I didn’t enjoy this book nearly as much as I had hoped. I have read the ‘Mortal Engines’ series of four books by Reeve and loved them all. Reeve was so imaginative in those other books. This book, while well-written and inclusive of flowing language, was just another retelling of man vs. dragon on a mountain, saving the poor villagers in the valley below, and a scaredy-pants quasi-religious guy. I was so disappointed. There just wasn’t anything new here. I felt like so many other people have already written this story, and Reeve didn’t really add anything special to his the telling. Mute boy is sold into the service of a dragon slayer.Read this out loud to my sons, 11 and 8 years old, and they were somewhat engaged by the story. Personally, I was annoyed by the overwhelming details and word choices. I had no idea there were so many different words to describe mountains, rocks and streams ... and wish I had remained clueless haha. Overall, my kids enjoyed it. It had the potential to end with a great lesson about lying, but instead, it ended in a different way leaving me disappointed and feeling meh :/
Do You like book No Such Thing As Dragons (2009)?
Another one I enjoyed reading to the kids. I like Reeve's writing style.
—RachelOrf
