I received this book from Simon and Schuster Canada in exchange for an honest review.
“Now I’m coming to think that I don’t want anything to do with heroes, ever again,” (Beagle 162).
Gaius Aurelius Constantine Heliogabalus Thrax (or Robert, as he prefers to be called) has taken over his recently deceased’s father’s dragon extermination business. In the kingdom of Bellemontagne, dragons are equivalent to pests ranging from mouse-sized to monstrous. But Robert hates his job, he feels a love and kinship to the dragons he is hired to kill and wishes he could be a valet to a prince instead of the exterminator he is. But he must keep with his duties when the Princess Cerise hires him to clean out her parent’s castle of dragons in order to impress Prince Reginald of Corvinia, whom she hopes to marry, while Prince Reginald hopes to do something heroic that will (finally) make his father proud of him. As Robert, Cerise, and Reginald’s stories intertwine, questions of duty, fate, and heroism pop-up as they wonder if their lives are as predetermined as they once thought.
Peter S. Beagle is one of my favourite fantasy authors so I was SHOCKED when I received this in the mail from Simon and Schuster Canada, and it doesn’t disappoint! I’m Afraid You’ve Got Dragons has Beagle’s signature wit when it comes to crafting fantasy as well as some surprisingly serious moments near the end. I loved how dragons were treated as both a pest and a threat in varying degrees and thought it made such a fun quirk to the fantasy genre. The characters were all well-fleshed out, I particularly enjoyed following Robert and how deeply he cared for the dragons he was meant to exterminate. I loved Cerise’s fire and fight, as well as Reginald’s working through his daddy issues, for lack of a better term.
Weirdly though the book follows a lot of side characters at the start. The prologue looks to three crones who aren’t mentioned afterward, as well as Reginald’s valet who, I suppose, serves a purpose since Reginald expresses interest in becoming a valet but following his perspective really wasn’t needed. We also follow Robert’s friends and colleagues Ostwald and Elfrieda for a bit, which is honestly also unnecessary. While all of the characters are fun to follow and interesting, their perspectives really don’t add much into the journey that Robert, Cerise, and Reginald pursue together. I’m not sure why time was given to these characters and think the novel could have been even stronger if Beagle had just focused on the main three, which he ended up doing near the end.
Still though, it’s a wonderful novel. If you like fantasy with humour and quirks, then don’t miss out on I’m Afraid You’ve Got Dragons!
Publication: May 14 2024
Publisher: Simon and Schuster Canada
Pages: 288 pages (Paperback ARC)
Source: Owned
Genre: Fiction, Fantasy, Humour, Adventure
My Rating: ⛤⛤⛤⛤
Summary:
Dragons are common in the backwater kingdom of Bellemontagne, coming in sizes from mouse-like vermin all the way up to castle-smashing monsters. Gaius Aurelius Constantine Heliogabalus Thrax (who would much rather people call him Robert) has recently inherited his deceased dad’s job as a dragon catcher/exterminator, a career he detests with all his heart in part because he likes dragons, feeling a kinship with them, but mainly because his dream has always been the impossible one of transcending his humble origin to someday become a prince’s valet. Needless to say, fate has something rather different in mind…
Sarah O'Connor 