Dragonfriend: Leonard the Great, Book One

by Roger Eschbacher

If you think it's all good deeds and stuffy politeness over at Camelot, you're wrong! Most people don't know this, but things are pretty bad right now. King Arthur's in jail, Merlin's gone missing, and there's a cruel demon in charge. Seriously!

Now it's up to young Leonard, a page to a poor but kind knight, to set things right--even if that means going on a dangerous quest, outsmarting hungry monsters, or risking his life to make friends with a bunch of grumpy dragons.

Filled with magic, monsters, and irreverent humor, DRAGONFRIEND is an epic YA Arthurian fantasy novel (C.72,000 words) in the spirit of Excalibur, The Princess Bride, and The Sword in the Stone.Leonard the Great,

ELVENKING: Leonard the Great, Book Three COMING THIS MONTH!

Genres: Fantasy

232 pages, Paperback

First published November 4, 2011

About the author

Roger Eschbacher lives in Los Angeles with his awesome family and a sweet little Russian tortoise.

In addition to writing fantasy and sci-fi adventure novels, he writes TV animation for Warner Bros., Netflix, Cartoon Network, Hasbro Studios and more.

Roger’s YA space opera Ghost Star is a winner of the Kindle Scout competition and received a publishing contract from Amazon’s Kindle Press imprint.

Ghost Star and other books by Roger are listed on his Amazon Author Page.

Reviews

[Alex · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was surprised by this book. I had expected it to be childish or 'trying too hard' funny. I was greatly mistaken. The way this book was written is hard to describe. There was imagery and description, but nothing felt unnecessary.
I was drawn in, no, dragged into this story within sentences. The writing is exquisitely done. I feel as if I am one of the new heroes partaking in this maiden quest. I wished to grab a sword and start running.
I loved how the dragons were perceived. This version of the literary dragon was a combination of many others. These dragons were great beasts that raided farms, burned villages, hunted towns people, and had ferocious natures. However, they were intelligent and wise. These dragons had a monarchy and followed their queen. They seemed to have partly human minds; the way they loved each other and cared for their young. Their magical elements were not lost, though. I loved the idea of creating dragonfriends, and the sad treasure of gems as teardrops. These are the dragons that I can see flying our skies.
The characters were well made. The characters were dynamic; they changed throughout the story. Each person gaining skills and confidence. The love affair between the heroine and protagonist was tastefully done. The laws of magic and beasts were clever and seemed ancient; as if I could stumble upon a stone giant and not be afraid. There was nothing ridiculous or cheesey in this story. I impatiently await the next chapter.

[Jaq Greenspon · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a fun new adventure series, perfect for the young adult fantasy reader in your life! It can also serve as a wonderful introduction to the field, introducing the ideas of questing, maiden-rescuing (not to mention maidens doing the rescuing) and learning what it means to take responsibility for your own actions, no matter the cost.

[Scott Bury · Rating 5 out of 5]

Leonard the Great, Book One: Dragonfriend, has everything a middle-grade Arthurian fantasy needs: magic, romance, action, sword-fighting, a princess, monsters, lots of dragons and, the most important item of all, a regular kid who makes good.

Leonard is a simple page, serving the worst knight in the kingdom, Sir Ronald the Mediocre. When Leonard finds a depressed dragon, he devises a brilliant plan that will make his master famous for his bravery and skill in battle. Like all brilliant plans hatched by teenage boys, it goes spectacularly awry. From that point, the pace never lets up as Leonard finds he not only has to rescue the hapless Sir Ronald, he must pass through a dangerous enchanted forest to the home of the dragons to execute another brilliant plan that will save Camelot. Or destroy it.

Dragonfriend plays with all the conventions of the Arthurian fantasy, and Eschbacher does it skillfully and with a lot of humour. I found myself smiling and laughing, when I wasn’t on the edge of my seat. The characters were vividly drawn and rang absolutely true. We’ve all met these people in our own lives.

It’s a quick, easy and enjoyable ride, and I’m looking forward to the next installment in the Leonard the Great saga.

[Katharina Gerlach · Rating 4 out of 5]

I picked up the book because the blurb intrigued me. I like new takes on the Arthurian legend and this promised to be fun. I didn't regret the decision.

This is a wonderful story with nicely rounded characters and many interesting twists on details of the Arthurian legend. I liked the main character immediately. He was just the kind of boy I used to be (except that I was a girl). I liked the way he planned nearly always ending up with unexpected results. The fantasy creatures fitted the world without feeling artificial.

