The Dragons of Winter

The Chronicles of the Imaginarium Geographica #6

by James A. Owen

The Archipelago of Dreams is no more…but the battle to save it has just begun in the penultimate book in the acclaimed Chronicles of the Imaginarium Geographica series.

The Caretakers are at war. The Archipelago of Dreams has fallen to the Echthroi, and the link to the Summer Country has been lost. The Keep of Time must be rebuilt, and the secret lies somewhere in Deep Time at the beginnings of the World, when the Summer Country and the Archipelago were one and the same. Fortunately, there is still the Grail child, Rose Dyson, and the new Cartographer Edmund McGee have learned how to map time, and through a precarious balance of travel to the past and the future, they have a chance of repairing the present.
Rife with allusions to history’s great literary figures and personalities, from Gilgamesh and Medea to Edgar Allan Poe and H.G. Wells, this absorbing adventure, the sixth in the Imaginarium Geographica series, leads its heroes to a land where all secrets may be Known at the beginning of time as the City of Jade, history came to call it Atlantis. And it is there that the Architect of the Keep may have trained the young angel who built the city—an angel named Samaranth .

Genres: Fantasy, Dragons, Young Adult, Historical Fiction, Historical Fantasy, Time Travel, Adventure

400 pages, Hardcover

First published August 28, 2012

Reviews

[Jacq.and.the.readstalk · Rating 5 out of 5]

Seriously…I…LOVE…THIS…SERIES!!!! With every single fibre of my being! I’ve read this series so many times but I am always engrossed during every single re-read.

Storytelling at its finest! The characters are so multi-dimensional, full of strong emotions, hilarious banter, realistic strengths and weakness, the whole lot! An epic series for all literature lovers and history buffs. Fiction and history, fantasy and science, mythology and religion, are always beautifully balanced to create something so astounding and new, perfectly complimenting each other. Multiple mysteries are weaved and solved

The illustrations are always exquisite! The plot is an exciting adventure of lovable and realistic characters battling good and evil, a race against time to save the both the Imaginarium Geographica and the Summer Country, and undertaking many adventurous quests along the way. Aristophanes the Zen detective, Don Quixote, and Uncas the badge are literally the most dynamic trio in all existence! Badgers have now joined my favourite animal groups. Towards the end I may have stopped breathing while the ‘battle’ was waged, so thank you Mr Owen.

Bursting with literary and historical characters, and grand escapades, the sixth book in the series is just as epic, funny, shocking, and engrossing as the books before. Bangarang!

IG Post: https://www.instagram.com/p/CZ-Ouv3B4...

[Mith · Rating 5 out of 5]

JESUS H. CHRIST



BEST. BOOK. EVER!

More coherent review coming soon!

[Valentina Markasović · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have to say this was rather anti-climatic, overall. The final few chapters, to be exact. There's a lot of that talking-instead-of-fighting stuff, and then it turns out it was only talking.

Again there were numerous unanswered questions. With everyone casually turning into dragons, I have to ask myself: how does that work? What is happening? How can they do that? What??

Although we see less and less of the original main characters, I did like the new characters introduced, and I have high hopes for the Telemachus story arc.

[Nick 2/3 · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Dragons of Winter and the 6th book in The Chronicles of the Imaginarium Geographica follows the characters as they attempt to hold out against the echthroi, the primordial evil. New characters are introduced and existing character's stories are furthered as the story follows two main quests by the main characters. The first to find powerful items to aid the caretakers against their enemy, and the second to fix the root of the problem, to rebuild the keep of time and reconnect the normal world and the Archipelago. I enjoyed the book very much and felt there were exciting things happening and the story was progressing throughout my read, and I was never bored.

[Valerie · Rating 2 out of 5]

Interesting story line and concept. The book features an alternate world where famous authors and scientists live on as ghosts or "portraits" that come alive, but I recall only one female author being mentioned by name (Agatha Christie) and 0 female scientists, but dozens upon dozens of of males.

The male characters also were often indistinguishable from one another - Twain had none of his southern style, language or irascibility. He was written the same as Chaucer, Burton and Newton. Two of the main characters- Jack and John - seemed to be the same person. As Jack is a nickname for John, it was always hard to disentangle them. Several women came and went in one scene (the Fates, Medea, etc), and most female characters were referenced but didn't speak for themselves. It was just odd! The one time we were in the heroine's head, she was worried if a certain boy liked her. Rose did get to speak - but not as often as the men she traveled with.

I think having fewer "featured" characters would have helped their development. This is the first book I've read in the series and the author did a good job of bringing me up to speed.

[SouthWestZippy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Taken from the jacket cover. "The Caretakers are at War. The Archipelago of Dreams has fallen to the Echthroi, and the link to the Summer Country has been lost. The Cabal--renegade Caretakers who have become agents of the Shadow--are amassing power to open our world to their masters. Only by rebuilding the Keep of Time can the two worlds be reconnected, but not even the vanished Dragons knew how the Keep was built, or who built it-- and the Echthroi are coming. "Caretaker Emeritus finds a trail that might lead to the Architect of the Keep and Edmund McGee and Rose Dyson, The Grail Child, learns to map time. WOW what a roller coaster of events and emotions. J.R.R. Tolkien, C.S. Lewis, and Charles Williams are asked by H. G. Wells to become Caretakers. A unexpected enemy shows up, leaving you to wonder if things will ever be the same and if anyone can be trusted. James A. Owen pulls his characters from famous authors, scientists and well-known men and women.

[Heather · Rating 5 out of 5]

All I can really say is OMG Goats!!!!!!!

I'm sure that eventually I'll be able to say more, but I'm still in shock over how awesome this series/book is...

[Graham Bradley · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very excited for the ending of this series. Book 6 was the most unique so far, and while it had some very satisfying moments, it also left a lot unanswered. Curious to see how Owen wraps it up.

[El · Rating 4 out of 5]

This one started off quite promising. I hadn’t read this one before and was intrigued by the set up: Rose with the moon spirit, the new character of Aristophanes, and the promise of a great caretaker war. It seemed there was a lot to work with.

But as the story progressed I got lost in the thousands of different literary figures, which ones were on which side and who was changing allegiance at any one time. I found it difficult to remember who we had met in previous books and what preconceptions we were supposed to have about them before they subverted them.

It didn’t help that I couldn’t listen to this one so the time I spent reading s t r e t c h e d. I forgot most of what had happened each time I got around to picking it up again.

I will say, I did enjoy the catharsis of John (R R Tolkien) socking Jules Verne across the jaw after five whole books of manipulation behind the scenes. And I still love Charles and his animal friends and his purple hair. (I think this series may have given me a skewed idea of the real historical author Charles Williams?)

[Moriah Snell · Rating 5 out of 5]

Even on the fourth read, I can't put this book down.

With the majority of our characters lost in time, the race to save the world is more desperate than ever before. But as old enemies prove friends and friends prove untrustworthy, we begin to wonder "How can this possibly end well?" The Archipelago is gone, removed by the great red Dragon. Is there a way to bring it back without losing it to the Shadows?

Jack, John, and Charles must face this task with all the wisdom and courage they possess. But they're not sure that even that will be enough in the end. Hope is so fragile.

Six out of five stars. I can sing the praises of this book enough.

[Eric Parker · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another interesting book in the series. There were some really big shifts in loyalties and surprises that came out in this one as well as surprising new revelations of the size and scope of the battle between right and wrong. Definitely worth reading for fans of the series.

[Thelivingtunic · Rating 5 out of 5]

Immensely satisfying (though, perhaps, maybe still not quite as satisfying as some of the scenes from the previous book).

The new characters were great, some of the old characters became even greater, but the most important thing of all: the badgers are always among the best.

[Mkittysamom · Rating 5 out of 5]

Just wow...I am just awed how each book is just as great as the last one!! All I can tell you really is to just read the series, it will change your life!

[Mia · Rating 4 out of 5]

Such a good book! I loved all the twists and turns, and the ending was satisfying but still
Left me eager for the next book.

[Kamie · Rating 3 out of 5]

I highly recommend this series if you like YA fantasy.

[Brian Reyes · Rating 4 out of 5]

It got a little confusing at times with all the time travel involved. However, it was a very nice book to read and leaves you in a bit of a cliffhanger waiting to read the last book in the series.

[Hannah · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5

[W(alrus) C(lams) · Rating 4 out of 5]

OH. MY. GOSH.
SO MUCH TIME TRAVEL. AND I KNOW THAT'S WHAT THE WHOLE SERIES IS ABOUT BUT... I LOVE THIS BOOK AND HATE TIME TRAVEL. How is that possible?

