Merlin's Dragon Reviews
Barron’s latest in his ongoing Merlin saga is set between The Lost Years of Merlin series and The Great Tree of Avalon series. Basil, an odd creature who resembles a minuscule green lizard with big ears and crumpled wings, is charged by the great spirit Dagda, lord of the Otherworld, to seek out Merlin and warn him that the evil Rhita Gawr has returned to wreak havoc. Thus begins Basil’s epic, often terrifying, multiyear journey throughout all the worlds of Avalon during which he searches for others of his kind as well as for Merlin.
Basil is an appealing, complex character, and, as usual, Barron infused the story with love and appreciation for the natural world and also dismay at the destructive impulses that threaten it. This first book in a new series will captivate readers already familiar with the fantasist’s Merlin chronicles.
—Sally Estes, ALA Booklist
Basil is a prickly and entertaining hero, and his comments about life at the start of each chapter add tone and humor. Barron's return to Avalon will be welcomed by his many fans.
—School Library Journal
The bat-winged lizard in this exciting story is small in size but big on bravery! Basil's challenge is not only to find the legendary Arthurian wizard in order to give him the warning that will save his life, but to face his own fears along the perilous journey. Besides the appeal of a charming, vulnerable small animal whose character is well-developed into the heroic, this book has another great strength: the fact that it is that hard-to-find, age-appropriate fantasy quest for the middle-grade reader, a.k.a. the holy grail of many a librarian's quest. Good humor and rich descriptions of a lushly imagined world round out this first volume in a high-flying trilogy.
—PlanetEsme.com
Like all of Barron's writings, "Merlin's Dragon" incorporates a message of heroism and the internal challenges that must be overcome before an external enemy can be defeated. As the story unfolds throughout the trilogy, the dragon's ventures will also show how victory ultimately means not only overcoming an enemy but also "winning the peace."
—The Free Lance-Star, Fredericksburg
Barron has been chronicling the life of Merlin from the magician's childhood onward since the mid 1990s. That's when he launched The Lost Years of Merlin, a five-book series now in development by Paramount. It was followed by the Great Tree of Avalon trilogy. Now, "Merlin's Dragon" begins a new trilogy that fills in the gap between the other series and introduces Basilgarrad, a tiny dragon whose courage more than makes up for his diminutive size.
—The Cincinnati Enquirer
This first book in a new trilogy by best-selling author Barron introduces fans to a new defender of Avalon, a miniscule green-eyed creature who embarks on a dangerous quest to save the wizard Merlin... It draws you in completely and leaves you once again feeling that magical connection to nature you've come to crave from Barron's epics.
—Rocky Mountain News
Basil was lost. He never even knew what kind of animal he was. All around him, everybody was somehow magical but Basil felt just ordinary. With his bat like wings and two big ears, he felt useless. Not until a heron figured out Basil could change smell did he know he had any magic at all. But later when Dagda (a god of wisdom) tells him he is very special, he stands up to all tasks. As Basil fights endlessly with Rhita Gawr (the BAD god of war) he sees himself anew, not Basil the Floppy Winged Lizard, but Basil the Great, Basil the Strong. This story fills you up with the characters' emotions and won't let you put it down until it is finished.
—Lizzy, age 10
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