The only real problem I had was with the language. In the beginning, it was aimed at middle grade readers with a humorous undertone that worked very well. Once Leonard, the dragonfriend, entered the magic forest, the tone changed, became darker, and Leonard began to sound much more grown up. Toward the end of the novel, the story had changed to one for the lower end of the YA reading range. This did not stop me from enjoying the novel thoroughly.

I hope Roger Eschbach will write a sequel featuring the spunky Maid Glennys /the one Leonard fell in love with) and the Brownie (my favorite character).

[John Hartnett · Rating 5 out of 5]

Dragonfriend is a vastly appealing and entertaining adventure story that offers a clever, imaginative and frequently hilarious take on the age of Camelot and the Knights of the Round Table legends. I have been a fan of Roger Eschbacher since the 90's after seeing his work as a writer, actor and performer with the legendary LA improv comedy troupe, The Groundlings. He was a gifted and standout writer then, demonstrating a keen intellect, subtle wit and an uncanny skill of drawing humor out of the everyman everyday trials and tribulations most in the audience could recognize, relate to and laugh about. Mr. Eschbacher has clearly used the skills he honed in live theatre and television to make a seamless transition to fiction, crafting a tightly woven tale with lots of unexpected twists and turns and introducing us to another of his everyman characters, Leonard, a young man of humble beginnings but great promise and an incredible knack for running into people, dragons and other creatures who often don't share his interest in self preservation. A wonderfully fun and imaginative book that is perfect for kids and adults.

[Kim-Lost-In-A-Book · Rating 5 out of 5]

Such a fun read! I loved the dragons in this book. I loved the chivalry and the lessons to youth in the book about being kind and polite and not to judge things or people by their appearances. Can't wait for the next installment of Leonard's adventures!!

[William Stuart · Rating 5 out of 5]

I like dragons and enjoy books that include them. When I saw Dragonfriend (Leonard the Great Book One) by Roger Eschbacher at bragmedallion.com, I added it to my TBR list. Here are my thoughts!

Synopsis (from the author):
The fate of Camelot rests in the hands of Leonard, a lowly page to a kind knight, and he must go on a daring quest to find the legendary wizard Merlin and rescue King Arthur from a secret castle dungeon. As he travels through a dangerous world of hungry monsters, wicked villains, and grumpy dragons, Leonard has to use his wits to restore peace and honor to Camelot.

What I liked about Dragonfriend:
Dragonfriend introduces us to Leonard, a page in the service of a mediocre (though nice) knight. Leonard’s adventures begin when he befriends a dragon on his way to Camelot. Leonard is an engaging character, and his exploits are imaginative and humorous. Add Merlin (yes, that Merlin), Leonard’s friend Hubert, and Piffle, a Brownie, and you have a good collection of characters that support the story. The tale moves along quickly and is an easy-to-read and enjoyable book!

What I didn’t like about Dragonfriend:
I couldn’t find much to dislike about Dragonfriend.

Overall impression of Dragonfriend:
I enjoyed the fun twist on the Arthurian legend. Leonard and his friends are well-developed characters. The adventures are humorous, with enough action to keep both kids and adults interested, and the story has a satisfying ending. If you like fantasy and Arthurian tales, read this one!

My rating:
5 Stars

[Danika Dinsmore · Rating 3 out of 5]

I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I’d place this somewhere between 3 - 3.5 stars. Definitely give the book a chance if you like quick-paced children’s sword and sorcery fiction and/or twists on King Arthur / Knights of the Round Table / Camelot stories.

I had mixed feelings about this book myself. On the one hand, it’s a fairly clean and quick-paced read, and it begins in a whimsical manner with enough plot to keep me reading, though at first I was confused about the humorous tone, b/c the cover image suggested a more serious quest story. None-the-less, when I adjusted my expectations, I got into the humour of it easily enough and began to enjoy it for its silliness (like the premise that it was illegal for all but the Knights of the Round Table to do any good deeds, so the rest of the knights are reduced to stacking cheese and chasing crows for people).

It’s a story for those who like to root for a good-hearted underdog. Leonard (Page to a very mediocre Knight) is plenty likable, especially in his loyalty to his mediocre Knight.

Part-way through the story, however, it turned fairly dark, including visits from hellhounds, a demon from hell, and a lot of death and violence. Most of the death wasn’t overly graphic, told about rather than shown, but there were a few parts I thought might be disturbing to younger readers, including a portion where evil creatures are literally hacked apart.

My issue with the violence was less about age-appropriateness, though, and more about it being incongruous with the established tone and writing style. It led to some of the darker moments being treated too casually. Then again, I tend not to take deaths of characters very lightly. Especially the deaths of sympathetic characters. You can make bad guy deaths a bit cartoonish and get away with it.

