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Dragon #4
Dragon War
The dragon princess Shimmer fights the final battle to save her home The evil, immortal Boneless King has taken possession of the powerful dragon cauldron-with the soul of Thorn, the human child, trapped inside-and has declared all-out war on dragonkind. His to use the cauldron to boil the seas and destroy the dragons. And he has convinced Shimmer's brother, Pomfret, to be his ally. The dragon princess Shimmer, the wizard Monkey, and Indigo, a human child, transform themselves into guards, horses, and even fleas to elude the despicable Boneless King. In desperation they return to the kingdom of the High King of the Dragons to recruit Shimmer's kinmates in a fight for their lives and to save the Inland Sea. Up high in the sky and down low to the underwater mountains they go to fight the Boneless King's army. Can they defeat this evil incarnate, return Thorn's soul to its human form, and restore the Inland Sea?
313 pages, Paperback
First published December 1, 1992
4 people are currently reading
256 people want to read
About the author
Laurence Yep
120 books295 followersBorn June 14, 1948 in San Francisco, California, Yep was the son of Thomas Gim Yep and Franche Lee Yep. Franche Lee, her family's youngest child, was born in Ohio and raised in West Virginia where her family owned a Chinese laundry. Yep's father, Thomas, was born in China and came to America at the age of ten where he lived, not in Chinatown, but with an Irish friend in a white neighborhood. After troubling times during the Depression, he was able to open a grocery store in an African-American neighborhood. Growing up in San Francisco, Yep felt alienated. He was in his own words his neighborhood's "all-purpose Asian" and did not feel he had a culture of his own. Joanne Ryder, a children's book author, and Yep met and became friends during college while she was his editor. They later married and now live in San Francisco.
Although not living in Chinatown, Yep commuted to a parochial bilingual school there. Other students at the school, according to Yep, labeled him a "dumbbell Chinese" because he spoke only English. During high school he faced the white American culture for the first time. However, it was while attending high school that he started writing for a science fiction magazine, being paid one cent a word for his efforts. After two years at Marquette University, Yep transferred to the University of California at Santa Cruz where he graduated in 1970 with a B.A. He continued on to earn a Ph.D. in English from the State University of New York at Buffalo in 1975. Today as well as writing, he has taught writing and Asian American Studies at the University of California, Berkeley and Santa Barbara.
Although not living in Chinatown, Yep commuted to a parochial bilingual school there. Other students at the school, according to Yep, labeled him a "dumbbell Chinese" because he spoke only English. During high school he faced the white American culture for the first time. However, it was while attending high school that he started writing for a science fiction magazine, being paid one cent a word for his efforts. After two years at Marquette University, Yep transferred to the University of California at Santa Cruz where he graduated in 1970 with a B.A. He continued on to earn a Ph.D. in English from the State University of New York at Buffalo in 1975. Today as well as writing, he has taught writing and Asian American Studies at the University of California, Berkeley and Santa Barbara.
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Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews
January 27, 2016
Its been several years since I read this book, but in all those years I have been searching for it and as of 2 minutes ago I FINALLY found it. If a book can stick around with a person that much for roughly 8-10 years, so much that it drives them insane that they cant remember the title since it was so great, Id say thats a book worth reading.
I definately recommend this book and as soon as I can Im going to try to secure myself a copy of the series so I can enjoy it for years to come and share it with my kids when/if I have them.
I definately recommend this book and as soon as I can Im going to try to secure myself a copy of the series so I can enjoy it for years to come and share it with my kids when/if I have them.
August 21, 2015
Fantastic story. I read it when I was a kid; at first it was daunting due to the amount of pages. Once I got going, though, I couldn't stop. It was so engaging and imaginative that it has stayed with me ever since I read it. Never was the plot dull, and it always remained witty and exciting.
Also it never got all fantasy-genre on me. You know, there's dragons on the front and all.
And kudos to the author for having snarky characters that I actually like.
Also it never got all fantasy-genre on me. You know, there's dragons on the front and all.
And kudos to the author for having snarky characters that I actually like.
June 16, 2023
As with the third book in this series, this one is also narrated by Monkey, and as with the former, I'm not enthused.
The latter two books of this series felt like rushed afterthoughts, almost as if the first one did well and so there was a financial obligation to write more, even if there wasn't much more material to be had.
There are certainly a lot of ideas, and though I'm not well versed in Chinese mythology (part of the appeal of this series for me), I get the impression that much of it derives from those myths, and while that's not a bad source of material, some paring down might have been warranted.
Although longer in page count, this book felt sparser in story than the first two. Partially because Monkey is a bit more verbose as a narrator, but mostly because a lot of things just happen and then happen some more, so much so that it becomes a bit cluttered to the detriment of the characters and their arcs.
Overall, I'm thinking I could have stopped after the first book (which I loved), or maybe the second, and been perfectly content.
The latter two books of this series felt like rushed afterthoughts, almost as if the first one did well and so there was a financial obligation to write more, even if there wasn't much more material to be had.
There are certainly a lot of ideas, and though I'm not well versed in Chinese mythology (part of the appeal of this series for me), I get the impression that much of it derives from those myths, and while that's not a bad source of material, some paring down might have been warranted.
Although longer in page count, this book felt sparser in story than the first two. Partially because Monkey is a bit more verbose as a narrator, but mostly because a lot of things just happen and then happen some more, so much so that it becomes a bit cluttered to the detriment of the characters and their arcs.
Overall, I'm thinking I could have stopped after the first book (which I loved), or maybe the second, and been perfectly content.
November 11, 2021
While the plot is odd for western readers (LOTS of shape shifting) I still found it enjoyable.
October 11, 2009
What a great ending to a great series! All the lead characters become stronger, and even more loveable. The adventures keep you turning pages right up til the end! I can't speak highly enough of the whole series - Yep does a great job.
January 11, 2010
I really like Monkey's character. When he changed the viewpoint from Shimmer and Thorn to Monkey in the last book, it took a little getting used to, but there is something so endearing about his kind of trickster personality.
November 4, 2016
the book named Dragon war by Laurence Yep is a good book for teens who like dragons and fantasy.
it reminds me of a dragon version of journey to the west and the spyro the dragon games the story is a good one in a kingdom on a high moutain a dragon was a king he is in big
it reminds me of a dragon version of journey to the west and the spyro the dragon games the story is a good one in a kingdom on a high moutain a dragon was a king he is in big
August 23, 2011
This book is one of those that is full of suspence and mystery yet is full of adventure
September 6, 2016
A great ending to a masterful story.
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews