Until recently, Dugald A. Steer worked as an author and editor at Templar Publishing. He is the writer behind Candlewick's widely acclaimed New York Times bestsellers, DRAGONOLOGY, THE DRAGONOLOGY HANDBOOK, and EGYPTOLOGY, as well as the forthcoming EGYPTOLOGY HANDBOOK. Dugald has now given up his editorial job to concentrate on writing full-time, especially more books with "ology" in the title. Dugald Steer lives near London and has far less free time than he imagined he would.
Reviewed by K. Osborn Sullivan for TeensReadToo.com
As I read THE DRAGON'S EYE, I kept getting a feeling of deja vu. It took a while to figure out why, but then it came to me. THE DRAGON'S EYE reminded me a little of the SERIES OF UNFORTUNATE EVENTS books. There was that familiar emphasis on conducting research, and recording findings in little notebooks, and solving problems. Only instead of three orphans dodging Count Olaf, THE DRAGON'S EYE focuses on a brother and sister trying to escape the evil designs of the inferior dragonologist, Ignatius Crook. Unfortunately, this one didn't have the same humor in it that I enjoyed so much in the SOUE books.
Overall, I have mixed feelings about THE DRAGON'S EYE. In the plus column, the novel was heavy on dragons of various types. They all have names and unique personalities. Also, it had an element of boy versus girl competition that seemed to resolve itself reasonably well.
On the other hand, the frequent references to dragon diaries and research methods disrupted the action. Doubtless that was the point -- to identify the importance of learning about a subject before jumping into it and conducting a poor study. But still, the execution was a little heavy-handed for my taste.
For young dragon lovers, this would probably be a popular title. I emphasize the word "young." THE DRAGON'S EYE seems geared to a younger audience than many of the books reviewed here at TeensReadToo. My 14-year-old son read it, too, and he was disappointed because it definitely felt "too young" for him. But for budding fantasy lovers who can't get enough dragons, this one has the potential to be a winner.
In this book, Daniel and Beatrice go to a guy named Dr. Drake. He is a Dragonologist. Which means he studies dragons and he takes care of them. Daniel, Beatrice, and Dr. Drake go on an adventure to find the dragon eye, which an evil person named Ignatious Crook wanted, so he could be a Dragon Master. But Daniel, Beatrice, and Dr. Drake saved it before Ingatious could get to it.
I think some of the poetic devices used in this book are rhyming words and that the author uses to summon dragons and to do spells. The author also uses hyperbole's when someone was exaggerating. The author also put in some metaphors.
I liked this book because it had a lot of action and dragons. It was also really well written so It was really interesting.
I have to be honest, I absolutely loved this book and I can't wait to hunt down the rest of the series and get stuck in with my dragonology education. Steer's style reminds me of the Lemony Snicket series (which btw I also loved) with its easy humour and lighthearted take on life and the way its adapts real life to fit into the story. The story itself is very well written and thoroughly engrossing and I just couldn't put it down once I read the first line, never mind the first chapter. Steer writes with vivid and descriptive words that conjure up amazing images that even the most mature reader will want to believe (and many will...me included). I can't wait to get my hands on the rest of this series.
Having re-read this, it is just as good and has reminded me that I really, really, really need to hunt down the rest of the series.
Though disappointed that their parents won't be returning from India, Daniel and Beatrice soon find themselves wrapped up in the study of dragons, racing to find ancient artifacts alongside Dr. Drake to save the world from the dangerous plotting of a revenge-driven criminal. Steer will keep young fans of fantasy entertained with an adventure that, though burdened by a slow beginning, offers some interesting lore and peril. Wha sort of dragons shall our young dragonologists-in-training meet, and will they find the treasures before their new enemies do?
Daniel and Beatrice are just normal kids. They have been sent to go spend their summer at Doctor Drake’s. Dr. Drake is an elderly man that studies Dragonology. The siblings soon find out that they are attending a summer school about dragons. Daniel is a little snoopy, when he was snooping he saw a baby dragon. That dragon was a European Dragon named Scorcher. Dr. Drake said it was sick and he was nursing it back to health. One day the class went to see Scorcher, and Scorcher accidentally hypnotized Daniel. When they got back inside he had to do a stack of math sums, which were not fun. One day when the class was out learning, someone stole Scorcher and Dr. Drake’s Dragon Diary. That diary held clues to finding the Dragon’s Eye, which would make someone the master of all the dragons. Dr. Drake immediately knew that it was Ignatius Crook, a greedy man who wanted to be the Dragon Master just for the power. They found out that Ignatius was going to give Scorcher back to his mother and say that Dr. Drake had kidnapped the baby dragon. In turn Ignatius would have the Dragon’s Eye. The dragon out smarted Ignatius and Dr. Drake had learned that Scorcher’s mother only had a clue to find the Dragon’s Eye. When they found the Dragon’s Eye in a rock cave Ignatius had found it too. They had a humongous fight that ended with one dragon dead, and Ignatius “dead.” He fell down a hole. Then Dr. Drake finally had his face reflected into the stone and became the Dragon Master. I would recommend this to any person who loves dragons and fantasy. I think this was an excellent book.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
the book the dragons eye, the first volume in the dragonology chronicals was very enjoyable and suspensful. the story was full of mystery. it was about two kids named daniel cook who is twelve years old his sister beatrice cook. they were planning to spend a summer with their parents after not seeing them for four years, but their parents sent them away with a dragon proffessional called docter drake instead. there they started learning about dragons through doctor drake's teachings. there thay set off on an quest to stop a precious and powerful weapon the dragons eye from falling into the hands of an evil character. in the ending danil cook and beatrice cook help doctor drake get the dragons eye, and stop it from falling into evil hands. i like the way the author made dragons more important than humans in the story. dugald a. steer made the three characters seem like the only ones throughout the whole story. i also like how the author made the story seem like a diary in the point of view of daniel cook, which made the story much more intresting. the illustrations by douglas carrel were good also.
Draky sú proste super, nech si hovorí každý, čo len chce! A ešte tieto, v tajomnom 19. storočí, sú úplne najmega! Ja len dúfam, že raz spravíme aj toho 200-stranového sprievodcu drakmi, čo patrí k tejto sérii, lebo ten je megaúžasný! :)
A super fun journey for those that are familiar with the Dragonology book. I'm super sad I didn't read this as a kid but glad I did as an adult. Honestly just a great time all around.
This book was...ok. I think it accomplished what it was aiming to do, so for that I give it props. Steer’s style is reminiscent of a lesser Lemony Snicket, and the book clearly came out of the interactive “field guide” books. It’s geared towards a younger audience, and I think it’s a fun read for that specific age group.
The plot of this book is pretty simple and would be very easy for children to read, but adults will enjoy it as well. Daniel and Beatrice are siblings who, when their parents cannot come home after 4 years as expected, they are taken under the care of Dr. Drake (a family friend). Daniel and Beatrice have no idea what they are doing there and are not sure about it first, but a short time later they realize they are going to be going to school (taught by Dr. Drake) to learn about dragons! How exciting! I wish I could go!
The first 120 pages or so spends time with Daniel and Beatrice before and during classes. We learn about dragonology as they learn about it, first by going out into the field and doing some observations. All of these observations must be kept in their journal. There are plenty of other things that the children get to learn, but I don't want to give it all away. Even though this consumes half the book it is still very interesting because we get to meet a couple of interesting dragons while learning all about dragonology. It moves at a great pace and I never found any part to be uninteresting because it was so fascinating. Any child you adores dragons will love this!
The second half of the book begins their adventure! Daniel, Beatrice, and Dr. Drake have to stop Ignatius from recovering the Dragon's Eye. There is plenty of action, interesting scenes, lots of dragons, and they encounter many problems along the way. For a children's book it moves at a great pace, but I would have preferred it to be a bit more detailed and move more slowly but children may not prefer this.
I thought the ending was great! It wraps up pretty nicely so you don't actually have to read any of the other books if you don't want to. However, there was one character who got away with some things and this could lead to problems later. I would assume this would be their next adventure.
Characters
The reason why I am not giving this book five stars is because of the characters. Throughout the entire book, even though their were plenty of good opportunities, we know next to nothing about Daniel and Beatrice. Because of this I wasn't able to connect with them and care about them they way I should have been able to. They just weren't developed enough. With other books left in the series I hope I get to know them a little more.
Dr. Drake was my favorite character. What we learn about him isn't much either, but it is more than the children. At first I wasn't sure what kind of person he was because when first encountering the character he seems harsh and rude, but then we learn that he is a loving and caring person. He adores dragons and does just about anything to ensure their safety and he knows a lot about dragonology. By far my favorite character so far in the series, though there are not many to choose from. Dr. Drake could have been more interesting.
