The Unexpected Dragon

Pigs Don't Fly #2-4

by Mary Brown

Includes "Pigs Don't Fly", "Master of Many Treasures", and "Dragonne's Eg".

Genres: Fantasy, Dragons, Young Adult, Fiction, Romance, Science Fiction Fantasy, Adult

852 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1999

About the author

Librarian Note: There is more than one author in the GoodReads database with this name. See this thread for more information.

Reviews

[Lisa · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was an unexpected delight to read. This is one of the most well written books I believe I have ever read. Spanning a thousand years and many nations, every step they took on their journey was a step I took beside them. The commoradie between the characters was excellent, and believable. This is what I would classify a must read for all ages.

[Jason · Rating 4 out of 5]

I've read fantasy novels most of my life and the ultimate-evil-that-threatens-to-rule-the-world calibre of story (ala Harry Potter and Lord of the Rings) starts to get old after awhile. So in comes Mary Brown whose plucky heroine Summer (they're all plucky if they're women), is a Cinderella who's gone out in the world to bring a hunky, yet haughty and crippled nobleman back to his faraway home. She does this with the help of some animals she's adopted along the way, which she can talk to with the aid of a magic bauble! The second book in this collection follows Summer as she poses as a boy and travels the silk road (in the footsteps of Marco Polo) in search of her true love. The third book is set in 1800's London and is a quest for the new heroine (who is also plucky, my my) to find Summer's dragon egg which was such a big part of her quest centuries ago, and the heroine's own search for a larger place in the world. First off are the women in this book; seldom in fantasy have I read such capable, warm, compassionate, and fully fleshed women ever being heroines (they don't just act like men with boobs - they act like women). Second is the realism; instead of just putting hunks of cheese and bread in their satchels and sending them off for months on the road, Brown lets Summer actually plan meals and run out of money and mend clothing - all in the hopes of keeping her charming nobleman alive so he can fall in love with her (she wises up eventually, don't worry). Putting those small mechanics of the story in really makes the difference and puts the peril in this much less ambitious fantasy. It's the second book that is truly breathtaking as it follows Summer's resolve halfway around the world, although the ending is like a punch to the gut - other reviewers say the same. The third book is merely satisfying as there isn't as much risk or reward and much of the story is retracing the steps of the second book. I would higly recommend this book to young women or anyone who isn't hung up on epic fantasy clichees.

[Ronda Tutt · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was an excelent book, it was one of those books I couldn't put down.

[Michael Alan Grapin · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Unexpected Dragon is actually a trilogy including Pigs Don't Fly, Master Of Many Treasures, and Dragonne's Eg. The first begins with the sentence *My mother was the village whore and I loved her very much.* When her mother dies suddenly, a seventeen year old morbidly obese girl learns that she must vacate the cottage she lived in with her mother so that the men of the village can import a new whore. Until then, she hadn't even known her name. A visit to the church and a check of the birth records indicate her name is Sumerdai. She collects a small purse of foreign coins and a ring made of unicorn horn, the legacy from a father she had never known, and sets out on a grand adventure during which she discovers that she is able to communicate with a dog, a horse, a pigeon, a tortoise and a flying pig whom she has rescued as well as a handsome, blind knight.
As the second book begins, Summerdai, or Summer as she's become known, has shed her considerable weight and turned into a beauty. She has now attracted marriage proposals from a successful, but lonely merchant, and her blind knight who has managed to regain his sight, but she is determined to set off in search of her one true love who is now thousands of miles away in Cathay. She disguises herself as a boy, forges a letter from the wealthy merchant and signs on as an apprentice to facilitate her quest. Along the way, she acquires a prince that she purchases in a slave market and a magical creature who is a servant of Siddhartha, the Buddha.
It's seven hundred years later as we begin the third book and the responsibility of the quest falls upon Sophy, a Victorian school teacher who inherits some mysterious artifacts from her uncle. Her uncle's will contains a challenge. Sophy may collect a few hundred pounds and be on her merry way, or she can choose to complete a task within a year and acquire the bulk of his estate.
An enchanting fairytale for a more mature audience!

