make her first big performance a showstopper. I found myself relating a lot to Mikulyrian and her efforts to get her artistry noticed. She wants so desperately to be a good storyteller and to be an asset to her guild. I can relate to that drive to get your stories out in front of an audience and to have them be good enough to possibly get you another performance down the line. The concept of a tumbleteller is a kind of all-in-one performer that uses magic, puppeteering, music, and their storyteller training to entertain and delight the masses. The way that Lars sprinkles in bits of the greater scope of Drachonia kept me coming back to see where it would all lead. I also felt like Lars took the time to consider how a dragon would move and interact in this world. It's the small details that help to sell the story being told from a dragon's perspective like balancing on her tail in her juggling act. I did feel as though the ending wrapped up a bit too quickly, especially with the implications that are given in the last couple chapters, but hope to see more in this setting from this author in the future.
September 23, 2025
A student entertainer/storyteller dragon gets her first major opportunity to put her multi-performance skills to use for a real paying gig. If she performs well, she will not only impress the client but also receive positive feedback to show to her guild and stringent old tutor, so she sets out to do her best, and ends up getting involved in a whole lot more than she expected.
The world is dominated by dragons, humans, and dragonborn (dragon/human hybrids) living mere years off of realm-changing wars, yet there is still subtle friction at play between factions, and expanses of lawless lands in between.
I enjoyed the way the world was laid out and described, and appreciated all of the thought put into the story-weaving preparation the protagonist Mikulyrian performs in order to accomplish her task. Tumbleteller is an entertaining and engaging read, and I recommend it for anyone who likes dragons, fantasy, or good imaginative storytelling. Appropriate for ages approximately 9 through adult. It's not a children's book, necessarily, but it doesn't have anything inappropriate other than a small amount of violence. Yes, adults will enjoy this book just as I did (after all, I'm an adult - most of the time), and it includes the added elements of subterfuge and betrayal.
The world is dominated by dragons, humans, and dragonborn (dragon/human hybrids) living mere years off of realm-changing wars, yet there is still subtle friction at play between factions, and expanses of lawless lands in between.
I enjoyed the way the world was laid out and described, and appreciated all of the thought put into the story-weaving preparation the protagonist Mikulyrian performs in order to accomplish her task. Tumbleteller is an entertaining and engaging read, and I recommend it for anyone who likes dragons, fantasy, or good imaginative storytelling. Appropriate for ages approximately 9 through adult. It's not a children's book, necessarily, but it doesn't have anything inappropriate other than a small amount of violence. Yes, adults will enjoy this book just as I did (after all, I'm an adult - most of the time), and it includes the added elements of subterfuge and betrayal.
June 3, 2024
Welcome to Drachonia!
I love the idea of a land ruled by dragons, where the different regions are named for the different parts of a dragon. It's a delightful convention, and it reminds me of the regional naming conventions for the Boiling Isles in The Owl House.
The dragon names follow an interesting pattern as well. For the four-syllable names, I found it helpful to break them into two trochees for easier pronunciation. MIK - u - LYR - ian, for example.
The story introduces us to the world and some of its prevailing conflicts, and sets itself up nicely for a sequel. I found myself frustrated with Mikulyrian in the beginning, but that changed before the end. Definitely looking forward to more of her story.
And the word "tumbleteller" is just an absolute win. Rolls off the tongue so pleasantly. So many of the names have a lovely ring to them like that.
The magic system is never over-explained, it's fed to you as the story progresses, and you soon find yourself getting a feel for it.
Well done Lars Jensen. Drachonia is my favorite of your worlds so far. Great work!
I love the idea of a land ruled by dragons, where the different regions are named for the different parts of a dragon. It's a delightful convention, and it reminds me of the regional naming conventions for the Boiling Isles in The Owl House.
The dragon names follow an interesting pattern as well. For the four-syllable names, I found it helpful to break them into two trochees for easier pronunciation. MIK - u - LYR - ian, for example.
The story introduces us to the world and some of its prevailing conflicts, and sets itself up nicely for a sequel. I found myself frustrated with Mikulyrian in the beginning, but that changed before the end. Definitely looking forward to more of her story.
And the word "tumbleteller" is just an absolute win. Rolls off the tongue so pleasantly. So many of the names have a lovely ring to them like that.
The magic system is never over-explained, it's fed to you as the story progresses, and you soon find yourself getting a feel for it.
Well done Lars Jensen. Drachonia is my favorite of your worlds so far. Great work!
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews