Book : The Last Dragonslayer The Chronicles Of Kazam, Book 1

-Titulo Original : The Last Dragonslayer The Chronicles Of Kazam, Book 1

-Fabricante :

HMH Books For Young Readers

-Descripcion Original:

Review With The Last Dragonslayer fans of Jasper Ffordes best-selling Thursday Next and Nursery Crime series will be delighted that Ffordes talent for world-building, his skewed sense of humor and his searing satire come through full force. -New York Times Book Review “Features the same delightful mix of magic and everyday absurdity that characterizes [Fforde’s] other books. . . . Readers both young and adult will get hours of pleasure visiting these Ununited Kingdoms.” -NPR Books, online review Ffordes foray into childrens books will delight readers who like their fantasy with a dash of silliness.” -Publishers Weekly, starred review Humor abounds, but so does heart, as readers are introduced to a heroine who is practical, smart, and true. -School Library Journal, starred review Ffordes fantasy is smart, funny, and abundantly imaginative in its critique of commercial culture. . . . Reminiscent of Pratchett in tone, this is nevertheless Fforde’s own creature entirely-and entirely satisfying.” -Horn Book “Fantasy readers with a taste for the silly should appreciate the subverted tropes.” -Kirkus Thoroughly entertaining . . . readers will easily sit back and enjoy the fun.” -Booklist In the good old days, magic was indispensable-it could both save a kingdom and clear a clogged drain. But now magic is fading: drain cleaner is cheaper than a spell, and magic carpets are used for pizza delivery. Fifteen-year-old foundling Jennifer Strange runs Kazam, an employment agency for magicians-but it’s hard to stay in business when magic is drying up. And then the visions start, predicting the death of the world’s last dragon at the hands of an unnamed Dragonslayer. If the visions are true, everything will change for Kazam-and for Jennifer. Because something is coming. Something known as . . . Big Magic. About the Author Jasper Fforde is the internationally best-selling author of the Chronicles of Kazam, the Thursday Next mysteries, and the Nursery Crime books. He lives in Wales. jasperfforde Twitter: @jasperfforde : @jasperfforde Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved. ONE Practical Magic It looked set to become even hotter by the afternoon, just when the job was becoming more fiddly and needed extra concentration. But the fair weather brought at least one advantage: dry air makes magic work better and fly farther. Moisture has a moderating effect on the mystical arts. No sorcerer worth their sparkle ever did productive work in the rain-which probably accounts for why getting showers tostart was once considered easy, but getting them to stop was nearly impossible. We hadn’t been able to afford a company car for years, so the three sorcerers, the beast, and I were packed into my rust-and-orange-but-mostly-rust Volkswagen for the short journey from Hereford to Dinmore. Lady Mawgon had insisted on sitting in the passenger seat because that’s how it will be, which meant that Wizard Moobin and the well-proportioned Full Price were in the back seat, with the Quarkbeast sitting between the two of them and panting in the heat. I was driving, which might have been unusual anywhere but here in the Kingdom of Hereford, which was unique in the Ununited Kingdoms for having driving tests based on maturity, not age. That explained why I’d had a license since I was thirteen, while some were still failing to make the grade at forty. It was lucky I could. Sorcerers are easily distracted, and letting them drive is about as safe as waving around a chain saw at full throttle in a crowded nightclub. We had lots to talk about-the job we were driving to, the weather, experimental spells, King Snodd’s sometimes eccentric ways. But we didn’t. Price, Moobin, and Mawgon, despite being our best sorcerers, didn’t really get along. It wasn’t anything personal; sorcerers are just like that-temperamental, and apt to break out into petulant posturing that takes