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Dragon Lad: The Thirteenth Egg:
Fly through page after page of adventures with Dorg as the young dragon discovers an astonishing truth about himself: he may not be a dragon after all. Dorg hatches small due to a magic curse. A tough start in the biting, clawing, flame-spitting world he lives in. At first, all he wants to do is end the curse, so he can be like the other dragons. But friends and enemies help him see that being a big, mean dragon isn't what it's cracked up to be. Along the way, he encounters a mysterious pendant, shapeshifting dragons, a grouchy witch who loves wildlife, an absentminded wizard, and a swarm of friendly insects. Heartwarming and humorous, this book is the first in a trilogy of stories about learning to live in harmony with one's self as well as with nature. An egg-straordinary fantasy awaits the reader . . .
- GenresDragons
230 pages, Paperback
First published May 31, 2015
2 people are currently reading
17 people want to read
About the author
J.C. Stevens
3 books3 followersJ. C. Stevens began writing fiction, nonfiction and poetry at age five. The author's first and favorite stories were about ghosts, witches and other spooky creatures. As an adult, Stevens served as a newspaper reporter, editor and teacher.
"Dragon Lad: The Thirteenth Egg," the first book in the Dragon Lad trilogy, debuted in 2015. The second book in the trilogy, "Dragon Lad: Tale of the Talisman," appeared in 2017. The third and final book, "Dragon Lad: Wand of the Black Sphere," was published in 2019. Stevens lives in Southern California. To learn more, visit http://www.dragonseggbooks.com.
"Dragon Lad: The Thirteenth Egg," the first book in the Dragon Lad trilogy, debuted in 2015. The second book in the trilogy, "Dragon Lad: Tale of the Talisman," appeared in 2017. The third and final book, "Dragon Lad: Wand of the Black Sphere," was published in 2019. Stevens lives in Southern California. To learn more, visit http://www.dragonseggbooks.com.
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
April 7, 2021
Stevens introduces an absorbing fantasy world of dragons, humans, witches, and wizards, taking his young protagonist on many nail-biting adventures in this impressive middle grade fantasy series, the three-part Dragon Lad trilogy.
In the debut installment, the small-bird size young dragon, Dorg discovers a shocking truth about his own identity: he may not be a dragon at all. He hatched small because of a curse. Coming to terms with this new revelation is not easy for Dorg, leaving him eager to search for his birth family, and his transformation to a human boy complicates the things further.
The second installment continues Dorg’s story, who as a boy is known as Dirk. Trying to locate his birth family in the Roman-ruled Britannia, Dirk sets on a horrendous journey.
The third installment sees Dirk surrounded by enemies, with Treacherous Ethelda determined to settle her old scores and the Roman army in search of the magical black sphere.
Steven’s dragons are fully realized characters, with emotions, aspirations, loyalty, and inner struggles. Adorable and sometimes frustrating, Dirk is an entirely believable character. It’s impossible for the reader not to root for him. Dirk’s longing for the parents and siblings he never knew are conveyed with authenticity. Beldor and Ydda are absolutely adorable. The villains are thoroughly sinister and intimidating. Stevens focuses on each character in relation to Dorg, and because of that, other characters may not appear fully realized. Yet each of them undergoes an alteration.
The history of Romans, their ways of life, and the geopolitics of the time period are smoothly woven into the adventure plot. Stevens’s world is a robustly diverse one, and he continues to develop it throughout all the three instalments, fleshing out the historical relationship between dragons and humans. Along the way, he explores serious issues of identity, self-discovery, family bond, friendship, children’s need to fit in, and what it means to be humane in a manner that is both honest and accessible.
The setting is authentic—from the springs at Aquae Sulis as a healing place and resort to ancient dragon caves—every place comes alive. The accompanied illustrations are pleasing to eyes and bring both the story and the characters to life. Filled with action and adventure, the story entertains from start to finish.
Middle graders who like their fantasy seasoned with feisty characters and nonstop action won’t want to put it down.
In the debut installment, the small-bird size young dragon, Dorg discovers a shocking truth about his own identity: he may not be a dragon at all. He hatched small because of a curse. Coming to terms with this new revelation is not easy for Dorg, leaving him eager to search for his birth family, and his transformation to a human boy complicates the things further.
The second installment continues Dorg’s story, who as a boy is known as Dirk. Trying to locate his birth family in the Roman-ruled Britannia, Dirk sets on a horrendous journey.
The third installment sees Dirk surrounded by enemies, with Treacherous Ethelda determined to settle her old scores and the Roman army in search of the magical black sphere.
Steven’s dragons are fully realized characters, with emotions, aspirations, loyalty, and inner struggles. Adorable and sometimes frustrating, Dirk is an entirely believable character. It’s impossible for the reader not to root for him. Dirk’s longing for the parents and siblings he never knew are conveyed with authenticity. Beldor and Ydda are absolutely adorable. The villains are thoroughly sinister and intimidating. Stevens focuses on each character in relation to Dorg, and because of that, other characters may not appear fully realized. Yet each of them undergoes an alteration.
The history of Romans, their ways of life, and the geopolitics of the time period are smoothly woven into the adventure plot. Stevens’s world is a robustly diverse one, and he continues to develop it throughout all the three instalments, fleshing out the historical relationship between dragons and humans. Along the way, he explores serious issues of identity, self-discovery, family bond, friendship, children’s need to fit in, and what it means to be humane in a manner that is both honest and accessible.
The setting is authentic—from the springs at Aquae Sulis as a healing place and resort to ancient dragon caves—every place comes alive. The accompanied illustrations are pleasing to eyes and bring both the story and the characters to life. Filled with action and adventure, the story entertains from start to finish.
Middle graders who like their fantasy seasoned with feisty characters and nonstop action won’t want to put it down.
October 15, 2016
A decent fantasy novel about a dragon cursed at birth to be the size of a sparrow instead of his regular formidable girth. Shunned by his family and tribe he tries to find a way to either break the curse or somehow live with his diminutive stature.
Written for middle-grade readers this is a fairly straightforward plot with twists and turns but no real surprises. The good characters are good all the way through the story and the bad are bad. The narrative is simple perhaps as a benefit to the young audience but I tend to think middle-grades these days can handle a more complex tale. The story follows the tiny dragon from his homeland to the human lands and then into the company of dragonflies. There is a lot of traveling from place to place as he tries to find a home and this can slow down the story a bit. Otherwise it reads like a coming-of-age tale a boy might be able to relate to. The author's challenge is to make a non-human character relatable to the readers and she does a fair job of it. One of the recurring themes is that our protagonist is the most human-thinking dragon of all of them. This causes some conflict since the dragon attitude toward all things is: "We do this because we have always done this." or "We do this because we are dragons and that's the way dragons are." This cuts down on the motivation.
Overall it is a good story, worthy of a younger reader, not quite as engaging as I would have liked but with some interesting ideas.
Written for middle-grade readers this is a fairly straightforward plot with twists and turns but no real surprises. The good characters are good all the way through the story and the bad are bad. The narrative is simple perhaps as a benefit to the young audience but I tend to think middle-grades these days can handle a more complex tale. The story follows the tiny dragon from his homeland to the human lands and then into the company of dragonflies. There is a lot of traveling from place to place as he tries to find a home and this can slow down the story a bit. Otherwise it reads like a coming-of-age tale a boy might be able to relate to. The author's challenge is to make a non-human character relatable to the readers and she does a fair job of it. One of the recurring themes is that our protagonist is the most human-thinking dragon of all of them. This causes some conflict since the dragon attitude toward all things is: "We do this because we have always done this." or "We do this because we are dragons and that's the way dragons are." This cuts down on the motivation.
Overall it is a good story, worthy of a younger reader, not quite as engaging as I would have liked but with some interesting ideas.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews