Tesser: A Dragon Among Us

A Reemergence Novel, Book 1

By: Chris Philbrook

Narrated by: James Foster

Length: 12 hrs

Publisher's summary

Number-one Amazon and Audible best-selling novel

Tesser, the dragon of life itself, is one of seven: Earth’s primordial draconic guardians, destined to oversee its development and safety.

Species rose and fell, and one day, 10,000 years ago...Tesser disappeared.

The golden dragon woke up this morning, buried deep beneath the city of Boston, with no idea how he got there, and no idea how humanity grew so fast and learned so much while he was away. He is lost; a fish out of water, with no contact with his brothers and sister, or any idea of what threatens his home. Where are the faeries? Where are the Minotaur and unicorns? Where are the selkies and all the creatures he fostered, and loved?

Where is the magic?

He’s got a lot of catching up to do if he’s going to find his missing sister Kaula, and stop an incursion of daemons from beyond the Veil.

Learning English from watching Kevin Smith movies at a coffee shop is probably not his best first step, but not all heroes get handed a cape.

Welcome to The Reemergence.

"Vibrant storytelling, with an unusual protagonist...." (Georgina Parfitt, Towerbabel.com)

Book Two: Ambryn & the Cheaters of Death
Book Three: Fyelrath & the Coven’s Curse
Book Four: Tesser: A Father Enraged
Book Five: Zeud & the Prophets of Atomic Fire

©2013 Christopher Philbrook (P)2016 Audible, Inc.

Tesser, the Dragon of Life

For 20,000 years, Tesser has slept beneath the earth. Now, he's awake, and walking around in human form. He is arrogant, of course, but he has the right to be: Everything that lives on Earth has Tesser to thank for it's existence, for he created them all. (There are also six other dragons, each with their own special gifts, and each is also necessary to the health and well being of the planet. And each, I suspect, will get their own book!)

One of the six is dear to Tesser, his sister, Kowula (sp?) the Dragon of Magic. He hasn't been able to communicate with her since his return, and he's worried. Because of her absence, magic has all but disappeared from the world, but when the magic comes back, creatures that were once thought to be only myth, begin to reappear, too -- causing chaos for the mundane humans, as they struggle to understand the new world order.

Pretty great, right? Ultimately, this story is fun, original, with a (very) little romance. And while the human characters are a bit cliche, and the humor can be crude and juvenile -- and the women talk about sex like especially sophomoric young men instead of women -- the dragons more than make up for it! There's a fair amount of violence, too, but it often made me laugh -- in that way dark humor with a side of horror often does.

The writing for the dragons is what I really loved. They are both innocent and ancient at the same time, and their views on what the humans have done to the world they created is really funny -- or at least, it would be -- if it wasn't also somewhat true.

BUT -- I will admit that I almost returned this book after the first few chapters, because of the crude male oriented humor. It made me think that this might be a book geared toward teenage boys of a certain age, and therefore not for me. Eventually I realized that the humor in Tesser is like a comic book -- which I think is exactly the point. The whole book has a comic book feel!

Philbrook does write that when Tesser came back, he learned the language and the modern cultural references from watching Jay and Silent Bob movies. That tells you all you need to know about the author, his point of view, his sense of humor, and what to expect from the characters he writes. If you don't like Jay and Silent Bob, you probably won't like this book, either. (I LOVE Kevin Smith, so there you have it.)

I found it very easy to ignore the flaws to get to the good stuff -- because there is some very good writing here, and a very good story to tell. (I'm already onto the 2nd book, and it's just as well done. It deals with the vampires taking over Las Vegas!

James Foster gives a brilliant performance, lending Tesser the gravitas and world weary pathos of an immortal creature seeing the state of his creations after a long absence. Also, the frequent inner dialogues of the characters must have been tricky for Foster to perform, but it was clear from the first line that they were inner dialogues. I also REALLY appreciate that Philbrook wrote them without all the 'he thought' or 'she thought' after each one, that a less experienced author might have included unnecessarily.

I loved this book, and hope to enjoy the whole series!

Highly Recommended to fantasy lovers, dragon lovers, Kevin Smith aficionados, and people who love their violence with a lot of dark humor. (But please note that the violence and crude language does make it inappropriate for younger kids.)

THIS! YES, THIS!

I did very much enjoy this book. The narration was wonderful and the author wrote a magnificent story. They way he integrated Dragons with the world of today was inspired. I look forward to further adventures of Tesser.

Urban Fantasy Fun

What happens when Tesser the Dragon of Life wakes up beneath modern day Boston after thousands of years of sleep. Teaming up with two mages, a police officer and an incredible woman, Tesser learns about modern society while defending the World from forces beyond The Veil while bringing magic back to the World.

A really fun story from Chris Philbrook narrated by James Foster that I recommend people check out.

I am Tesser, I am Dragon!!!

This rocked so much! I absolutely loved everything about it.

Tesser is one of 7 Dragons who are integral to the world, but Tesser has been asleep for generations and when he wakes, it's to find the world totally changed and the beings known as human have taken over. Magic is all but non existent and Dragons are creatures of lore. Tesser realises that not all is well with the world and one of his sisters is missing. He knows that he needs to find her before it's too late, all the while trying to fit in and learn all about this strange new world.

Tesser was such a hoot! He awakens to find the word totally changed, as the last thing he remembers is humans in animal pelts! Now he has to deal with all the advances humans have made and try to find his sister, the Dragon of magic. Much hilarity ensues as Tesser comes to terms with the language and advances in humans and technology. Along the way he meets an awesome nerdy apprentice and his magician master and a sweet and engaging love interest who captures his heart. I have to say that his conversation with her the first time was hilarious!! I laughed a lot when he told her about his multiple children and his multiple partners of every species!! Priceless ;)

The world building in this was amazing. I loved the idea of the 7 Dragons and their different reasons and abilities. I loved the lore of the world and the creepy Legion! But I particularly love the characters and the character development. Every single one grows so much throughout the story. This author has a way of making you care for every one of his characters and making you invested in what happens to them.

