"Planet Derkesthai; Continent Tlivus; the date is September 2nd of the year 58,273 D.R. (Dragon Reckoning); 6:15P.m.; Day I... To Jos, dragons represent all that is evil. They epitomize the loss and pain he has experienced in his lifetime of enslavement. That is, until he meets Lessiam. Can one lad and his beast of a friend be the spark that ignites the full flames of widespread rebellion--a rebellion that could mean a return of peace and harmony to the dying people of Derkesthai?"
Dragon Moon Rising is a young adult fantasy fiction novel written by Daniel Thomas O'Connor for people age 10 and up who enjoy fantasy fiction. The illustrations, by Linda Carol Nelson, include the cover (seen here), the frontispiece, the map, and 15 black and white pencil drawings (one for each chapter). All of these are included in the book.
I read Daniel O’Connor’s ‘Dragon Moon Rising’ with some interest as it is about Dragons… of which I am fully conversant with being admittedly already a dragon fan. The story takes the readers interest immediately with the mystery of why Lessian …. ….wakes up old and stiff…so I became highly engaged from the very first page….wanting to know more about who Lessiam was and why he was feeling so ‘..weak and old, as if near death…’ I was hooked.
As the tale unfolds I became even deeper engaged when it was revealed in the first chapter that the tale was being told from the perspective of dragon kind! This really sets the scene for a whole new Dragon mythology with immense appeal… As an elementary teacher I know the significance of discovering a story that can create in the imagination a world to escape to, a True flight of Fancy…….that enables a reader to develop a love of books, a love of writing and most importantly a love of reading for PLEASURE.. That is exactly what Dragon’s Moon Rising does.
The illustrations by Linda Nelson compliment the tale in a most significant way……. The images add to the ‘ other-world-ness’ of a true fantasy novel and gives the imagination of the reader room to move……. yet without filling in every last detail……perfect. Cameos of additional meaning.
It was simply a delightful reading experience Daniel O’Connor’s wordsmithing is evidenced by a certain contemporariness. .….. I personally could not put it down and read it from cover to cover…… a tale destined to become a young reader favorite… with just the right amount of darkness and unknown enemies…….with layers of other mysteries, histories and dramas hinted at……. I can’t wait for the second book…… to discover what happens next!
Wendy Bandurski Miller
Sempronius New York
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