I am a Bryan Davis fan. His first book in the Dragons in Our Midst series was good. But it was nothing compared to book 2, The Candlestone. I finally got my hands on it after two brothers read it, and considering I'm a bit older than his target audience, I still had an absolute blast from cover to cover. What a mind-bending adventure! Even re-reading some parts I still can't grasp the full depth of what is going on. Perhaps a second trip through this book will be in order for sometime in the future.
Bryan Davis said that he wanted this series "to inspire young people to pursue faith, courage, love, and to dig deep within to find their God-given strengths." I was impressed first with the characters' depth and authenticity. The hero and heroine are not perfect--in fact they make mistakes so similar to mine that it is convicting. The plot is complex--the entire book I have no idea what is next or how things will work out. Yet, unlike many fantasy books, the whole premise of the plot is believeable and leads your mind to explore possibilities you might have never contemplated before.
The candlestone is a gem that traps light energy and renders dragons powerless. In the first book, a full adventure in itself, we see just the beginnings of this huge drama. Bonnie and Billy, two half-dragon teenagers are still pursuing answers to the questions found in a mysterious diary written by Merlin over fifteen hundred years ago. The candlestone is also a prison that captures people who have been transformed into light energy by Excalibur, King Arthur's great sword. When Bonnie enters the stone, she learns that many disembodied souls have fallen prey to the gem's powers but no one has ever escaped. Her only hope is for Billy to overcome the dragon slayer and find a way into the candlestone, and, more importantly, a way out.
These books are definitely one of my best youth fiction finds of the year!
Bryan Davis said that he wanted this series "to inspire young people to pursue faith, courage, love, and to dig deep within to find their God-given strengths." I was impressed first with the characters' depth and authenticity. The hero and heroine are not perfect--in fact they make mistakes so similar to mine that it is convicting. The plot is complex--the entire book I have no idea what is next or how things will work out. Yet, unlike many fantasy books, the whole premise of the plot is believeable and leads your mind to explore possibilities you might have never contemplated before.
The candlestone is a gem that traps light energy and renders dragons powerless. In the first book, a full adventure in itself, we see just the beginnings of this huge drama. Bonnie and Billy, two half-dragon teenagers are still pursuing answers to the questions found in a mysterious diary written by Merlin over fifteen hundred years ago. The candlestone is also a prison that captures people who have been transformed into light energy by Excalibur, King Arthur's great sword. When Bonnie enters the stone, she learns that many disembodied souls have fallen prey to the gem's powers but no one has ever escaped. Her only hope is for Billy to overcome the dragon slayer and find a way into the candlestone, and, more importantly, a way out.
These books are definitely one of my best youth fiction finds of the year!
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1 comments:
Huzzah! I too recently discovered this series and love it! After I finished, two of my younger brothers (ages 12 and 19) fought over it, lovingly, of course. ;-) It was especially encouraging to me since I want to write Christian fantasy like this; both refreshingly original and biblically encouraging. Davis is now my newest inspiration. Oh, and he's also a homeschool dad. :-D
It's great to read your thoughts on the series, Natalie!
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