Dragon's Lair
by
Elizabeth Haydon and Jason Chan.
Fantasy Fiction, ages 8 to adult.
Elizabeth Haydon is the finest author that I am currently reading that no one else seems to know about! Why isn't she as popular as Harry Potter? She is an excellent writer! Where are the Ven Polypheme movies? Where is my Ven Polypheme scarf? My Ven Polypheme trading cards?
The Dragon's Lair has my favorite type of plot: a cast of dissimilar characters set out on a valiant quest (in the spirit of Dorothy, the Scarecrow, the Tin Woodsman, and the Cowardly Lion). In this case, there is an elf, a dwarf, a priestess, and some more characters lead by the brave young dwarf, Ven Polypheme, whom the author calls a Nain, but others would call a dwarf.
Her books are about as good as it gets in books.
Here are aspects I liked about this book (not the plot, but things I like to see in a book).
* Simple line drawings when they would help the story.
* Interesting and readable font choice.
* Readers' AND teachers' guides in the back.
* Prologue and epilogue providing setting.
* Entertaining fake author biography.
* Preview of book 4 in the series.
The series so far:
Lost Journals of Ven Polypheme
1. Floating Island
2. Thief Queen's Daughter
3. Dragon's Lair
4. Tree of Water
I think "Dragon's Lair" is kind of a boring title and it reminds me of Dirk the Daring's video game circa 1983. I'll blame the publisher, not the writer. She probably had a better title that was vetoed by someone in marketing.
http://www.imdb.com/character/ch0042327/