Overall, it's a fast paced and addictive read and one you won't want to put down. From it's well written and fun plot, to it's entertaining and engaging characters, Tesser is a must read! I NEED book 2 now!!!!

James Foster made a phenomenal Tesser. He really brought Tesser to life. His tone for him was perfect and really brought about the strength and nobility Tesser has. He also did an amazing job with the rest of the supporting characters. His voice was easy to listen to and he used the right inflections at the right time. I think I enjoyed this as much as I did because this narrator nailed the performance!

*I received a copy of this for review. This in no way affected my thoughts.*

Dragon protagonist!

I'm a little obsessed with dragons, so this is def biased but I loved this book. I will say at times the writer is crude in his dialogue and inner monologue (I laughed out load at the ridiculousness of several thoughts), but I really enjoyed it. Mainly because....dragons.

Very good story!!!

I loved this story!!! It was very well written! it never dragged and now I can't wait for the next one to come out!!
the narration was just spot on perfect!!!

Awesome!

As always, Chris Philbrook does not disappoint. This is a wonderful story, exciting and constantly captivating. James Foster does a fantastic job as well.

An Enjoyable Listen

Any additional comments?

As someone who reads and or listens to a lot of books, I’ve gotten familiar with a lot of good authors and regularly look out for new works by them. Unfortunately, there’s no way to be aware of all the good authors out there. So when I happen upon a new author, (at least one that’s new to me), whose work makes me want to look for more from that author, I become very pleased and happy. Tesser: A Dragon Among Us, by Chris Philbrook made me feel that way.

As a dragon that awakens after a 10,000 year sleep, Tesser starts off as a kind of a-fish-out-of-water, story. In Philbrook’s hands, I believe it could have stayed in that category and still have been a good story, but Philbrook chooses to only start there. He soon takes us in other humorous and dramatic directions. There are a lot of story developments in Tesser to keep a reader/listener interested, yet there is also a lot left to cover in future stories.

Although it’s not a super big deal to me, it does seem like there are fewer one shot novels anymore. It seems like more and more writers only tell stories that they can make into a series. Since it seems Tesser will also be a series, I like that this first story is nicely self contained and has a good stopping/ending point instead just leaving the reader/listener waiting for the next book in order to find out how the story ends. If it even ends at all. Although I freely admit that I’ve enjoyed some truly great stories that spanned multiple novels. I personally favor a series where each book is a self contained story.

I think Tesser is worth your Audible credit or your cash and based on the first book, I would definitely try the next book in the series. I also feel the narrator, James Foster, was an excellent choice. Although I personally believe voices are a subjective thing, for my taste, I think Foster’s voice was perfect for this book. His voice acting, in general, was just right for all the characters and situations in the story. I hope that James Foster will continue to be the narrator for the series.

Finally, my copy of Tesser: A Dragon Among Us was provided at no cost by the author, narrator, or publisher through Audiobook Blast in exchange for my honest review.

Another amazing book by Chris Philbrook!!

Any additional comments?

I love everything I’ve read by Chris Philbrook, and this book certainly didn’t disappoint; it’s honestly one of the BEST books I’ve read in a good while. So good I’m listening to it for the 2nd time already!

So, it’s sort of difficult to write a review on a book I love so much that actually does it justice, but here goes.. This book is great for those who love fantasy, epic, & sci-fi; I love how Philbrook manages to throw in a good amount of humor, just the right amount of romance, and the story still has the feel of an epic. The interaction of ancient mythical/fantasy creatures with the modern world is done perfectly. The ancient dragons each have undeniably unique, magnificent qualities, and their characters are developed in a way that makes them seem so relatable that I find myself thinking “hey, I’d like to meet that dragon!” Of course the dragons are indeed powerful and dangerous, but they each use their powers to do their own unique duty to keep the “balance” and for the good of the world.

Of course Tesser is my favorite character, but I really love them all (except those evil Legion guys!). He has slept for a long time due to a battle with the Legion, and as he awakens he so eloquently describes memories of life as he knew it in his natural dragon form. Then as he realizes how much the world has changed, he obviously has a great deal of adjusting to do, which his descriptions of are some of my favorite parts. I love how he learns about “coFEEE” & pizza, the new “bartering system” (exchange of paper money), and of course his learning the proper use of curse words had me literally cracking up!

Since he is the Dragon of Life, I thought it only fitting that Tesser falls in love with a woman who had been deemed infertile after a previous miscarriage. Only after thinking about it more, did I realize the significance of that – his purpose is to help all species have a chance to thrive, so he is drawn to this woman who feels flawed and insecure because of her perceived inability to have children. His heroic defense of his love and his baby, as well as love for his dragon brothers and sisters make him such an admirable character.

I could go on and on about all the awesomeness of this book, but suffice to say I highly, HIGHLY recommend this book (as well as anything else by Chris Philbrook!). Readers should be quickly drawn in by Tesser, as the story is indeed compelling, and again contains the perfect combination of humor, romance, action, and fantasy. As always, James Foster does a superb job with narration and really brings the story to life!! His great performance of all the characters - whether male, female, dragon or human, left me feeling like I knew each of the characters by the end of the book!

Love love love this book, want more.

Any additional comments?

Fantastic story, fantastic narration, couldn't get enough. Dragon meets humans what more can you want. already got part 2. can't wait.