Book Reviews and More: ChrisdLacey

Showing posts with label ChrisdLacey. Show all posts

Saturday 14 April 2018

The New Age - Chris d'Lacey - Erth Dragons Book 3

The New Age
Erth Dragons Book 3
Chris D'Lacey
Orchard Books
ISBN 9781408349564

Reviewing this book is a mixed bag of emotions. It is the last book in the Erth Dragon's trilogy, and according to author Chris d'Lacey it will be his last full length Dragon's novel. Chris has four series that dragon's play central rolls. The Dragons of Wayward Crescent, The Last Dragon Chronicles, The Unicorne Files, and The Erth Dragons. The last three series have to some extent full sized dragons. And in some ways there is a feel of continuity between all the series. And this book provides some answers to questions that readers have been speculating about for years.

In the previous two books The Wearle and Dark Wyng are set in the distant past. They follow the first interactions between a second Dragon Colony on Erth, and a people called the Hom. There is a battle raging, both between the dragons and the dragons and all three other races. In this book a boy, a girl and a younger dragon will struggle to save their own world, and maybe all of dragon kind. With the guidance of mythical firebirds something huge is afoot. And events on Erth are shaping up to have ripples throughout the universe and across time.

Chris d'Lacey has woven together pieces of legends and traditions about dragons, polar bears and humans that is an incredible story and myth of its own. The pace of this story is intense to put it mildly. And the characters are amazing, especially Pine and Ren.

It is hard to write a review of this book that is the culmination of so many different stories, series, and years of work. My first thought is that I cannot do the book, or d'Lancy's work justice. It is a masterful tale written by a true wordsmith. This book was an incredible read. The book and the series are wonderful.

Another amazing book by Chris d'Lacey!

Books by Chris d'Lacey:
Dragons of Wayward Crescent
1 Gruffen (2009)
2 Gauge (2008)
3 Glade (2009)
4 Grabber (2010)

The Erth Dragons
1 The Wearle (2015)
2. Dark Wyng (2016)
3. The New Age (2018)

The Last Dragon Chronicles with David Rain
1 The Fire Within (2001)
2 Icefire (2003)
3 Fire Star (2005)
4 The Fire Eternal (2007)
5 Dark Fire (2009)
6 Fire World (2011)
7 The Fire Ascending (2012)
Rain and Fire: A Guide to the Last Dragon Chronicles (2010)

The Unicorne Files
1 A Dark Inheritance (2014)
2 Alexander's Army (2015)
3 A Crown of Dragons (2016)

Fly, Cherokee Fly Series
Fly, Cherokee Fly
Pawnee Warrior

Other Books
Henry Spaloosh!
Horace
Shrinking Ralph Perfect
The Snail Patrol
The Table Football League
Riverside United
Lofty
From E to You
Scupper Hargreaves, Football Genie
The Salt Pirates of Skegness
Falling for Mandy
The Prompter

Picture Books:
A Hole at the Pole
Juggling with Jeremy
A Break in the Chain
Read With Bubble and Float
Dexter's Journey
Frankin's Bear

Contributed to:
On Me ‘ead, Santa
Nice One, Santa
The Usborne Book of Christmas Stories
Heroes and Villains
In the Frame
Midnight Feast

Author Profile and Interview with Chris d'Lacey.

Saturday 31 December 2016

Top Ten Fiction Books 2016

Top Ten Fiction Books 2016

This was a near record year for my reading. With reading 272 books on my reading list and 268 on Goodreads (Goodreads does not allow you to count books that are reread) it is my second highest year since I started keeping track. Before I get down to my top ten fiction list let’s take a look at some statistics from this year.

272 Books Read
154 Fiction
118 Non-Fiction
73 Catholic
17 by Chris d’Lacey
16 by Andrew Clements
7 by Courtney Sheinmel

With 154 books to choose from it was very hard picking just a top ten.

