Bill Allen, How To Slay A Dragon

How To Slay A Dragon

Bill Allen

Bell Bridge, Jan 1 2011, $12.05

www.bellbridgebooks.com

ISBN: 9781611940060

If one was betting on a fight between twelve-year-old Greg Hart and the smaller girls at school, the latter females would be the odds-on favorites. Don't even bother putting up odds for him against the bigger girls.

However, the desperate Myrth mages except for seemingly skeptical Mordred believe Greg is a prophesized warrior. They transport the seventh grader to their world. His mission is to rescue King Peter's daughter Princess Penelope from Ruuan the mightiest dragon. Greg tries to explain he has spent years running from bullies like Manny the Malice who is much smaller than the fiery dragon; but the magicians insist he is the exalted hero foretold in prophecy and everyone knows that prophecies always occur; that is everyone but the geek from earth who keeps saying he writes heroic epics not stars in heroic epics; of course he has experience with dragons like the algebra teacher.

With a nod to the amusing How to Train Your Dragon, How to Slay a Dragon is a wonderful quest fantasy starring the last person one would expect to wear the mantle of prophesized hero saving the world from a powerful dragon. Fast-paced, middle school students will enjoy Greg the geeky tweener as he is sent forth as the reluctant hero to battle a bullying dragon.

Harriet Klausner