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Dragon Fall
"It started late one saturday night after he got home from a rock concert. Something grabbed him from behind. Something wanted to hurt him. Then the voices began. Threatening. Warning. Vicious. At first he thought it was his imagination. Gabe had an excellent imagination. He used it to design monsters. Five-foot-tall, red eyed, jagged toothed monsters. The kind that sold to toy stores for big money. But Gabe isn't thinking about money right now. Because a night alone is turning into a night of terror. He is looking at the worst nightmare his mind ever imagined. And they're coming to tear his flesh...Now...Right now!"-Lee J. Hindle
- GenresFantasyHorrorYoung Adult
139 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1984
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29 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
August 31, 2023
I hope Mr. Hindle is proud of this accomplishment of his as a much younger man. It has been on my shelf for almost 40 years. Since I’ve hung on to it this long, I thought it deserved a re-read.
My mother gave me this book when new, and I enjoyed it enough to lend it to a friend.
We both benefited from reading it because later that year Mr. Hindle came to our jr. high school to talk about the book. I had the opportunity to ask him about the sparrows as a plot device (“the nightmare is over”) and the significance of Professor Kernel’s Taffy-Covered Taco Balls (“none”). He handed out signatures on loose leaf sheets. I had forgotten my copy of the book that day, so the loose leaf sheet has been a bookmark set inside the front cover for the intervening decades.
He told us at the time he was working on another novel. He promised car chases and action and “a bit of everything,” but that book does not appear to have been finished, or published.
In 1984 I would have missed many of the pop culture references in its early pages, but they have an enjoyable time capsule quality now.
The brilliant cover artwork by Richard Bober does a lot of work here, as the descriptions of the Dragons Three are sparse. Credit to Avon/Flare for commissioning a very considerate interpretation for their competition winner.
Best regards Mr. Hindle.
My mother gave me this book when new, and I enjoyed it enough to lend it to a friend.
We both benefited from reading it because later that year Mr. Hindle came to our jr. high school to talk about the book. I had the opportunity to ask him about the sparrows as a plot device (“the nightmare is over”) and the significance of Professor Kernel’s Taffy-Covered Taco Balls (“none”). He handed out signatures on loose leaf sheets. I had forgotten my copy of the book that day, so the loose leaf sheet has been a bookmark set inside the front cover for the intervening decades.
He told us at the time he was working on another novel. He promised car chases and action and “a bit of everything,” but that book does not appear to have been finished, or published.
In 1984 I would have missed many of the pop culture references in its early pages, but they have an enjoyable time capsule quality now.
The brilliant cover artwork by Richard Bober does a lot of work here, as the descriptions of the Dragons Three are sparse. Credit to Avon/Flare for commissioning a very considerate interpretation for their competition winner.
Best regards Mr. Hindle.
January 4, 2014
To this day... This is the ONLY book I have ever skipped dinner to finish. And it was lasagna... My favorite!
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June 23, 2008Dragon Fall is kind of like a Gremlins type of story, except Gabe is attacked by his own creations as opposed to living creatures. Seventeen year old Gabe spends the night home alone, literally fighting his own hand made demons. This isn't a scary book by any stretch of the imagination, unless one of your fears is being grabbed by something behind the closed shower curtain. I'm totally fascinated by the concept of Novel Competitions like the one Avon/Flare used to host, so Dragon Fall was interesting because the young adult novels I usually read are centered on romance or dysfunctional family life.
February 10, 2025
(Not sure about those dates but I definitely read it in one go on a four hour train ride from Chicago).
This is why I love horror. I read this in 2nd grade. I’m almost 50 now and I still think about this book. It was the perfect amount of frightening for a little kid in the 80s. I thought about it for years and finally scored a copy on eBay a few years ago. Still great all of these years later, but of course take this recommendation in context. The references might be lost on a bookish 8 year old today, but I think it would still work and cause the same effect. Are you a cool aunt/uncle looking for something borderline inappropriate to freak out your little nieces/nephews and piss off your brother/sister because now the kids won’t sleep alone for weeks? This is the book for you. Also, totally a gateway drug for reading Stephen King and Clive Barker at too young an age, which has been a formative experience for most people my age.
I love this book. I hope you read these reviews, Mr. Hindle. You should be proud of this. You fucked me up royally (but in the best way) for YEARS.
This is why I love horror. I read this in 2nd grade. I’m almost 50 now and I still think about this book. It was the perfect amount of frightening for a little kid in the 80s. I thought about it for years and finally scored a copy on eBay a few years ago. Still great all of these years later, but of course take this recommendation in context. The references might be lost on a bookish 8 year old today, but I think it would still work and cause the same effect. Are you a cool aunt/uncle looking for something borderline inappropriate to freak out your little nieces/nephews and piss off your brother/sister because now the kids won’t sleep alone for weeks? This is the book for you. Also, totally a gateway drug for reading Stephen King and Clive Barker at too young an age, which has been a formative experience for most people my age.
I love this book. I hope you read these reviews, Mr. Hindle. You should be proud of this. You fucked me up royally (but in the best way) for YEARS.
February 15, 2023
This is excellent. Hard to believe it was written by a teen. So may pop culture references! It's a shame the author does not appear to have published anything else
March 25, 2009
When I was young, I would get a stack of books from one of my uncles every year for Christmas. Dragon Fall is one of the earliest books I can remember getting that way, and I remember writing a book report about it when I was in fifth grade. I still remember trying to explain it to my horrified and confused teacher and classmates.
Gabe makes toys. Gabe makes some toys that are dragons. Gabe's dragon toys apparently come to life and pursue their own agenda. Gabe does not witness most of this first hand until near the end, but something odd is obviously going on throughout the story.
When I was 10, I found the book riveting. I didn't understand some of the words or what was going on at times, since the book was aimed at teenagers and I had a rather sheltered childhood. Still, I thought the cover art was awesome, the idea of making toys for a living sounded awesome, and the idea of one's creations coming to life and trying to murder you had a sort of dreadful fascination. It was funny and exciting and I totally loved it. I reread it many years later when I could understand everything that was going on and it was still a fun read, though obviously flawed in some ways. I suspect that now I might be even less impressed by it, but it was written by a teenager in the 80's for other teenagers in the 80's, so I'd probably be a bit forgiving of its shortcomings.
Gabe makes toys. Gabe makes some toys that are dragons. Gabe's dragon toys apparently come to life and pursue their own agenda. Gabe does not witness most of this first hand until near the end, but something odd is obviously going on throughout the story.
When I was 10, I found the book riveting. I didn't understand some of the words or what was going on at times, since the book was aimed at teenagers and I had a rather sheltered childhood. Still, I thought the cover art was awesome, the idea of making toys for a living sounded awesome, and the idea of one's creations coming to life and trying to murder you had a sort of dreadful fascination. It was funny and exciting and I totally loved it. I reread it many years later when I could understand everything that was going on and it was still a fun read, though obviously flawed in some ways. I suspect that now I might be even less impressed by it, but it was written by a teenager in the 80's for other teenagers in the 80's, so I'd probably be a bit forgiving of its shortcomings.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
February 22, 2017
This book scared the gee willikers out of elementary school me. Written by an 18 year old first novel prize winner, this great short novel was basically Gremlins/Halloween/Trilogy of Terror Zuni doll all in one. I've considered tracking down a copy, but fear it won't stand up to the fond memories.
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February 1, 2017Read in the 8th grade and loved it at the time. In 2017, I reread the first half and then realized I'd do better to stop and just keep fond memories of reading it in my grandparents living room while everyone else chatted.
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews