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Dragons in the Clouds
Dragons in the Clouds
by
David Blair
Review by Barry Boy
Dragons in the Clouds is a well-edited novel in the third person in the genre of historical fiction or fantasy and is aimed at young teenagers.
The story of Dragons in the Clouds is actually set in in two epochs and on two continents. The main characters in the present day setting of the United States are Ray Evans and his young daughter, Reilly; and at some unspecified time in the distant past, in the kingdom of Albion, we meet King Arturus, Merlinius, Sir Solomon, David and his pet baby dragon, Rago. It is difficult to say who or what is the main protagonist of them.
The story takes the form of Ray Evans recounting to his daughter a legend told to him by the elderly owner of a toy shop he met on his latest business tip to London. Mr Evans meets him when he goes in to purchase a toy dragon that he sees in the shop window.
The Kingdom of Albion
The main body of Dragons in the Clouds is set in the ancient Kingdom of Albion, which seems to be somewhere in Europe, but that is not explicit. The king of Albion, Arturus, is worried by public unrest caused by his people’s fear of the dragons living in the land. In actual fact, there are two species of dragons: the carnivores and the herbivores. However, most people cannot distinguish between the two types and so fear them all.
In an attempt to garner favour and quell the unrest, Arturus sets his royal knights, led by Sir Solomon, the task of exterminating all the dragons in the country. Without wishing to give too much away, some people find this grossly unfair, and set about trying to save the harmless plant-eaters, which leads to all kinds of battles between humans and humans, dragons and dragons and even humans and dragons.
Thunder and Lightening
These exciting battles lead to the main theme of the Dragons in the Clouds, which is how thunder and lightening came into existence.
Although Dragons in the Clouds by David Blair is aimed at a readership much younger than myself, I enjoyed the story and am certain that ten-twelve years olds will love it’s unique plot and story-line. If I have a criticism, it is a small, personal one: I prefer not to see famous names from history and mythology used in this way, as it could blur the original stories (as Disney often has).
The cover and the title are completely appropriate to the body of the story and I give Dragons in the Clouds by David Blair five out of five stars!
Our unique interview with author David Blair can be found here: David Blair
Podcast: Dragons in the Clouds