This may be a personal preference and other readers might not have this issue. I did have the same issue with the book Wildwood by Colin Meloy, during which one of the main characters killed some innocent people and suffered nothing for it.

Too me, this story’s early style and tone suggest a lower middle grade read, for a slightly younger audience than is usually my preference. I’m not a big fan of the majority of characters being “all evil” or “all good” and morality being so black and white. These are characteristics of lower middle grade fiction and many people (including adults) are quite fond of this target reading level. But even though it's not my preferred reading level, I tried to look at the story through that lense and read/enjoy it for those particular characteristics.

(Middle grade literature is generally defined as geared toward the 8 to 12 year old reader. But kids are 8 yrs old when they enter 3rd grade and 12 yrs old when they enter 7th grade. That’s a pretty large reading discrepancy, so many authors refer to their books as “lower middle grade” or “upper middle grade.”)

In lower middle grade literature, there is less grey area between right and wrong, time and distance can be truncated to move the story, and characters can be less complex (there is not much internal angst), even cartoonish and thus less “believable” (which is different than “realistic” – fantasy is inherently unrealistic, but complex characters are more believable). My personal preference is toward upper middle grade fiction because I like that moral grey area.

So, although a quick, fairly enjoyable read, I found the characters a bit 2-dimensional for my tastes, some of the dialogue a bit clunky (especially the brownie's speech), the deaths treated too casually, and an inconsistency of tone.

[Keith Robinson · Rating 5 out of 5]

At first the narrative has an omnipresent laugh-out-loud Douglas Adams feel to it as the author introduces our characters and setting. Then we're firmly in the head of a young page named Leonard as he sets about trying to help his master, Sir Ronald, become a "proper" knight. How? By setting up a slam-dunk dragon kill for him, one that even Sir Ronald can't mess up. It's a win-win situation, for the dragon in question is depressed and wants to off himself. Unfortunately, it all goes wrong, and so begins an earnest quest that puts young Leonard in all sorts of danger.

The good guys and bad guys are very well written, and there's a cute love interest in the form of Maid Glennys. A quarter of the way into the book I was firmly (and quite happily) under the impression it was going to be a light and "young" read, what with comical knights and talkative dragons. But underneath the sparkling magic and humorous storytelling is a lot of dust, dirt and grime, as well as a surprising level of violence that makes this a thumping good read for older children and adults alike. The amount of "gore" won't give anyone nightmares by any stretch of the imagination, but it's graphic enough to elevate this book to a slightly higher maturity rating, perhaps a PG-13 rather than a G. Swords flash and body parts (of nasty beasts) are sliced off; the worst is perhaps the idea of hellhounds being cut into many parts so they can't reanimate. It successfully gives the various battle scenes a sense of "grim and real" rather than "squeaky clean Disney pantomime."

Overall, the story is well-paced and steers toward a largely but pleasantly predictable conclusion in the way that all epic fantasy quests should. You don't know how Leonard is going to get there, only that he will. And he does, of course. The ending is happy tinged with sadness, and entirely satisfying for the reader.

The author is working on Book 2 of the series, GIANT KILLER. I can't wait! :-)

[Senor Sock · Rating 5 out of 5]

"Dragonfriend" is a terrific adventure story set in King Arthur times about a boy and his dragon. Or to be more specific, a young page named Leonard who makes a deal with a depressed dragon named Mantooth to be slain in order to help his knight, Sir Ronald. All parties are happy with the arrangement until it of course all goes wrong. Sir Ronald and Mantooth are both arrested leaving Leonard, his best friend Hubert and a Brownie named Piffle to try and rescue them from the dungeons of Camelot.

Thus begins a wildly imaginative road trip that includes encounters with goblins, fairies, leaf dragons, hellhounds and the mysterious Eater of the dead. Their quest is both funny and exciting in the tradition of a grand adventure.

There's even some awkward romance as the three rescue the beautiful Maid Glennys from the hands of the Stone Giants and she joins the group. But Glennys is not a mere "damsel in distress" who only exists to give the hero someone to rescue. No, she's a full blown and colorful character in her own right that girls will enjoy and identify with.

In fact all the characters are quite well rounded from the young and earnest yet determined Leonard to the depressed Mantooth. The humor is warm and never nasty or tasteless and comes out of the genuiness of the characters as in "Princess Bride" rather than cheap topical references as in the "Shrek" series.