1. Sword and Serpent Series – Tarlor R. Marshall

Sword and Serpent - The Tenth Region of the Night

2. We Are All Jacob's Children - Noah ben Shea
3. Kringle - Tony Abbott
4. Flickers - Auhur Slade
5. Erth Dragons – Chris d’Lacey
The Wearle - Dark Wyng
6. The Unicorne Files – Ufiles Trilogy – Chris d’Lacey

A Dark Inheritance – Alexander’s Army - A Crown Of Dragons

Thursday 29 December 2016

Top Ten Fiction and Non-Fiction Books Fourth Quarter 2016

Top Ten Fiction and Non-Fiction Books Fourth Quarter 2016

This was another great quarter! I was able to read 89 books over the last three months. Just short of a book a day. I read 49 non-fiction and 40 fiction books this quarter. So narrowing it down to a top ten fiction and non-fiction was not an easy task! I have built out an awesome and ever expanding Catholic reading list for 2016. There are some amazing books in this list! Though to be honest working from my favorite and influential books by year list it was very hard to narrow down to the top ten fiction list this quarter.

Non-Fiction:
1. Father Michael E. Gaitley 33 Days Books
33 Days to Merciful Love: A Do-It-Yourself Retreat in preparation for Marian Consecration
33 Days to Mornding Glory: A Do-It-Yourself Retreat in Preparation for Marian Consecration
2. Here. Now. A Catholic Guide to the Good Life - Amy Welborn
3. Seven Gifts of the Holy Spirit - Kevin Vost
4. Joseph of Nazareth - Federico Suarez
5. Behold the Man: A Catholic Vision of Male Spirituality - Harold Burke-Sivers
6. The Four Signs of a Dynamic Catholic - Matthew Kelly
7. Finding True Happiness - Fulton J. Sheen
8. Holy Water and its Significance for Catholics - Henry Theiler
9. Cathloics Wake Up! Be a Spiritual Warrior - Jesse Romero
10. Be A Man - Father Larry Richards

Fiction:
1. The Tenth Region of the Night - Taylor R. Marshall - Sword and Serpent Book II
2. The Unicorne Files – Ufiles Trilogy – Chris d’Lacey

A Dark Inheritance – Alexander’s Army - A Crown Of Dragons

Tuesday 20 December 2016

Fire Star - Chris d'Lacey - The Last Dragon Chronicles #3

Fire Star The Last Dragon Chronicles #3
Chris d'Lacey
Orchard Books
Scholastic
ISBN 9780439901857

eISBN 9780545365451
ASIN B005F3UEIK

Chris d'Lacey is an amazing author! In just over a year I have read 25 books by him. To be honest I started this series and then set it aside to read a bunch of his other works, before returning to it, because of how many books were remaining. The Last Dragon Chronicles is an excellent series and this in a wonderful read. This book ramps up the action from the earlier books.

This book continues from the earlier books. At the beginning David and Zanna are in the Artic on a research project. David continues to write and when the writings too closely resemble life he stops and ends up returning to Waverly Crescent. But things just keep getting stranger. The legends of the Bears and Dragons are again rising to light. A strange fire star is on the horizon. The witch has returned and plans on destroying David this time. An ancient evil the Fain is on the move. Lucy has been kidnapped by Gwilanna who appears to be back up to her old tricks, and maybe even worse. And a dragon has come to new life.

So our adventure goes from Scrubbly to Alaska, then to the north of Scotland and back again. We travel in this book from home, to a research station, to a monastery, an Inuit community and on to a final battle on the ice.

The best thing about this series is the characters, both the humans and the dragons. Watching them, following their adventures is great fun. It is interesting following the interactions between Lucy and Liz Pennykettle, daughter and mother, also their interactions with David Rain and his girlfriend Zanna Martindale. And even the grumpy neighbor Henry Bacon. And the dragons, oh what wonderful creatures, Gadzooks, G'reth, and even the new Gollygosh Golightly that is the first dragon to be created by …

Having read other series by d'Lacey with this one we see closer ties to The Erth Dragons, and even The UFiles series. This book was very hard to put down once it was started. And as each book in this series appears to be longer than the previous, thus my hesitation to get pulled in was valid. The nice thing is this series is finished so I can read through the remaining books without having to wait for more books. The interesting thing is that these books have sat on my shelf for years and were slowly added to until the series was finished. Yet I did not start it until last year. But that being said, this is another incredible book by d'Lacey in an amazing series. And I really look forward to reading the rest of the series. And also the remaining d'Lacey books I have yet to read.