Though their are glimpses of the evil characters in this book we don't know too much about them other than what Dr. Drake has told us. Ignatius Crook believes that the Dragon's Eye is rightfully his and that he should be the next Dragon Master but many others think otherwise. He is an evil, horrible person and there doesn't seem to be any good in him whatsoever. He is your run of the mill bad character. I wish he would have been a little more interesting.
Writing
I loved the writing of the book! I don't have any complaints! There were even some charts provided so we could see what the children were writing in the journals, and I loved the illustrations even though there were only a few. Perfectly written and I believe that younger children won't have a hard time reading it.
Overall Thoughts
This is an interesting book and a great beginning to what looks like an amazing series. Anyone who loves dragons will love to read this book and it can be enjoyed by both children and adults alike. Although some parts weren't detailed enough for me and I wish others would have moved more slowly, and the lack of character development, it is still a great, interesting story that will be enjoyed by all.
I had this book since 2006 and finally read it! I love dragons so that was why I bought it.
For a children's book it is quite interesting. I has a lot of different mythologies incorporated and it is quite adventurous. Sometimes the action descriptions fall short, but most of the time they make sense.
It's probably my own life situations, but the three main characters at first annoyed me in turn. Beatrice, who I like as a character annoyed me because she did not believe Daniel. I guess, she has been trying to act like an adult and take care of her brother for many years though.
Then Daniel annoyed me because yes he has a sense of adventure, but he should also try to protect himself! Even as a young child, preservation is there. Then Beatrice and Daniel annoyed me because had they communicated, it would have avoided certain misunderstandings. However, they do realize this early one and it gets better.
Dr.Drake annoyed me because he expected Daniel to do and not do things without explicitly telling him, forgetting his age. This too does get better! He truly does teach the children a lot. And this book is a good foundation for building a 'Dragonology' for us to understand the workings of their world.
The other characters, in their brief mentions, were also described a lot in a way. I like Alicia and her quick thinking at times and her and Beatrice showing Billy wrong. In the end, Billy does come around. Darcy is a great character that shows interest in learning and teaching. Emery and madam Gamay are also interesting and I hope to see more of them in the series. I also wish to see Beatrice's perspective as it would be interesting to be in her head.
I like how notes seem 'handwritten' and the dragon record book entries. They give the story more realness. I also liked the illustrations and pictures at the beginning of the chapters which along with the title give a hint of what's going to happen. Most of all, the Dragon behaviour was really interesting! Something which seemed strange was how they kept loosing their luggage and not worry. I get that they had bigger worries, but at least a mention should have been merited.
I think if you like A series of unfortunate events, dragon, and adventure, you'll like this series.
The Dragon's Eye, Dragonology Chronicles, Volume One by Dugald A. Steer is a great book for Dragon People. Personally I like dragons but this book had a ton of imformation on this book. The Dragon's Eye is about two twelve year old siblings named Beatrice and Daniel whose parents have been gone for four years on a mission in India for business. They recieve a letter from their parents telling them that they will not be home and that they are going to stay with an old friend named Dr. Drake. During their stay with Dr. Drake, they are included in a secret Dragon Society. When evil arises, they go on a mission to retrieve the Dragon Eye Jewel befor the evil Ignatius Crook does. I came across this book when my mom gave it to me for my birthday. The major themes of this book are to protect dragons, learn more about them, and to stop evil. Based on the cover, I thought the book was going to be like a documentary, but I was suprised when I started to read it and it turned out to be an actual story. But the hint of the book's title did let me know that it was all about dragons. A no-dur moment. The style of the book is that the reader has to have knowledge about this topic to understand it. Before I read this boo, I did not know anything about dragons. As I read it, I learned more about the topic and started to understand more and more. I liked the style of writing overall. The book was a little different from some of Dugald A. Steer's other books, but it was very good and a little slow at some parts. I recommend this book to almost any age as long as you can read. It would be good for young children because fantasy rules. For adults and teens it is a little boring in the fact that Dragons are not real. This might be different for some people but overall, I will admit that it is a little boring at some parts. The end is the most eventful part.
Let me just start by saying I love dragons and fantasy. Needless to say, I began this book with the mindset that I would really enjoy it, and I did. Steer did not disappoint. As usual, I did my read 2 chapters before bed-time and see how bad you want to keep going or stop. Surprisingly, after the prologue & chapter 1, I really did want to continue! Who was that lady? What was in the crate? What's going on?