Best of all this is a real page turner and a quick read. Once the quest begins, you won't want to put it down. In many ways it reminded me of watching a movie like "Princess Bride" or "Harry Potter". But don't wait for the movie of this book. Read it for yourself.

I look forward to reading the next two books in what looks to be a promising series!

[Brian Clopper · Rating 5 out of 5]

DRAGONFRIEND is a feisty, fresh take on turning a lowly page into a full-blown hero. Leonard is a decidedly square peg in a time when knights and warriors were completely concerned with being round, as in being invited to sit at the Round Table. Less concerned about being somebody and more about doing the right thing, Eschbacher's hero radiates warmth and sincerity. As a fan of the more whimsical takes on King Arthur and his court, I loved this book. It moves at a swift pace and really puts the romp back into fantasy adventure while eschewing the pomp so often cluttering up medieval lit. I especially liked Leonard's interactions with the dragons and the delightful Piffle whose chutzpah will charm your socks off. I eagerly await the next volume of this fine, upstanding series. Way to go, Roger!

[Heather Sutherlin · Rating 5 out of 5]

Marvelous work by the fabulous Roger Eschbacher! This book is fun, funny and quite an adventure! Although he begins with a well-known legend in the form of Camelot, the author takes the reader into a whole new realm of creatures and magic we have not seen before. Even some of the most vicious creatures are creative and endearing in this version of the fabled kingdom.

I know boys and girls alike will find this story fascinating and fun. My daughter might complain that it gets a bit “yucky” during the battle scenes, but not more than would cause any normal fifth grade boy to yell out “cool!” as he reads through it. In turn, the boy in my house might not appreciate the innocent crush Leonard has on Maiden Glennys, but my daughter will eat it up. A marvelous balance that is hard to create as an author and I believe Eschbacher has done it superbly.

[Joy · Rating 3 out of 5]

I received this book from a Goodreads giveaway.

I found this story engaging. I think Leonard’s uncertainty and the way his plans don’t quite work out will be relatable to younger readers.

I did find the violence, while with fantasy characters, a bit much but I think that is only my personal feeling. I don’t think middle readers will find it shocking or too gross.

Some of the story was clever, which I did like. Who knew rock paper scissors was so old?

Thank you for this copy. I will be sure to pass it on to a middle reader.

[Ann Scriven · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent read. Fun, wonderful writing. It's a YA book, but still a super read for any age. Will be sending this to my nephew in the UK & gettung the next in the series once it's out. Watch out, this writer, Roger Eschbacher is Really Funtastic!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Jesse Kimmel-Freeman · Rating 4 out of 5]

An awesome read for younger readers. The only thing keeping me from giving it five stars is the lack of detail to the ending of the plot. Otherwise, a wonderful read, that I would gladly recommend.

[Ann · Rating 4 out of 5]

funny, well-written, adventure and laughs. Way to go, Roger!

[Angela · Rating 4 out of 5]

i enjoyed it very much. good for adult and younger readers

[gj indieBRAG · Rating 5 out of 5]

We are proud to announce that this book has been honored with a 2012 B.R.A.G.Medallion - telling you that this book is well worth your time and money!

[Senor Sock · Rating 5 out of 5]

"Dragonfriend" is a fun compelling adventure about a young page named Leonard in the days of Merlin and King Arthur who makes a deal with a depressed dragon named Mantooth to be slain in order to help his knight, Sir Ronald. All parties are happy with the arrangement until it of course all goes wrong. Sir Ronald and Mantooth are both arrested leaving Leonard, his best friend Hubert and a Brownie named Piffle to try and rescue them from the dungeons of Camelot.

Thus begins a wildly imaginative road trip that includes encounters with goblins, fairies, leaf dragons, hellhounds and the mysterious Eater of the dead. Their quest is both funny and exciting in the tradition of a grand adventure.

There's even some awkward romance as the three rescue the beautiful Maid Glennys from the hands of the Stone Giants and she joins the group. But Glennys is not a mere "damsel in distress" who only exists to give the hero someone to rescue. No, she's a full blown and colorful character in her own right that girls will enjoy and identify with.

In fact all the characters are quite well rounded from the young and earnest yet determined Leonard to the depressed Mantooth. The humor is warm and never nasty or tasteless and comes out of the genuiness of the characters as in "Princess Bride" rather than cheap topical references as in the "Shrek" series.

Best of all this is a real page turner and a quick read. Once the quest begins, you won't want to put it down. In many ways it reminded me of watching a movie like "Princess Bride" or "Harry Potter". But don't wait for the movie of this book. Read it for yourself.

I look forward to reading the next two books in what looks to be a promising series!