Beware the Crystal Dragon

by Maylan Schurch

Justin and Monique are out to find the missing Belisarius, a jewel-like crystal in the shape of a crouching dragon. Its owner, Angela Fawkes, believes it channels New Age energy and wisdom from a 1,500-year-old North African military general. Maria the maid wants to destroy it as a heathen idol. Cosmo and his gang want to steal it and demand a ransom.

Meanwhile, Angela's son Tory has been reading Harry Potter. He thinks new magick can make him fly.

Who is sending threatening notes? Where is Belisarius? And how can Justin and Monique warn Tory about the dangers of Harry Potter magick? You will love this action-packed mystery in which Tory and his friends discover the greatest power of all.

94 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2001

Reviews

[SuperHeroQwimm · Rating 1 out of 5]

A "don't believe in anything but God" tale for kids. I am open minded enough to accept that people are religious but I will not let my son read this. You're crazy if you talk to a crystal dragon but not if you believe in a 3000 year old zombie? Makes sense. (Not)

[Tima · Rating 4 out of 5]

My 9 yr old daughter brought me this book and said “Mom, you have to read this. It’s really good.” It was cute. Had some mystery, kids searching for clues, close calls, and a twist at the end. She loves a good mystery, so I can see why she loved it.

[Alex Richmond · Rating 2 out of 5]

I read this books years ago, Normally I try to avoid reviewing books I haven't read in years. But this is one that stuck out to me for years, and I wanted to share my issues with the book.

I'm ignoring the story, that isn't the point of the book. It was written to build a story around the dangers of Harry Potter. A fear I remember growing up that entered churches. I don't have a problem with believers feeling we should avoid stories about magic and all of that, unlike Narnia, Harry Potter isn't an allegory, my issue is how many Christians dealt with it. My parents, active believers and members of our church, took the time to read the books before reading them to me. They felt this was important that they decide for themselves and they decided it was ok.

Books like this were written by people I am not even sure read the books they condemn, or even studied, this was fear propaganda that made it look like those who read the books believed magic was real and were crazy. One child nearly dies when he tries to create his own magic broom (this shouldn't be a spoiler, its on the cover.)

If you believe that Christians should avoid certain books, I will agree with you. If you think Harry Potter is in that list of things we should avoid, that's your right, I may not agree with it, but its your right. However, this book only showed what a bad parent is when she didn't take the time to keep an eye on her son taking make believe to far. Take my opinion with a grain of salt, its been years since reading this book, and I do hope you get more out of then me if you do.

[Sarah]

I had gotten this book as a kid from my church, and I as was recently going over my bookshelf and noticed the author's name and realized that it was my current pastor, I was so surprised though having known he was a writer but didnt know I had one of his books. Though short, its a great read.

[Evelynn · Rating 5 out of 5]

Review to come.