Sneaking in chapter after chapter, I was simply thrilled by this book! Daniel & Beatrice are sent to live with one of their parents friends, Dr. Drake who is at first glance obsessed with dragons. He owns a dragon memorabilia shop and for some strange reason, something is flying around in a room blowing steam out of its nostrils....but dragons aren't real! Or are they?
This book takes us on a journey of education, problem solving and adventure. I was able to learn along with Beatrice & Daniel. I figured out all the little questions asked when presented with a problem. I wanted to help save the dragons and stop Ignatius Crook! ...with a last name like Crook, its no wonder that he's evil.
This book, although slightly predictable is still fun for young dragon apprentices. I enjoyed it and can't wait to see if they tie up the loose ends in Volume 2. With a fun cast of characters and suspense, Steer really presented an adventure of Dragon-sized proportions...European like Scorcher, not Knucker like Weasel. =)
I like reading books about fantasy and that why this book is really good for me. In this book Daniel and Beatrice are sent to live with Dr. Ernest Drake a friend of the family. At first they find him odd and soon discover that he was hiding a dragon. Dr. Drake begins teaching them not only about dragons but about all the subjects that must be studied to develop a full knowledge of dragon lore. Alicia and Billy two other kids join them and become friends while learning. Soon later a Man who feels he is the true Dragon Master is bent on finding the magical jewel known as the Dragon's Eye. Daniel and his sister learn many things suck as how to fly a feel dragon. They are trying to recover Dr. Drakes dragon dairy. I really enjoyed reading this book but wouldn't suggest it to many friend because i believe this book was intended for a younger audience but i loved it any way. This book add a certain realistic flavor to it by adding Dr. Drakes dairy. I also liked the fantasy such as the magical jewel the dragon's eye and how Daniel and his sister learned how to fly on a dragon. I feel the storyline lacked a bit though because to me it seemed to jump from place to place but it is not that noticeable. Over all a great book for the summer.
I'm giving it a 4.5 star mostly because by the end of the story a wyvern was leashed... I have always consider a wyvern to be as dangerous as a velociraptor, so to see a wyvern being leashed and walked around was not amusing. I did enjoy the dragon football and am well aware that this is a children's book, I personally don't like to see dragons being leashed and walked like a pet. But then I guess it was necessary at that part of the story.
On the story in general, it is great! with awesome dragons and interesting theories on dragons' existence and behaviours. It makes me very much want to swear the binding oath of a Dragonologist and join the S.A.S.D..
The Russian dragonologist, Alexandra Goryntchka makes a great villain, and her part is written very well with the element of mystery.
For readers who like dragons, The Dragon's Eye is a very interesting read. You can even read this to your children or younger relatives. I know i would!
I enjoyed this book immensely but then I enjoy most things that are set in Victorian England.
Daniel and Beatrice haven't seen their parents in four years and now it looks like they'll have to wait another year, when they are suddenly sent to stay with their parent's eccentric friend Dr. Drake.
Dr. Drake owns a dragon themed shop in London,more importantly he owns a dragon. Summer break isn't looking so boring now.
Anyone who has read the popular Dragonology book will want to read this as the great dragonologist Dr. Drake comes to life and shows these two unsuspecting children that Dragons are hiding everywhere.
This review is on The Dragon's Eye by Dugald A. Steer. It's about Daniel and his sister Beatrice Cook. Their parents could not come get them for the summer, so they had to stay with Dr. Drake. He loved to study dragons. So he opened a summer school and that is where Daniel and Beatrice had to stay. Daniel and Beatrice got attached to the dragons and Dr. Drake, but it kind of leaves you on cliffhanger. My favorite character is Beatrice. She can stands up for herself because a group of boys tried to take her hat, but she fought back . I recommend to people who love fantasy. This book held on to me, I could not stop turning the page.
This book was actually pretty interesting. I would; however, highly recommend to read Steer's Dragonology books (Dragonology: The Complete Book of Dragons, The Dragonology Handbook, etc.) before digging into the Dragonology Chronicles. This way, you can get a real feel of what it is like when reading the book. If you're wishing to become a true Dragonologist, this is a book for you to feel the unknown adventures out there!
This would've gotten four stars had it not put such a darn emphasis on evolution. Someone smart enough to find and research dragons would know that macro-evolution isn't real. Dr. Drake would never have his students reading Darwin for study. Other than that, I liked the story. First big book (as in, 200+ pages and just for fun and some big words) my brother has read.
I loved rereading this book and I loved the characters and the dragons. I found the action gripping and well written. The places and journeys that they go on fun. I also liked the unpredictable areas they go to and the peace too was good.