[Carrie Griffin · Rating 5 out of 5]

I absolutely adore this series and cannot wait to read the final book.

[Valerie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wow! On to the final fun, entertaining book!

[Terri M. · Rating 3 out of 5]

Overall, as this series goes on, I'm struggling to keep the multiple story lines and characters straight.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
A few years ago I discovered the novel Here, There Be Dragons by James A. Owen. This is the first book in the 7 books series known as the “The Chronicles of the Imaginarium Geographica” which follows the lives of Jack, John and Charles as they battle the forces of evil in an effort to save the World. Quite a tall order for three unknown gentlemen from Oxford.

This is a wonderful series of books that draws on many of the known myths and histories laid out in our most treasured stories. The books mix elements of time travel and fantasy to produce a rich and dense forest of interconnected story lines–both real and fictional–that keep you moving forward to discover the Grand Reveal at the end of book seven, The First Dragon. The artwork at the start of each chapter is also stunning! That’s right, each chapter in every single novel of this series is illuminated. Each image is hand drawn by the author himself.

By the third book in the series, The Indigo King, the plot gets a bit complicated and becomes one of those time travel books/series that will keep your mind spinning and trying to work it all out. The shear number of the characters with their similar names and the overlapping, intertwining timelines also cause the mind to spin a bit. However, I stuck it out after a confusing third book and thoroughly enjoyed book 4, The Shadow Dragons, and book 5, The Dragon’s Apprentice, which set the series up for the what I hoped would be a fantastic finish. Book 6, The Dragons of Winter was once again just a s complicated as book 3 and once again confusion set in. However, all was made clear with book 7, The First Dragon. The conclusion was satisfying even if it felt a little rushed with some of the true historical background about the three main Caretakers not being fully fleshed out and shared with the readers.

Overall, I liked “The Chronicles of the Imaginarium Geographica” by James A. Owen. The world he creates is partially known and brand new. The illustrations provided in each book at the start of every chapter are amazingly detailed. “The Chronicles of the Imaginarium Geographica” series by James A. Owen gets a thumbs up.

This review was originally posted on Second Run Reviews.

[Eduardo · Rating 4 out of 5]

“The Dragons of Winter” is the penultimate book in “The Chronicles of the Imaginarium Geographica” and I feel like it’s a noticeable improvement on the last book. It still doesn’t live up to the full promise and potential of the original book though. There are time travel shenanigans, but unlike last time where the time travel took us to just 1700’s London, the time travel leads us to a dystopian future world with loads of shout-outs to late 20th century science-fiction. I would have preferred more of the Archipelago, but this isn’t so bad because it has a similar feel to it.

The final battle is yet another one that’s kind of… not, and I’m on the fence if I chalk this up to a thematic/stylistic thing or if I need to complain that there needs to be an actual battle, darn it. And this one contains the start of more backstory about the dragons and the Archipelago, but that’s not until we get towards the ending. I appreciate it though because we learn some cool stuff with mythological characters showing up.

This one is also a cliffhanger. Some of the others have varying degrees of dangling Plot when the story ends, but this one actually ends before one the subplots ends, with a group heading into the City of Jade.

I am noticing that there’s a trend that happens a LOT in these books where someone native to the situation shows up and talks to the Caretakers, appearing to be troubled but helpful, only to eventually betray them. This keeps happening. This happens twice to the same group in this book. You’d think they would learn by now.

So yeah, I just… I think it’s an improvement, and it’s got a lot of cool stuff, but in terms of actual Plot it’s far from perfect for me.

[RumBelle · Rating 5 out of 5]

Lost Ruby armor that can help defeat the Echthroi. Time travel to when Bert met Weena, and the discovery of a horrific future. Mystorians and their secrets. The missing boy Coal, where he is, and what his future means for the Caretakers and the Cabal. So many moving parts are in this story, setting us up for a fantastic finale. At times it seems as if everything the Caretakers have worked for is in jeopardy, about to be lost, but no one looses hope. Hope is a central theme in this book, never giving up on it, holding tight that it will bring you out of the dark to a better place.

This series is just layering historical figures, literary elements from so many varied sources, pop culture, fantasy and fiction in ever evolving layers. At times, it seems like too much stuff was crammed into this one book, but overall this had been such a rich, engaging, interesting series. An incredibly unique set of books that keep you so involved and on the edge of your seat.

