Name: Kym's review of The Last Dragonslayer by Jasper Fforde
Item: The Last Dragonslayer
Rating: 4
Author: Kym

Jasper Fforde

In the good old days, magic was powerful, unregulated by government, and even the largest spell could be woven without filling in magic release form B1-7g. Then the magic started fading away. Fifteen-year-old Jennifer Strange runs Kazam, an employment agency for soothsayers and sorcerers. But work is drying up. Drain cleaner is cheaper than a spell, and even magic carpets are reduced to pizza delivery. So it's a surprise when the visions start. Not only do they predict the death of the Last Dragon at the hands of a dragonslayer, they also point to Jennifer, and say something is coming. Big Magic . . .

The Last Dragonslayer

In his witty first novel for young readers, New York Times best-selling author Jasper Fforde introduces fifteen-year-old Jennifer Strange, who runs an agency for underemployed magicians in a world where magic is fading away. But when visions of the death of the world's last dragon begin, all signs point to Jennifer—and Big Magic.

Todd Luallen

A fun read with a quirky sense of humor. I read this with my daughter and we both enjoyed it a good deal.

Nicole Dykeman

OMG I LOVE THE QUARKBEAST HE/SHE IS THE CUTEST UGLY CREATURE EVER.
Okay, moving on. I liked this a lot. But it was a bit confusing at first. It was written from the point of view of a character that already knew about everything. Jennifer was aware of magic, and the laws that come with it, and some of the history of the Dragonpact and whatnot. That meant as I was reading I needed to really dig for details to be able to understand what was happening and why. 

The same goes for the fact that when she became a Dragonslayer, we didn't learn anything about Dragonslayers. All the information was poured into her mind within the course of a minute, which was kind of funny and all, but it would've been nice to read at least a little bit of what Dragonslayer training was like. 

I was told this book was a lot like Harry Potter - and I have to disagree. It's a good book in its own way. Harry always had Ron and Hermione alongside of him, but Jennifer had to handle a lot of the trouble on her own. She had no one to guide her. For this reason, she made many decisions on her own. She's a great role model, never letting anyone tell her off for what she believes in. 

I really only had tow problems with this book. The first was the length. As I said before, so much more could've been included that helped the reader understand the events of the story like Jennifer training to be a Dragonslayer. The second was the fact that even though Jennifer assumed the abilities of an adult, the voice of the book was even younger than the character - more like ten or twelve, rather than sixteen.

Mary Horton

I've never read a book quite like The Last Dragonslayer. 

It was very odd, to say the least, but maybe that's why I liked it so much. Honestly, the first half of it was THE BEST. <3 All the wizards (minus Lady Mawgon) were endearing, and the quirky magic in Kazam was so much fun. I loved the idea of magic "fading" from society. The book was set in modern times (as far as I know??) and magic was used for stuff like delivering pizza, rewiring houses, and charming moles. SO AWESOME. 

Okay, sooo...maybe a list will do well in this case?


  Lovely Things: 


- The magic. Obviously.

- The Quarkbeast. HE WAS SO CUTE AND PRECIOUS, CAN I PLEASE HAVE ONE?

- All the hilarious dialogue. Seriously, there are so. many. quotes. I just want to quote this entire book, honestly. I would list some but then we would be here all day. ;)

- The creativity. IT WAS OFF THE CHARTS. Wowww, I want to be half as creative as this author.

- The VW Beetle. I love Beetles, and the fact that Jennifer owns one makes me a happy human bean. 

- The writing style. It was so unique and quirky and overall charming.

- Everything about the Kazam company. All the wizards and stuff that live there are so fun! I want to learn more about them.


  Not So Lovely Things:


- There was one usage of mild language which felt SO OUT OF PLACE, WHAT THE HECK. Ugh. That really annoyed me. -_-

- There was this weird monologue thing by the dragon about evolution and I was just like "???" I didn't see the point of that either.

- The ending was kind of confusing. Um...I'm still trying to process these out-of-the-blue plot twists. They just felt a little forced and sprung on me, which I wasn't all that fond of. Not that they were badly done, per se, but I had a bit of a hard time digesting them. *shrugs*

- I didn't connect a lot to the MC. Jennifer was a decent character, but she was a little distant/emotionless. I didn't feel that much of a connection with her, although the rest of the (good) characters were delightful.

Overall, I really enjoyed this book! However, I'm thinking that rounding it down to three stars fits better than rounding it up, in this case.

3.5 stars!

Liz Carpenter

Not quite as well-paced as Fforde's Tuesday Next books, but once the build-up is done, things quickly pick up speed. I think this is technically a middle grades book, but the dry sense of humor will likely hit better with adults.

Jeni Enjaian

Even though I miss this literary world of the Thursday Next and Nursery Crimes books, Fforde's captivating, quirky style shine in this new series, ostensibly designated for younger readers. (I could tell no difference from his other books.) his world creation comes off as effortless. I have no idea how so many unique ideas can be found within one author. The plot zigs and zags with plenty off unexpected twists and turns making the ending both unexpected and the on,y thing that the narrative could have led to.

Fantasyroman: In the good old days, magic was powerful, unregulated by the government, and even the largest spells could be woven without filling in magic release form B1-7g. Then the magic started fading away. So it's a surprise when the visions start. They point to Jennifer, and say something is coming. Big Magic...

Such a good book I couldn’t put it Down! Litterally Got done in one Day. Can’t wait to read the others, but sadly they don’t have Them here in DK

As magic fades from the world, Jennifer Strange is having trouble keeping her magician employment agency business afloat, until she begins having visions that foretell the death of the last dragon and the coming of Big Magic.

Kym &
The Last Dragonslayer by Jasper Fforde

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Kym &The Last Dragonslayer by Jasper Fforde

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Kym &
The Last Dragonslayer by Jasper Fforde