The Last Dragonslayer

The Chronicles of Kazam, Book 1

By: Jasper Fforde

Narrated by: Elizabeth Jasicki

In the good old days, magic was indispensable - it could both save a kingdom and clear a clogged drain. But now magic is fading: drain cleaner is cheaper than a spell, and magic carpets are used for pizza delivery.

Fifteen-year-old foundling Jennifer Strange runs Kazam, an employment agency for magicians - but it’s hard to stay in business when magic is drying up. And then the visions start, predicting the death of the world’s last dragon at the hands of an unnamed Dragonslayer.

If the visions are true, everything will change for Kazam - and for Jennifer. Because something is coming. Something known as . . . Big Magic.

©2010, 2012 Jasper Fforde (P)2012 Audible, Inc.

Ffunny Ffantasy

Jasper Fforde has proven his mastery of the alternate universe with his Thursday Next series (and the related Nursey Crime series), imagining a world where literature is intimately intertwined with reality (his alternate version of reality). With The Last Dragonslayer, Fforde creates an alternate universe where magic, dragons, kings and home improvement coexist uneasily in present-day England, hamstrung by government bureaucracy, an omnivorous media, corporate manipulation, and rising real estate prices.

As original as Thursday Next's world is, humorously applying the conventions of detective novels to a setting where the boundaries between literature and reality are blurred, the idea of placing magical beings in modern day society is hardly a new one -- way overdone, in fact. But Fforde pulls it off thanks to his impeccable sense of humor and comic timing. If you like Monty Python, you'll like Fforde -- he even has a short riff on the ethics of turning people into newts, an overt nod to MP and the Holy Grail.

If I have one minor bone to pick -- and why I stop short of going to five stars -- it's that once the plot kicks in, supplanting the detailed world building of The Last Dragonslayer's alternate universe that occupies the first few hours, the joke quotient shrinks, and that's a shame, because the jokes are so good. The last few chapters wrap up way too quickly, which may only be a problem because I wanted them to last longer -- but there are additional entries in the series, so that won't be a problem for very long.

I'm reminded when I listen to a book like this why I love listening to humorous fiction in audio -- why bother with any other genre? (Although of course I'll keep going back to the others.) This is certainly the one type of book where, indisputably, the voice in your earbuds has better comic timing and better dialects than the voice in your head. At least, if the narrator is doing a good job -- and Elizabeth Jasicki does an excellent job as the voice of Fforde's teenage heroine, Jennifer Strange.

yay for Mr fforde !

loved it!
excellent narration
super storytelling genius Mr Ff6
yay for quirky gutsy morally upright heroines and funny supporting characters!

Great fantasy

If you could sum up The Last Dragonslayer in three words, what would they be?

fantasy adventure funny

Who was your favorite character and why?

That's tough. It would have to Jennifer Strange or the precog friend of hers. They seemed to stick in your mind and you wanted to follow their stories.

Have you listened to any of Elizabeth Jasicki’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

The Silent Governess, but they didn't really compare in terms of story. As a narrator, she did a great job portraying the heart of the main character.

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

Laugh, it was hilarious.

marvelous

this story kept me engaged and I escaped to a land of dragons and magic. Jasper Fforde is a genius

Must listen if you love whimsy!

Jasper Fforde’s ability to write quirky fantastical stories and finding the best readers makes him easily one of my go to listens!