The Dragon of Trelian opens with
Calen, a mage's apprentice, and Meglynne, a princess, and they both have needs. Calen needs someone to respect him. He needs
to be a man--to have an important mission. He's a boy wanting to grow up and make his mark on the world. That was obvious
from the first pages, I thought. And Meg needs someone to help her figure out what to do with her dragon.
Calen doesn't immediately know it, but Meg is a damsel in distress for him to help. This is what he was made for--to save the
princess and save the kingdom. The reason he doesn't know she's the damsel who will give meaning to his life, and the reason
Meg would scoff at such a suggestion, is that she is more powerful than he. She's royalty, he's a servant:
Finally, she rolled her eyes. "Oh, very well. I command you to get off your knees and stop
acting like I'm going to chop your head off. Rise and obey, by order of King Tormon's third and least patient royal
daughter."
Calen also has a comical voice--he leans toward self-deprication.
Maybe.
Not exactly self-deprecating--he dreams of doing great and exciting things--but he lacks confidence. We are aware that Calen
is much braver than he knows. We are sure he's going to prove to be a loyal friend. We know he will be a hero. The fun is in
watching to see how he grows.
The willingness of the mage to offer humble service to the princess is an extremely attractive quality in a hero. Likewise,
the princess, willing to befriend a lowly servant, is also endearing. So in The Dragon of Trelian we have two likable
characters with needs that are apparent from the beginning.
And they take action to meet those needs. Calen meets with the princess, knowing it could cost him, and she risks telling him
about her dragon, knowing that he could get the dragon killed. Nothing ventured, nothing gained and nothing ventured, nothing
interesting to read about. I was happy to see the young characters risking something, in an effort to to reach their
goals.
Strengths:
It will come as no surprise that what I liked best about The Dragon of Trelian was the characters and their
interaction with one another. They love each other from the start--in a BFF kind of way, I mean--but they are opposites in
many ways and so their interactions are often comical.
I also liked the world and the history that made that world feel real.
Theme:
Friendship makes you strong. Two are better than one and at the end, three are better than two. Knudsen's
theme brought to my mind a verse from the Bible. Ecclesiastes 4:12 says: And if one prevail against him,
two shall withstand him; and a threefold cord is not quickly broken. I'm sure that same thought is expressed in other wisdom literature by various
philosophers throughout history. It's a universal truth.
Weaknesses:
I was a little surprised that no one else I've read has mentioned this. Maybe it's just me, but I
thought the cover didn't fit the book. I think this book is more of a girl book than a boy book. In my mind, this book is interesting because of the relationships. First between Meg and Calen, and next between Meg and the
secondary characters--her sisters and the handsome fellow from the neighboring kingdom. Relationships and romance interest
girls more than boys. Boys are more about battles, and while this book has violence and evil schemers working nefarious
deeds, it doesn't really have the action-packed battles that boys often hunger for. And it's got that little bit of romance
working against it if it's trying to draw the middle grade boys in. So the cover, which depicts the fight between the black,
flying monsters, and the good dragon Jakl, isn't really what the book is about, I don't think. I'm sure the book designers had
reasons for choosing as they did, but had I seen this book in the store that cover wouldn't have drawn me in. So, if you
think the cover is not all that, trust me, the story is much lighter and sweeter than the cover is.
I think that this book was extremely enjoyable and didn't see any weaknesses in the writing. It was a humorous,
sweet, smooth, well-developed story. It didn't rise to the status of groundbreaking in the prose or characterization, I didn't think. There
was nothing that blew me away. But it is a solid and enjoyable addition to the children's fantasy market.
Recommendation:
I recommend The Dragon of Trelian highly to all middle grade readers, but I suspect it will be better received by girls
than boys.
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Copyright © 2009 Sally Apokedak
