Złodziej smoków

Alex Neptune #1

by David Owen, Ewa Rosa (Translator)

Alex Neptun ma tylko jednego zaciekłego wroga, a jest nim… ocean, który przy każdej okazji próbuje wciągnąć chłopca w śmiertelną pułapkę. Alex trzyma się więc z dala od wody, co nie jest łatwe, gdy mieszka się w nadmorskim miasteczku… Wkrótce jednak będzie musiał pokonać swój lęk, by uratować wodnego smoka uwięzionego w starym miejskim akwarium na szczycie wzgórza. Szybko zrozumie, że z pradawną istotą łączy go głęboka, tajemnicza więź, a ocean wcale nie jest tak straszny, jak mogłoby się wydawać.

Z pomocą najlepszej przyjaciółki, utalentowanej technicznie Zoe, miłośnika legend i świetnego nurka Anila, wyjątkowo silnej siostry, skrywającego wiele sekretów dziadka, nietuzinkowej ośmiornicy, czterech zabawnych wydr i szalonej mewy Alex zaplanuje brawurową akcję ratunkową, by wykraść smoka i zwrócić mu wolność. A przy okazji odkryje, że potęgę oceanu ma na wyciągnięcie ręki…

Genres: Middle Grade, Fantasy, Childrens, Dragons, Contemporary, Audiobook, Fiction

304 pages, Paperback

First published August 4, 2022

About the author

David resents the fact that he was not raised by wolves and was therefore robbed of a good story to tell at parties. He turned to fiction to compensate for his unremarkable existence.

He achieved 1st class honours in BA Creative Writing and MA Writing for Children at The University of Winchester, where he went on to teach on the BA Creative Writing course for three years. He hopes that one day all of his students will surpass his own achievements.

David’s debut YA novel, Panther, will be published by Constable & Robinson on their Corsair imprint in May 2015. Panther is a funny, touching, and occasionally unsettling coming-of-age story, which deals candidly with the stigmas and misunderstandings surrounding depression.

David has also worked as an award-shortlisted freelance games journalist and has been published as a poet.

Reviews

[Jade Ratley · Rating 3 out of 5]

6.57 on CAWPILE.

This actually made me laugh out loud a couple of times. Some great fun, for sure - but sadly not strong enough to be a new fave for me.

[Natalie all_books_great_and_small · Rating 4 out of 5]

I received a gifted advance reader copy of this book to read in exchange for an honest review as part of the book tour hosted by Kaleidoscopic book tours.

Alex Neptune, Dragon Thief is a mythical fantasy, adventure story for children and was absolutely amazing! I've always loved dragons and so I jumped at the chance to read and review this! Alex is a great character who lives in a seaside town. Unfortunately for Alex, the sea has been trying to kill him most of his life. One day an underwater creature summons him to help it escape being captured. Alex, although mystified agrees and plans a heist to help it. After all, saving this creature is to save the oceans and stopping pollution worldwide. The dynamics and banter is so funny and had me giggling away numerous times. I loved the diverse group of characters and the important message this book sends about the importance of protecting our oceans, sealife and environment and how dangerous things could be for us all if we don't do something about it now! This is a great story and message for children cleverly mixed together in a funny and interesting way!

[Kasia (kasikowykurz) · Rating 3 out of 5]

1. Grudzień 2022 - DNF 21% ENG - zniknęła z abonamentu w trakcie słuchania.

2. Maj 2023 - Na szczęście wyszło po polsku i nawet pojawiło się audio, więc udało się skończyć. Bardzo przyjemna -historia, chociaż dla mnie trochę za bardzo moralizuje. Nie wiem, czy to kwestia samego tekstu, czy sposobu czytania przez lektora, ale ja osobiście czułam się momentami atakowana. Pod przykrywką magicznej opowieści o chłopcu, który uważa, że woda chce go skrzywdzić, co ostatecznie kończy się na ratowaniu smoka i... tego nie mogę powiedzieć ;) kryje się przekaz o ratowaniu środowiska i dbaniu o morza, oceany i wszystko to, co kryje się pod powierzchnią. I ja to doceniam, ale można było to zrobić w mniej nachalny sposób. Znam książki, które propagują ochronę środowiska i są przy tym cudowne, ale ta momentami okropnie przynudzała i zaczynała mnie irytować.

