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The Last Dragonslayer (Dragonslayer Trilogy) [Paperback]

Jasper Fforde (Author)
4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (37 customer reviews)
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Book Description

Publication Date: 15 Sep 2011 | Series: Dragonslayer Trilogy
In the good old days, magic was powerful, unregulated by government, and even the largest spell could be woven without filling in magic release form B1-7g.

Then the magic started fading away.

Fifteen-year-old Jennifer Strange runs Kazam, an employment agency for soothsayers and sorcerers. But work is drying up. Drain cleaner is cheaper than a spell, and even magic carpets are reduced to pizza delivery.

So it's a surprise when the visions start. Not only do they predict the death of the Last Dragon at the hands of a dragonslayer, they also point to Jennifer, and say something is coming. Big Magic . . .

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Frequently Bought Together

The Last Dragonslayer (Dragonslayer Trilogy) + The Song of the Quarkbeast: A Last Dragonslayer Novel (Dragonslayer Trilogy) + The Woman Who Died a Lot (Thursday Next 7)
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Product details

  • Paperback: 352 pages
  • Publisher: Hodder & Stoughton (15 Sep 2011)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 1444707205
  • ISBN-13: 978-1444707205
  • Product Dimensions: 12.9 x 2.2 x 19.8 cm
  • Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (37 customer reviews)
  • Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 71,033 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Review

'True literary comic genius'

(Sunday Express)

'This is Fforde's first book for children and as ever he is terrifically inventive and this is full of fun'

(Daily Telegraph)

'Jasper Fforde has one of those effervescent imaginations that never throws in one joke when he can fit in two or three . . . he created his mad but logical parallel version of the Welsh marches with loving detail'

(Independent)

'This is a lively, witty and entertaining tale for older children who still like making silly faces.'

(Philip Womack, Literary Review)

'Highly recommended. Very funny'

(Independent)

'[Fforde's] ripping yarn of magic in decline mashes up the usual spells-and-beasts motif with a satire on corporate cash and tabloid values.'

(i)

'Every bit as imaginative and unique, comic and engaging as his adult books . . . THE LAST DRAGONSLAYER is a fast, funny, entertaining, feel good read. Fans of Thursday Next will enjoy it whatever their age' (www.fantasynibbles.com)

About the Author

Jasper Fforde traded a varied career in the film industry for staring out of the window and chewing the end of a pencil. He lives and works in Wales and has a passion for aviation.
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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews
14 of 14 people found the following review helpful
4.0 out of 5 stars Fforde does YA, and it's Ffabulous Ffun 28 Nov 2010
By Annabel Gaskell TOP 1000 REVIEWER VINE™ VOICE
Format:Hardcover
Jasper Fforde has written a new book, and if it wasn't for heroine being two weeks short of sixteen, no swearing, and no overt classic literary references, you'd be hard pushed to know that it was written primarily for young adults. I expect that many grown-ups will read it anyway and some will be none the wiser as, although it is lighter fare than usual, it will happily sit along with his other titles.

Jennifer Strange is a foundling, not quite sixteen years old, and is running the Kazam agency for soothsayers and sorcerors in the unexplained absence of its owner Mr Zambini. In an age where magical power is diminishing, managing magical talent is an art in itself, and Jennifer has to massage the egos of once powerful mages who are reduced to doing plumbing jobs to make ends meet, as well as doing all their paperwork every time they cast a spell.

Power has been gradually draining away as the dragons started to die out, and now there is only one aged beast left living in the dragonlands between the kingdoms of Hereford and Brecon. Then premonitions start happening to all the soothsayers around - they are predicting the death of the last dragon, that 'Big Magic' is involved ... and Jennifer.

This book lacks none of Fforde's inventiveness and humour. It's set in a dystopian 'Ununited Kingdom' where the counties and shires have devolved into separate kingdoms again and are constantly niggling against each other, and as you might expect bureaucracy has gone mad too. Jennifer is thrust into a situation where it's difficult for her to know who to trust, everyone has their own agenda, and ultimately she must go by her own instincts to sort things out. She does have help though from young Tiger - another foundling, Kazam's magicians of course, and her pet Quarkbeast - the softest, yet scariest pet monster you'll ever encounter! Jennifer is a plucky heroine - the sort of girl who'll grow up into being the next Thursday Next - I really liked her.

In creating this richly detailed world, Fforde doesn't write down for the younger audience at all. I enjoyed it so much it was all over too quickly, but I'd heartily recommend to older children and anyone who is young at heart.
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12 of 12 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars Oustanding, As Always 10 Feb 2011
By Noody
Format:Hardcover
I was so disappointed to see the negative reviews posted by other customers for Fforde's The Last Dragonslayer. Those that gave poor ratings because they failed to realise it was a "children's book". I have just finished it and I'm blown away. To create an original story that will enthrall and inspire younger readers is so difficult to carry out successfully nowadays, and Fforde's done an incredible job. I'm mid 20's, have loved all his books thus far (and am highly anticipating One of Our Thursdays Is Missing) and this one is no exception. Plus, if there was any doubt, surely the front cover would give it away?

Anyway.

I love his concepts - a wizarding agency when magics are diluted, where every spell is followed by the appropriate paperwork. Quarkbeasts. Like Fforde's other books, the ideas are far-fetched yet at the same time gloriously believable. It really is a sit-back and enjoy the ride kind of deal. And to bring the point back to my original reasoning for writing a review in the first place; Fforde really should get more respect and appreciation. There are so many 8-16 year olds so very bored with Harry Potter and all the churned out unoriginal literature that followed. They are just itching for something good. And Fforde brings it every time. Now he's bringing it to a younger generation who will grow up to love his other books as well.

Beautiful, really.
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52 of 55 people found the following review helpful
4.0 out of 5 stars Slight but nice - slimline Fforde "for Young Adults" 31 Oct 2010
By H. Beentje TOP 100 REVIEWER VINE™ VOICE
Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase
The book: Jennifer Strange is acting manager for the Kazam agency of magicians in the Kingdom of Hereford - as the manager himself has disappeared under mysterious (and slightly shocking) circumstances. In a world where magicians have to cope with the realities of life, she books them jobs like the re-wiring of houses and the unblocking of drains; but always with an eye on possible good PR and threats of litigation. Then several magicians get powerful precognitions of a momentous event - which will have political as well of magical consequences. Jenny has to try and change the future - which might have some unforeseen results, of course...

The writer: Jasper Fforde (b. 1961) has written five books in the 'Thursday Next' series, two in the 'Nursery Crimes' series, and 'Shades of Grey'.

My opinion: this is, for Fforde, a slim offering: 281 pages in quite large print. Maybe it is meant for the teen market? Whatever the purpose, it is still very Fforde: imaginative in a very lateral way, full of jokes, puns, swipes at trashy multinationals, politicians and media people, and a runaway adventure. It feels to me more like a novella than a book; a nice story, but it lacks the complexity and depth of Thursday Next and Shades of Grey. Those were Big Ideas worked out very neatly; this one feels like a medium-sized idea worked out quickly. Unless you are really into dragons and magic, which, I suppose, goes for several hundred million HP fans...
All in all, this is nice - but not as good as his best; that still means better than most, though. Fforde is an acquired taste - once acquired, and used in moderation, it is a treat, a hoot, and a joy!

Postscript: I have checked his website, and this is a book for Young Adults. So who's that, then? I'm adult and feel young (I'm not really), and I've read it with moderate pleasure - so that's allright then. There are also apps to go with the book, RSS feeds, the full works. I don't read these things before I write my review, because I don't want to be influenced!
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
3.0 out of 5 stars Competing in a star-studded genre market
Once upon a tome I'd have given this five stars but currently YA fiction is so brilliant that this one seems a little bit ordinary by comparison.
Published 22 days ago by Liz
4.0 out of 5 stars Entertaining
As with other Jasper Fforde books you need to be prepared to be whisked away to a fantasy and surreal world. Read more
Published 1 month ago by EH-C
2.0 out of 5 stars Good idea, poor execution
The concept of mages and sorcerers being bound down by bureaucratic, modern rules and fading magic? Fascinating idea, loads of humour to be milked from it. Read more
Published 2 months ago by Patrick Schaldemose
4.0 out of 5 stars Pretty good.
More aimed at the teen/children market I believe but I still enjoyed this bewk.

Not my favorite book by Mr Fforde but a nice read for myself and both children (boy aged... Read more
Published 2 months ago by Chrizzle
4.0 out of 5 stars Liked it
Was good, it is good as a kids book. I do like the quarkbeast and the idea of magic used in this way...
Published 3 months ago by Mandalou
5.0 out of 5 stars This will slay you!
Having read most of Jasper Fforde's Thursday Next books I was delighted to discover another world he has created. Read more
Published 3 months ago by Scarpia
4.0 out of 5 stars wizards & dragons, Fforde style
The Last Dragonslayer is the first book in the Chronicles of Kazam series by Welsh author Jasper Fforde. Read more
Published 4 months ago by Cloggie Downunder
3.0 out of 5 stars A bit meh
I liked the world-building and the setting of the book, with counties as little individual kingdoms, and the humour was still there but I found the protagonist a bit boring. Read more
Published 5 months ago by PageMonkey
4.0 out of 5 stars A fun mix of fantasy and modern society
I judge Jasper Fforde to be a literary genius, at least from the books of his which I have so far read. Read more
Published 5 months ago by David Roy
4.0 out of 5 stars Scorching!
I do like Jasper Fforde's books. This kingdom seems to conect to that inhabited by Thursday Next, I know I have met the Sisters of the Lobster before. Read more
Published 6 months ago by Kath Stiller
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