As a much-loved author in my house of four boys, Brandon Mull books are always a must-read. Even though they’ve all read or listened to the origin story of Dragonwatch (originally chapter ten in Dragonwatch, Volume 4: Champion of the Titan Games) they were all excited to check out Brandon’s latest, Legend of the Dragon Slayer. Illustrator Brandon Dorman, who always delivers fantastic artwork, does it again and the Brandons pair perfectly. Dorman created over fifty full-color illustrations to compliment the awesome story. Other additions to the book besides the illustrations (to the excitement of my boys) are a detailed map of the Selona Kingdom and dragon slayer genealogy to further immerse you in the world.
With plenty of adventure and bravery, we get to enjoy the story of the original Dragon Slayer. Many will relate to the unlikely yet inspiring hero. Fantasy fans won’t be able to put this book down. It’s also a perfect choice for a reluctant reader as the pictures and shorter length will help in addition to the compelling plot. As the masterful storyteller that he is, Mull grips your interest from beginning and holds on until the end.
Review of a Digital Advance Reading Copy
This book was sent to Compass Book Ratings for review by Shadow Mountain
Content Analysis:
Profanity/Language: None
Violence/Gore: Many (30) brief incidents including characters worrying about being killed; character wishing he (self) had never been born; verbal threats; characters wanting to kill non-human characters; reference to war; reference to deadly characters; second-hand report of character seeing human skeleton; reference to character seeing pickled organs; reference to disease; reference to vampire’s exploits; second-hand report of character seeing pikes topped with human skulls; reference to someone starving; character seeing dead bodies; reference to venomous vipers; reference to flesh burning; second-hand reports of character killing non-human characters; reference to donkey dying; second-hand report of dragons sacking cities; characters believing a character could chop a horse in half; second-hand report of non-human character dying; cave falling in; reference to dragons plaguing the world; character fighting and killing non-human character. One extended incident of how many dragons people slew.
Sex/Nudity: One brief incident of woman touching husband’s arm.
Mature Subject Matter:
Reference to orphans; war; character fighting and killing non-human characters.
Alcohol / Drug Use:
None