[Mewa · Rating 3 out of 5]

Pewnego rodzaju naiwność wpisana jest w literaturę dziecięcą, ale u Davida Owena lubi ona przybierać twarz głupiutką. Najchętniej, gdy mowa o drobnostkach, szczegółach świata, na które chętnie przymyka się oko. Nadaje to dodatkowej lekkości i podkreśla humor, ale też sprawia, że ukazane problemy prezentują się zdecydowanie zbyt niepoważnie. To jednak perspektywa dorosłego czytelnika, który dostrzega więcej niż grupa docelowa. Dorosłego, który odrobinę kręci nosem na prozę Owena, a jednak dobrze się dzięki niej bawił.

[https://www.instagram.com/p/CsECAWbtn...]

[Nadja · Rating 3 out of 5]

An exciting, fast-paced middle grade adventure with a cast of lovable characters. (Who doesn't love otters :D) After 25% I also listened to the audiobook, brilliantly narrated by Dan Bottomley. I don't have the rest of the series physically, but I'll definitely check out the next one as an audiobook on Everand. (3.5 stars)

[kate · Rating 3 out of 5]

A sweet middle grade adventure featuring a cast of lovable characters and a great message about the importance of looking after our oceans and the impact humans have had on them and their inhabitants.

[Caitlin · Rating 3 out of 5]

Prima boekje!

[Amy (Golden Books Girl) · Rating 4 out of 5]

To my shame, I’ve never read any of David Owen’s YA books, despite always wanting to, but I instantly loved the sound of his first ever foray into middle grade and I was so thrilled to win one in a giveaway as it just sounded like the perfect summer read. Alex Neptume is a boy who lives in a seaside town, rather inconveniently seeing as the sea has been trying to kill him since he was a small child. So when an ancient water creature summons him to break it out of a dangerous facility, he’s pretty daunted but nonetheless plans a heist, as the creature is crucial to stopping the pollution of the ocean both locally and worldwide. I was absolutely howling with laughter at some parts of this as the sense of humour is just so on point, which I was kind of expecting, to be honest, given that David is hilarious on Twitter! I also loved the characters and the different dynamics between everyone, although if you make me pick a favourite it would Alex’s older sister who is a bodybuilder trying to prove she’s just as capable as any boy. However, as well as being great fun and a supe exciting adventure story, this also has a strong message of it being incredibly important to protect our oceans and our environment, as there isn’t a replacement and we’ll be in huge danger if things don’t change. I believe not one but TWO sequels are due in 2023, and I will be greatly looking forward to giving them a read!

[Siobhan Mackie · Rating 4 out of 5]

For a kids book, this one had me really invested! It’s about overcoming fears, conserving the oceans and protecting the planet, creatures and critters and the most important thing of all: friendship! I’ve gone and bought myself the Waterstones special edition now because I want to own it after enjoying it so much! A humorous and heartfelt splash into middle grade fiction for David Owen: an 8 out of 10 from me!

[Steph · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is rip-roaring fun! A mismatched bunch of friends, a long-told myth, an evil plot and a water dragon. I really enjoyed this - loads of brilliant stuff in this! Characters! Plots! Foiled plots! Failed inventions! Friendships! Gorgeous sea creatures who help! Very much looking forward to the next one!

[Анна Полегенько · Rating 4 out of 5]

Це було дуже хороша підліткова історія з краплинкою фентезі, яке точно сподобається усім прихильникам «Персі Джексона». Команда друзів рятує Водяного дракона і тим самим допомагає очищувати океан від забруднення. Дуже хороше нагадування про екологічну проблему та важливість дружби і підтримки. Можливо, інтриги могли би бути трішки складніші та серйозніші, але водночас - чого я хочу від книжки орієнтованої на 9 років?

Я отримала задоволення від читання та оформлення книги, і буду з впевненістю радити цільовій авдиторії серії

[Julita Betlejewska · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5/5

[Kirsty Stanley · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5 stars

First of all I have been following David’s work for years and I am so happy that he has tried his hand at children’s/MG as well as YA - and that this book looks to be blowing up in a good way!

