The Last Dragon

At first, I was skeptical of this book: the dust jacket summary said it was about an elf who discovered a prophecy wherein he must unite with the last dragon and break the circle, yada yada. Another prophecy book? Please. Actually...

I made just one mistake when reading The Last Dragon by Silvana De Mari- I read it in the library. Consequently, I spent my time biting my thumb and covering my mouth, trying to convert the sounds of laughter into coughing. De Mari is Italian, and the work is translated into English. I'm going to keep my eyes open for more of her works, for she truly did a splendid job.

The characters are fresh, and "the elf and the prophecy" turns out to be something quite unexpected. For the first half of the book, the elf is a mewling little boy, ignorant of most of the world, but with certain abilities he takes for granted. The dragon (the second to last one) is old, cantankerous, and likes sappy love stories which almost drives the young elf mad (once he grows up a bit, anyway). But- each character trait and bizarre occurrence has a part in the fabric of the book, and all plays out to an interesting conclusion. I want this book in my library (and I want a library like the one in the book). Excellent.

Blue