[John Driscoll · Rating 4 out of 5]

80's and 90's kids: remember those mail-order music clubs you could join where there was some great deal when you first signed up, then they would send you monthly catalogs of overpriced CD's and would automatically mail you (and charge you for) a "featured selection" every month unless you mailed in the order form to say you didn't want it? I know I joined and quit more of those clubs than I can remember, just to build up my music collection with their introductory offers. Anyway, I once joined a mail-order book club that was like that, and this was a book I got as a "featured selection."

The first book in this omnibus, Pigs Don't Fly starts off with possibly the best opening line I've ever encountered in a book: "My mother was the village whore and I loved her very much." It's such an unusual opener that I still remember it more than two decades later, and I just had to know more!

I'd be lying if I said the entire book was as memorable as that first line, but it was an enjoyable read and I still have it on my bookshelf and want to crack it open again someday. Worth a read if you like coming-of-age stories with likable protagonists, and also dragons.

[Rhiannon Graye · Rating 3 out of 5]

I had a very complicated relationship with this book. I was intermittently bored, irritated, amused, and entertained. There were at least 2 or 3 times I almost put it down, the last one almost 2/3 of the way through the book! Was it a story that made a lasting impact on my psyche? No. However, a book that creates such a range of reactions in it's reader is doing it's job. A funny, whimsical, and at times downright absurd story that doesn't take itself too seriously, and neither should you.

[Sam · Rating 5 out of 5]

yeh i love this book. it is funny and exciting and interesting to read.

[Kelly · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is one of my favorite Dragon books. Mary Brown has an easy, elegant style that makes reading her stories a pleasure.

[Suzanne · Rating 5 out of 5]

I LOVE this book! It really takes you away...

[Sandra Brandon · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was a little different than the ones I usually read because it almost had no plot and was just a very long journey. I found it at a festival and decided to buy it for some summer time reading. I fell in love with the character Summerdai, however there was some personality traits that left me a little sour... Most of the character's I liked, sometimes it seemed like they were just added to make the story longer and the whole comment and running gag of being better in groups of 7(or was it 8?) comment could have been removed completely.

It is suppose to sound like it was written in the style of journal, but honestly it didn't really feel like one. It started out as a quickly paced book until the beginning of book 2. Suddenly it's incredible slow paced and you're honestly yelling at the book, how much longer is this journey going to take!

It took so long for me to finish the book because I kept having to put it down and take a break from it. By the end, the author and I have very different ideas of how it should end. I was so happy about how it turned out until the epilogue. Oh how I wanted to kill a certain character right then and there.

There is a another story latched on to the end that follows another girl's adventure some 200 years in the future. Relieved that I just finished the first part, I wasn't too keen on picking it up again and continuing. Maybe in a while I will finish the whole darn think and just be over with it already.

[Scott Lee · Rating 2 out of 5]

The ideas are very original and the conversations entertaining, and it's a non-stop ride through summers journey. A very big negative in this series is unfortunately a sub-plot of romance is not there. Instead it's used to wrap up the story, which is very forced on the reader, out of nowhere, at the very end of both journeys. Not to mention that you never definitively find out what happened to Summer or Jasper! Why wouldn't Jasper be there in the last book? It's his Eg, wouldn't he be drawn to it getting born? In the end very discontented with the books.

[Shad · Rating 2 out of 5]

I made it through the first book in this volume. Started the second, but decided that my reading time would be better spent reading something I'm more interested in.

Overall, the book isn't bad. My main problem is that I don't relate to the protagonist that well and this is a fairly character driven story as she changes through her experiences. When you connect with the main character, character driven stories are great. When you don't, they can start to drag on.

[Anki · Rating 4 out of 5]

I had a bit of a difficult time getting into the book, but once I got into the proper mindset everything just sort of flew by. I really liked the fact that it was set in *our* world rather than some random fantasy world since that added a very different flavor to the entire piece.



There were some unanswered questions at the end of everything, but I'm okay with that.