My pitch would be Percy Jackson x Free Willy x Demelza and the Spectre Detectors x Encanto x Arthur Christmas x Oceans 11 x Moana because of the vibes I got while reading.

This was such a fun aquatic adventure with a cast of eccentric and memorable characters. Although the story does have eco themes it isn’t at all heavy handed and the heist takes centre stage. And Owen’s trademark Twitter wit comes to play in this book too - David I hope you narrate the audiobook version!

I loved the subtle chosen one vibes and how Alex’s fear had kept him from realising his potential and how he takes steps to manage this, all whilst doing some very scary things like facing the villainous Raze Callis (excellent villain name btw).

I liked how the burgeoning friendship developed with new boy Anil and the dynamic between him and Alex’s best friend Zoey. She definitely gave me Demelza vibes (or Data in Goonies) and it was interesting to see the art vs technology disagreement with her father.

In fact I loved that there was focus on the family dynamics with all three of young characters when parents, grandparents are so often absent in order to let them have adventures. Here they take part too.

Alex’s big sister Bridget was giving Luisa from Encanto vibes and I think might have been my fave character - super determined.

And then we were spoilt with the animal characters - otters, octopus, seagulls and not forgetting the main attraction of the water dragon itself.

The connection between Alex and the water dragon was precious and because we know there’s going to be a sequel I hope to see that develop and it would be awesome if they got a name.

Alex Neptune: Dragon Thief officially releases tomorrow and is Waterstones Children’s Book of the Month for August. Their exclusive edition has a wonderful greeny sprayed and stencilled edge with octopus arms on it (they aren’t tentacles - right David?). There’s also purple foiling on the cover of all editions 💜 and the both the internal illustrations and cover were by George Ermos - and I can’t believe I missed the map until I was looking for the illustrator name!

Thanks to Blue at Kalodoscopic Tours and the publisher for the gifted copy for the purposes of an honest review. Check out the rest of the tour stops too and see what everyone else thought.

[Insert Name Here · Rating 4 out of 5]

David Owen is better known for his YA novels, which tend to have a scifi edge. This is a younger book with a fantasy theme, so I wasn't sure when I started reading it what it would be like.

What it's like is brilliant.

David has taken the myths of dragons and given them a new spin. This is a fantastic adventure story, and I loved that Alex was able to see different skills in his friends and bring them together to form an effective team. Kids are going to really enjoy this story - and there's more to come!

I can't wait to read the next two, and it looks like it won't be too long - the advertising says that the next two volumes are coming next year, and I'm definitely going to be looking forward to reading them. I'll really enjoy finding out what Alex and his team do next.

[Jodie Cotgreave · Rating 3 out of 5]

An exciting, fast paced adventure set in a small seaside town which has been beset with pollution and littering since the new Mayor was elected. Stories of the legendary sea dragon have been passed around since Alex Neptune's childhood and despite his close vicinity to the water Alex is convinced the ocean and its inhabitants have been trying to kill him...until a chance discovery unearths a terrible plot involving a vicious poacher and Mayor Parch.

[William Stafford · Rating 5 out of 5]

This fast-moving and funny adventure is a Disney film waiting to happen. Charming and witty with an important ecological message, this is packed with quirky characters and action. Can’t wait for the next one!

[Kirsten Barrett · Rating 4 out of 5]

A splash of magic!
The sea hates Alex, but why? Is it his imagination or is there a reason his family have told him to stay away from water?

There is more to Alex and his coastal town than it seems. From litter and waste to saving sea dragons!

[Max Greeves · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.75 stars

[Danni (bookswithdanni) · Rating 4 out of 5]

⭐️ 4 Stars ⭐️

Excited to read the next book when it’s out!

~~RTC~~

[Sky · Rating 4 out of 5]

Content Warnings: Paranoia/Phobia of Water, Misogyny, Destruction of Ocean, Blood

Honestly, I wasn't entirely sure what to expect going into this! Adorable, mischievous animals and a very (possibly overly) strong “save the ocean” message was what greeted me, and what a fun, chill read it was!

Alex Neptune follows a kid named Alex and his friends as they attempt to pull off a heist to save a magnificent, yet heavily weakened, mythical water dragon from the clutches of a vindictive poacher. However, with the ocean seemingly wanting to murder Alex with every chance it gets - literally! - things might be tougher to overcome than they seem. A tale of important heists planned by kids and the importance of protecting the ocean and the environment around you.

I quite liked the characters, they had their own personalities and were certainly not the normal bunch of personalities for a friend group in a kids book! Their character arcs did move a tad bit fast, but that could be attributed to the shorter page length this book has (247 pages). Hopefully there’s still room for more growth in later books!

The “protect the ocean” message was very constant, and very strong. I would say nearly every page had some reference back to the message in one form or another. Don’t get me wrong, I strongly feel like messages such as this are needed in media, books, etc especially for a younger audience. Destroying the ocean is a major problem and it’s a giant fight to stop it. But subtly isn’t. Unfortunately, I feel like the ocean messaging overshadowed the b-plot around Bridget and her goals and the messaging that I loved with that.

Overall, nothing to break the mold, but a fun read regardless. With a beautiful cover - especially the waterstones special edition! Loving the sprayed edge ♥️ - it’s certainly one that if you like the sound of the plot (or know a kid who does!), you’d most likely enjoy the read 🙂

[Anjana · Rating 4 out of 5]

There are some versions of books targeting younger audiences that appeal to people of all ages. This is one of them.
Alex has been friends with Zoey for a long time. She knows of his tumultuous relationship with the water that borders their town. It has always seemed that the ocean has been wanting to kill Alex - he, therefore prefers to keep his distance. Anil is new in the mix, and Alex resents his presence. The balance of friendships, old and new, is brought out little by little as the situation around them morphs into something a lot more dangerous.
Their town has had a lot of pollution issues. Zoey is the most vocal of the lot when it comes to talking about everything that that entails. One evening as they notice a green light in the distance, Alex makes a new friend. It is an octopus that does not want to keep away. This is how he finds out that there is something afoot, and it is up to Alex to save the dragon(and essentially the world). As the title indicates, it is in the form of a heist.
The revelations are smooth, and the pacing is well done. There are different stages and some twists to the hurdles people encounter, but overall it was highly satisfying to see how everyone fits into the bigger picture. Some of the banter veers into childishness, but given that the characters are that particular age, it is more than appropriate.
There are some scenes that I can easily visualise as part of a tv series or movie. I cheered along even though I knew the obvious ending.
There is fantasy and magic involved in the central plot, but a lot of the action involves people putting brain and brawn together to come up with a viable solution. I think the children who do read this will definitely find something to like, and adults who are used to indulging in this genre will also enjoy their time with it.
I received an ARC thanks to NetGalley and the publishers, but the review is entirely based on my own reading experience.

[Bravebook · Rating 5 out of 5]

"Alex Neptun. Złodziej smoków" to historia o chłopcu, który jest przekonany, że ocean go nienawidzi i chce go zabić. Wszystko zmienia się, gdy poczuł zew, wezwanie oceanu i Wodnego Smoka, który jak sugeruje okładka - nie jest jedynie stworzeniem z legend. Razem z niepowtarzalną ekipą przygotowuje akcję ratunkową, która odmieni jego życie.

Historia z tej książki jest bardzo prosta, schematyczna i przewidywalna, ale za to niezwykle komfortowa, co właśnie dla młodszych czytelników często jest najcenniejsze.

Mamy tu świetny klimat nadmorskiego miasteczka, a ja, jako że uwielbiam morskie i wodne klimaty, nie mogłam przejść obok niego obojętnie 😍 z chęcią odwiedziłabym to miejsce!

W książce występuje sporo stworzeń związanych z morzem, plażą czy oceanem, a o niektórych z nich autor przemycił fajne ciekawostki 😁

Jednak to, co moim zdaniem jest w tej powieści najlepsze to bohaterowie! Są baaaardzo zróżnicowani i często niezwykle zabawni.

Alex to prosty i lekko strachliwy chłopak, który wraz z upływem historii przełamuje swoje lęki. Nieustannie towarzyszy mu jego najlepsza przyjaciółka - Zoey. To moja ulubienica, jest naprawdę świetna! Pomysłowa, odważna, infantylna i przez to bardzo zabawna!

Jej pierwsza kwestia - "Nawet majki mam mokre" po brodzeniu w wodzie na plaży, to jedynie zwiastun tego, co jeszcze śmiesznego ta mała jeszcze powie. Często poprawiała mi humor lub wywoływała uśmiech i myślę, że wiele osób podzieli moje zdanie 😁

Do tego jest jeszcze Anil ich wspólny kolega z niereformowalną mewą, która składa mu dary z ukradzionego jedzenia w zamian za wcześniejsze uratowanie życia. Swoją rolę ma też siostra Alexa, która jest sztangistką 😅 oraz specyficzny, ale bardzo wspierający dziadek 😁

Świetnie bawiłam się przy tej książce i myślę, że miłośnicy wodnych klimatów, prostych historii oraz zabawnych, zapadających w pamięci postaci również będą zadowoleni ♥️

[Arrash Mazdai · Rating 3 out of 5]

New Words Learnt - 2
3.5stars

I enjoyed this book for what it was. A light-hearted, quick mid-g fantasy read. With just under 250pages, I managed to consume it within two days and it helped me avoid falling into a reading slump.

I feel like there were many different inspirations for this book, definitely there were instances that made me feel that way. The water people backstory reminded me of Aquaman. Bridget reminded me of Luisa from Encanto. There's a chapter name called Ocean's Five (obvious wordplay after Ocean's Eleven, aptly named). Another is called How To Attain Your Dragon. I don't know about you, but as a HTTYD superfan (books ofc), that made me beam. I feel like there were also similarities with Malamander (probably due to the seashore setting and town legend that becomes true) and the Dragon Realm series (mainly Dragon Mountain).
You: Ok, ok I get it, but what about the book itself?
Me: First things first, I enjoyed the humour. It had no right to be as funny as it was in places, which was honestly quite refreshing. I think maybe on a couple of occasions the moment wasn't right, or it fell flat but for the most part it was solid. The character cast was also surprisingly not annoying or hatable (which is becoming more of a plus nowadays). They were never obnoxious or overbearing or overstayed their welcome. Props to the author who found the right balance.
The story itself was quite predictable and nothing really new happened that I haven't seen elsewhere. The villain and his motive are as generic as they come.
A lot of themes were explored in this one. The first and main one is environmentalism, which is unashamedly in-your-face every page, especially regarding ocean pollution. Other ones included misogyny, nepotism, political corruption, disdain of elitists, and friend jealousy.

Long ranting spoilers At a certain point, our character, who has been afraid of the ocean as it had been trying to kill him ever since he was a young child, finds out he has oceanic powers and can breath underwater. He's also seen doing this one more time before later on he appears scared of entering an underground water tunnel because there is a high chance he might drown. And it's supposed to be this big deal and all but why? He's learnt that he is connected to the ocean. He knows he can BREATHE underwater and that there is no risk of drowning, yet it is built up as this massive thing, for what? To create tension or conflict? To raise the stakes? It just felt really weird to me that suddenly such a u-turn was made. Another thing was that in quite a few places the grammar wasn't quite up to speed where a wrong word was used, jarring the sentence and flow of the paragraph or speech.
Another thing that did annoy me was that there is a certain festivity the townfolk have every year and it is central to the plot as well. The festivity itself isn't my issue, it's actually really nice world-building and immersive. The legend goes that Brineblood (a pirate) wanted to capture/kill the Water Dragon but in short fails and disappears. So, every year in August they build effigies of the pirate and models of the Water Dragon that culminate in latter reaching the safety of the water from the clutches of the pirate as they are burnt. Sounds pretty pro-Water Dragon, no? Apparently the author didn't think so, certainly not the characters, because at the end they come and defecate on this tradition by creating a 'new' tradition for the following month by saying they had been remembering a bad guy and that it should be the Water Dragon they need to be thankful for. I'M SORRY, WHAT?! Are you not the same character that has lived in this town the pass 11-12 years and should know this tradition inside out? Which part of the tradition is glorifying the pirate or demonising the dragon? Nowhere. This is a dangerous message to be portraying to children; instead of remembering the good and the bad, and having the mental capacity to differentiate and identify the two, let's just leave out the bad all together. NO. A town forgetting Brineblood would mean another character is more likely to turn out like him. It's like writing a story but then deciding not to include the villain, or writing about WW2 but leaving out Hitler entirely and just have the Allies bringing peace.