Monday 12 December 2016

A Crown of Dragons - Chris d'Lacey - The Unicorne Files Book 3

A Crown of Dragons
Unicorne Files Book 3
UFiles #3
Chris d’Lacey
Scholastic
ISBN 9780545608831
ASIN B015QMBZ6E

To say that I am a fan of d’Lacey’s writings would be a bit of an understatement. I have read 25 of his books in just over a year and have been tracking down all of his books either to read myself or with my children. His books are some of the best fiction books I have read in years. And his series build to the point that his books are addictive. I wrote a short review of book 2 in this series Alexander's Army, in order to be able to start reading this book. And I could barely put this book down once I started it.

This third and final volume in the UFiles series is by far the darkest. It is an action packed thrill ride filled with mysteries, paranormal events, shifting realities and ties to Dragons, and specifically a dragon scale. Michael Malone is feeling more alone and isolated than ever. He has completed a few missions for the UNIVORNE agency. And is now on the trail of an investigation into a Dragon scale, the same scale Michael’s father was investigating before he disappeared. But with new foes, new characters with unknown allegiances, and the tenuous link between dragons, crows and Michael and his family face their greatest challenges yet.

The story is deeper and darker than any other I have yet read by d’Lacey. But it also has hope, and for the most part resolution. It is a story about coming to terms with reality, but also the nature of reality. It is about friendship, and family. And it is greatly entertaining.

But one cannot but wonder if somehow a few of Chris d’Lacey’s series are somehow interlinked and connected. I wonder if somehow Michael and his father from this series with their ability to shift reality and maybe time, are linked with Ren from the Erth Dragons series. And how they relate or are linked to David and the Last Dragon Chronicles. It will be interesting to see if in the years to come the three series somehow link up.

This book was another excellent read from Chris d’Lacey. It wraps up the Ufiles trilogy nicely. But also leaves an opening for continued stories. It was very entertaining and I can highly recommend it.

Tuesday 29 November 2016

Shrinking Ralph Perfect - Chris D'Lacey

Shrinking Ralph Perfect
Chris d’Lacey
Orchard Books
ISBN 9781843626602
eISBN 9781408314432
ASIN B004KZOXCC
ASIN B00GW4PAFS

This book was a really fun read, even though it was a bit predictable. I have read 24 Chris d’Lacey books in just over a year. And this is one of the standalone novels for young readers. The story is entertaining and engaging. My son is just a little young to read it but we have it on the schedule to read together next year.

From their first meeting Ralph Perfect knows that there is something up with Jack Bilt, when he buys a house on Ralph’s street strange things just keep happening. First a mansion up north has disappeared; a local bully, and also a workman that came to see Jack have gone missing also. But no one else seems to notice the odd things. Jack has fooled Ralph’s mother. Soon Ralph is acting much braver than he actually is. The mini men have epic battles with dust mites, flies and a mad professor.

Jack Built has a plan to get rich, he has a miniaturized house, and a mini crew to work on the house and make it the perfect freak show attraction. But he never expected the local kit to be able to rally the troops and attempt an escape and rescue.

One of the best parts of the book is Ralph’s indignation at three months in a government facility after the ordeal, being tested, poked and prodded. This is how he describes the experience: “Imagine this: being taken to a secret laboratory, deep underground below a moor in Northumberland. You’re locked in a room where cameras watch your every move. Even when you’re sleeping. Even when…yes, that too. You have plenty to eat and are well looked after, but every day, for three months, scientists hook you up to strange machines that make your head buzz while they record any interesting changes in you, scratching out results on rolling charts, in looping graphs, in diverse colours. They put needles in your arms and draw your blood. They take snippets of your hair. They bottle your wee. They monitor your dreams, especially your nightmares.”

This book is a very interesting read. Not the normal d’Lacey fare, no dragons, no bears and no crows. But still a very enjoyable read.