[Hayley · Rating 1 out of 5]

This book is horrible! I've never read any book with a more pathetic female heroine in all my life. She is a horrible woman. All the people who think Bella Swan is a pathetic character should read this and compare her to Summerdai!

[Dynise Day · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wonderful book, didn't ralize it was a trilogy.

[Dian · Rating 2 out of 5]

Only read the first one... it was ok, but not good enough for me to keep reading the next two.

[Karianasli · Rating 1 out of 5]

DO NOT READ, I personally did not like this book at all I would NOT recommend this book to anyone less than my worst enemy.

[Pam · Rating 5 out of 5]

one of my favorites

[Kaleidoscope Dreams · Rating 3 out of 5]

I adored most of this volume. However, I had to knock a full star off for...events...at the end of part two. Those who've read it know why!

[Crystal · Rating 3 out of 5]

I am rather conflicted over this collection of books. I wanted to give it a 2 star (okay) rating, but decided to bump it up a bit because there were moments that I really did like, they were just swallowed up in moments I about gave up on the story. I had issues with the main character (of the first two books) and her choices. Some things just did not make sense at all to me. There is plenty of adventure and mishaps and "side quests" throughout the books. The male characters were almost all infuriating throughout the three books. There were a few gems in there. The third book didn't have as much movement to the story, much of it was like a historical fiction turned travel log, but once it got going it went from one disaster to another rather rapidly. Overall I enjoyed the ending of the third MUCH more than the second book (HATED that ending). The animals were the highlight for me, in all of the books. I wish it were the dragons, but not so much. There are a couple of moments of swearing, sex, abuse, and attempted rape (for those who like to know).

[Space Goat · Rating 4 out of 5]

A solid adventure novel in Brown's winding style. Practically grounded details with a fae arc.
A battered leading girl comes into herself and her womanhood through a hella perilous journey that involves extensive travel, talking animals, and people that are about as trustworthy as you might expect. Plenty of surprises.

[Laura Anne · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was actually three books in one. My coworker leant me this work of fantasy and even though it was rather long for my taste I enjoyed the many twists and turns this series took me on. I hear there is a prequel to these three books and I think I would very much like to read it.

[Nicole · Rating 2 out of 5]

I read books 1 & 2 in here but didn't bother with 3. I was really flip-flopping on whether or not I liked the characters and story. I decided by the end of the first one I did like it, but the second one was so bad I changed my mind. I would not read these again or recommend them.

[Tabitha · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really love this book. I've read it at least twelve times and never tire of the story. Would recommend this to anyone!

[Angela Corley · Rating 5 out of 5]

To this day this is my favorite book. I love all the characters, and the ending to me at least is not your traditional ending. I love it!

[beyondthebookcase95]

DNF

[Dee Workman · Rating 5 out of 5]

My favorite book of all time. You just have to get past the first sentence and get into it.

[Mary]

Book club edition

[Janessa · Rating 3 out of 5]

2 1/2 stars. Review to come. There are moments I love in this book, but there were plenty of problems that brought down the rating a lot for me.

[M.J. Burr · Rating 5 out of 5]

I first came across Mary Brown's 'Pigs Don't Fly...But Dragons Do' in Central America, traveling with my family as a teen. I had a tendency to go through books far to quickly, and did not want to lug around more than one or two books at a time, so I would eagerly check each hostel or campsite we stayed at for a 'Library'. In one of those fabulous little corners of the lobby or kitchen I traded in my Steven King book for an unknown fantasy author, not even reading the description because fantasy books were so hard to come by.

I had little to no expectations, but found this book to be one I come back to again and again. I kept that battered copy all the way through the month long trip, and it is still sitting on my shelf today, 10+ years later. I quickly found the sequels in the form of 'The Unexpected Dragon' and came to love those oddball stories too.

I adore how tied together each story is, regardless of the years or centuries that have passed between each. I am also enamored of the extreme detail Brown goes into, you are never unaware as to what Summer has in her possession, right down to the last honey cake. The heroines the,selves are another selling point for this collection. Plucky girls with a lot of self discovery to do, but never in a boring, traditional, or expected way.

I highly recommend this book, and each of the stories inside.