Also, the protagonist tried to save the villain because of his mercy and good-heartedness, RIGHT AFTER THE VILLAIN INJURED THE DRAGON and when everything had descended to chaos. I hate this trope so fucking much. There's a thing called reader satisfaction, and when you built a villain like Callis as hatable as he is, then make him do something that readers will hate him EVEN MORE, you don't then come and try to forgive him and save him, because then we will hate the saviour and then the book. Luckily here he wasn't 'saved', just lost in the aftermath of the chaos of the storm which could be argued isn't much better given that there is every possibility he is going to return. Also the dialogue between the two during the climax was laughably bad, Like c'mon David I know you can do better than that.

DRAGON-O-METER
The long-awaited return of dragon-o-meter will have a look at the Water Dragon, the star of the book's cover. Some spoilers ahead.

Size - While the Water Dragon is in a diminished energy-saving-mode size that can fit easily inside an ice-cream van for most of the story, we'll be assessing its size based on the final form when it was returned to fuller (if not full) power. This means while it is possible the bay's shape was indeed like that because the Water Dragon took a bite out of it (leaving it with a 7 or potential 8), the climax size is roughly the size of the boat/ship of the villain. Which isn't huge in dragon numbers (5/10)

Personality - Not enough dragon personality from this one I'm afraid. It was written as a wild animal that could understand animals and protect the ocean, yet it never acted like a proper dragon, and let mercy be its downfall. (2/10)

Appearance - A snake-like body with fins. Biologically makes sense, but it would then also make sense to call it Water Serpent. The head was at least somewhat faithful (3/10).

Intelligence - Enough to understand humans, control its powers and feel human emotions. Does not talk or to be cleverer than humans (5/10).

Power - The power to control the oceans and all that is connected to it. Bummer that some toxins managed to defeat it and distance from the ocean weakens it. Can't even take on a boat. Pathetic (4l10).

My Approval - Yeah no, nice impostor but not the real deal. (2/10)

Overall - 21/60 (35%).

[Vaconafa · Rating 5 out of 5]

"Alex Neptun. Złodziej smoków" autorstwa Davida Owena to wciągająca powieść dla dzieci, która porusza ważną tematykę. Bardzo spodobał mi się klimat opowieści i nim się zorientowałam byłam prawie pod koniec całej historii tak mnie wciągnęła.

Bardzo polecam Wam tą opowieść. Jest to świetna rozrywka i ciekawa przygoda. Niedługo zabiorę się za kolejny tom, a z tego co widziałam jest też jeszcze trzeci, więc jeszcze sporo przygód przede mną!

Książkę przesłuchałam jako audiobooka w ramach abonamentu na Empik Go.

[Chrissie Coates · Rating 5 out of 5]

Awesome

Loved this book. Great read with a real message wrapped up in a bit of fantasy. A must read for all.

[Helen Kingsley Bryant · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars
Enjoyable adventure with some nice characters and humour.

[Alice Fay · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5*

[Beata · Rating 4 out of 5]

I don't know about anyone else, but it's giving Malamander vibes. I need to continue reading ASAP.

[Jessica Maynard · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very cute, I can see why my 6 year old loved them. Also loved his manicured, weightlifting, fabulous sister.

[Jasmine Burt · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was a fun and enjoyable read. It talks about ocean pollution and how much we rely on and take advantage of the ocean. The book is set in this small harbour town called Haven Bay and there is a bad Mayor who created this Station that pollutes the ocean, the plot is about the consequences of that as well as some other stuff. I enjoyed the characters: Alex, Zoey, Bridgit, and Anil they were all fun and unique and each brought something different to the team and were all essential to the plot.