In this book, the goal was to try to find the Architect of the Keep of Time, and for the first time, a main story-line carried over into another volume. The Architect was not located, but so many other threads were resolved, and introduced, that you were immediately drawn to pick up the final book and devour it.

[C.O. Bonham · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Sixth book in the Chronicles of the Imaginarium Geographica is very much like all of the rest, steeped in literature and ancient myth. There are references that will make you giggle in their cleverness and others that will make you scratch your head and go do some research. You will squeal in bookish delight as beloved authors come into play for the first time and you discover plot devices stolen from even more beloved stories.

This series is a Bookworms dream. Sadly there is only one more book left to go before the series concludes.

Even more sadly I find my self disapproving of the way Owen readily melds Ancient myth with Biblical people and events. It feels as if he is trying to distort the deep truths that Jack, John and Charles believed and shared with others through their own writings.

James Owen makes up for it though with an exciting writing style, and a plot that makes one think and will hopefully steer readers to do research of their own. Also he has Battle Goats.

[Becky · Rating 4 out of 5]

I definitely enjoyed reading The Dragons of Winter by James A. Owen. In this sixth adventure, our Caretakers (well, some of them) travel to the FUTURE. They travel to the future first seen (or experienced) by H.G. Wells (Bert). Well, that's the future they THOUGHT they were heading to. In reality, they end up someplace very, very different, a what-might-be world of darkness. The time they spend in this world is very interesting to me, and they do meet an interesting Bradbury-inspired underground community. But that's just a small part of the story, all the heroes and heroines are desperately trying to save time, to restore the timeline, to fix what has gone so horribly, horribly wrong with the world. There are dozens of characters and plenty of stories including a few flashbacks. (Readers learn of when a certain someone became apprentice to a certain dragon.) There were things that definitely surprised me in this one!!! But overall, I was very satisfied.

[EAL · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm starting to see a pattern to the way I read long series. The first book I devour. The middle books drag on (I swear, no pun intended). Then, sometime after the halfway point, the slope points down and I breeze through the last few books.

By the time I got to Dragons of Winter, the slope had begun, and this was a fast read. All the assorted threads of story are starting to come together. Owen's typical start a line...

...and finish it dramatically

gambit was used to better effect in this book than in previous ones. When I mentally hit backspace to get the dramatic finish on the same line as the start, I could see that it really was better the way he'd written it.

Notes on character: Charles and the badgers are always my favorites. Rose is getting Mary Sue, though remains likable. Aside from that, honestly no one made an impression. I'm looking forward to the last book.

[Jorge de la Vega · Rating 2 out of 5]

By this point, the series has outright stopped making sense and has become a convoluted mess. And indeed that wouldn't be much of a problem (I mean, that pretty much describes any Stephen King book and yet we love him for it) if Owen were a better writer and managed to hold the reader's attention. This book finally marked the moment when the series quit being entertaining despite some "fun" details here and there, mostly in the form of the "spot the reference" game I mentioned in earlier reviews. What started out as an innocent, simple and yet rather unique series has become the analogue of a bumbling slapstick character from silent-era films. Just one more to go, let's see if it manages to turn the tide in the end.

[Deborah D. · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very complex - as any multiple timeline fantasy can become especially when there is time travel by so many methods and characters from both Shadow and Light.

A slower read because of the intricate interweavings, but I was still quite satisfied by the end of this portion of the saga of the Imaginarium Geographica as there is the development of Chronology equivalent being created (recreated?).

Intended for young adults, this is equally engaging for adult readers, since a large percentage of the characters include characters from our literary, artistic, mythological and scientific histories.

And Battle GOATS!!!

Only one more in this series, if the author's notes are correct.

[Stacey · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have loved this series since I first began reading it with my boys. The way the author combines history, fiction, mythology, etc. to create a new story worth waiting for is breath taking. This was a wonderful continuation of the story, and when you read it please don't forget the epilogue. That is the most important part of the story, so says the author.

I'm thrilled to know the last is out already. The blessing for forgetting a series while waiting for the next to come out? The library will bring me the magic in a few days, and I can not wait.

[Hayley · Rating 3 out of 5]

Originally posted on BlueAnteater

The sixth in the Imaginarium Geographica series.
Alright, I’ve given up trying to figure out all the intricate timey wimey plots in this series. I’m just gonna sit back and enjoy the literary ride. Really liked the new characters, as well as – though it was quite confusing – the time travel bits. Penultimate books are always a quick read, but Owen managed to keep things interesting.