Rise of the Dragons

Gr 3-6-In this first book of a new fantasy series from Sage, three stories tie together seamlessly. Joss and Allie are indentured servants until they find a silver dragon egg. The evil Lennix clan trains dragons to raid for dragon eggs and eat humans. Sirin is brought into a foster home after her mother is hospitalized with a serious illness. This latest adventure is reminiscent in style and tone to Sage's best-selling "Magyk" series. Young readers will enjoy many of the plot twists that may be comfortably predictable for older readers. The character development is a little flat, but readers will still sympathize with the protagonists. VERDICT Recommended for middle grade fantasy fans of Sage's previous works, Brandon Mull's "Fablehaven," Jonathan Stroud's "Bartimaeus Trilogy," or Maile Meloy's The Apothecary.-Rachel Reinwald, Lake Villa District Library, IL

October 15, 2018
The unsuspecting world is threatened by deadly dragons and dragon riders from a parallel world in this series opener.Leading off a projected multiauthor series attached to a game with online and table-top versions, Sage phones in an initial episode that reads like Anne McCaffrey fanfic interwoven with a sketchy subplot. Sad and lonely 11-year-old Londoner Sirin Sharma recalls old tales learned from her dying mother of how the peaceable dragons who once flew Earth's skies turned to evil Raptors and were exiled. Meanwhile, the fire-breathing descendants of said exiles and their telepathically Locked riders, all of whom have been at war for so long that their world is devastated, discover that a silver dragon--the only hue that can travel between universes--has been hatched for the first time in ages. Said hatchling, Lysander, and orphaned shepherd lad Joss Moran, who finds and Locks with him, are captured, discover unexpected allies winged and otherwise, have an extended (and nonfatal) aerial battle, then escape to this world just in time to save Sirin from bullying girls. The human cast, all except possibly Central Asian Sirin evidently white, has no agency in the tale or the entire scenario aside from providing the dragons with easy food (one way or another), and with no evident sign that the larger story has a direction, the author leaves everything, and everyone, up in the air.A pre-fab grab at pre-Pern preteens. (game rules, URL, and detachable trading cards not seen) (Fantasy. 10-12)

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November 15, 2018
Grades 4-6 Sage, author of the Septimus Heap series, offers up an exciting dragon adventure about three kids facing serious changes in their lives. Sirin believes in the dragons from her mother's stories, and when her mother becomes ill, this belief is all she has. In another world, Joss and his sister, Allie, discover a rare silver dragon egg, which puts them in the sights of the deadly Lennix family. The story is split between two worlds: one with dragons, and one where they have long been forgotten. Joss and Allie's circumstances change when a dragon egg is dropped into their lives, and suddenly their chance for freedom seems like a reality. Their dark, gritty world balances Sirin's modern one that's filled with loss and change. As the fight for freedom rages, Sirin deals with dangerous bullies, a strained friendship, a sick mother, and an uncertain future. Through adventure and fantasy, Sage weaves a story about family and belief.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2018, American Library Association.)