The Last Dragon

July 15, 2019
Nightmarish visions prompt desperate gambles for young magic-wielder Fort as he continues his efforts to rescue his father from the mysterious Old Ones. Showing no inclination to pick up the opener's plodding pace, Riley marches his preteen spellcaster through wordy reveries and exposition, conveniently overheard conversations, and recurrent dream encounters with a foe given to ALL-CAPS bombast as one ill-starred rescue scheme gives way on the fly to others. Doing his best to shuck annoyed friends and allies who insist on saving his bacon anyway, Fort eventually finds himself in a subterranean realm facing dwarves, elves (one elf, anyway), huge monsters--and an Old One who turns out to be a dragon willing to help subdue his three repressive kindred elementals before laboriously "fathering" an egg. (Just to muddy the waters a bit more, the titular dragon turns out to be another one altogether, hiding back on Earth and remaining offstage throughout this episode.) Magic, mostly teleportation and telepathy with admixtures of mind control and the occasional exploding fireball, gets brisk workouts, but in the end, the dark is still rising. Fort seems too colorless to inspire the sort of loyalty he gets from his supporting cast, which is well stocked with firecrackers and wild cards. Again, Fort's circle isn't entirely white, but the default is in operation. A muddled middle, with little sign of movement toward a final conflict or resolution. (Fantasy. 10-13)

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October 11, 2019

Gr 4-8-Picking up immediately after The Revenge of Magic ends, Riley's newest offering should only be read as a follow-up to the original story. Indeed, the first few paragraphs mirror the beginning of the first book. Readers will realize that Fort is reliving the capture of his father by strange monsters in a dream. He and his friends have been successfully sent to their new school, and this time no one has any idea as to the location of America's only school for magic. Just as Fort and his friends are settling into their new home, things are shaken up again and Fort is not only demoted to the beginners' classes-he also has to babysit one of the new students. He has absolutely no interest in this assignment, as it will prevent him from carrying out the heist he has been planning to help find and save his father. This title's breakneck pace will appeal to some reluctant readers, but detracts from the plot development and characters. Fort and friends are not really fleshed out and it may be tough for readers to become attached to any specific character. The story would benefit from a deeper dive into the mechanics and history of the fantasy world that unfolds on the pages-hopefully this is explored further in the next installment. VERDICT Give this series to readers who need high interest, low reading level stories. Suggested for libraries where the first in the series did well or as an additional purchase for audiences who love fantasy and adventure.-Sara Brunkhorst, Glenview Public Library, IL

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