Jasper Fforde, a bestselling author for adults (The Eyre Affair), smoothly makes the transition to a younger audience with this humorous and heartwarming tale.
As we meet 15-year-old narrator Jennifer Strange, magic is slowly leaking out of the world. Once-great wizards now deliver pizzas on magic carpets, charm moles out of gardens and remove illegally parked cars. Jennifer is the acting manager for the wizards of Kazam Mystical Arts Management in the Kingdom of Hereford of the Ununited Kingdoms. "My job... was less about spells and enchantments, diplomacy and bureaucracy, than about babysitting," Jennifer admits. The dragon population is decreasing, and many believe that its diminishment is related to the dwindling magic. One dragon, Maltcassion, remains, and a wizard predicts that Maltcassion will "die by the sword of a Dragonslayer" within a week. Once the dragon dies, the Dragonlands become open territory--anyone can claim a piece of it. That's not all: it seems that Jennifer is the Last Dragonslayer.
The story proceeds at a breakneck pace, as royalty, corporate henchmen and everyday people vie for a piece of the Dragonlands. The author creates an Arthurian-style tale set in modern times, where the memory of once-strong magic still lingers and the possibility of its restoration is tantalizing to some, while the lure of wealth dazzles others. Greed and integrity, fate and free will battle it out, and Fforde keeps readers guessing to the final page. Readers will be eager to return to this magical world that shares much in common with our own. --Jennifer M. Brown, children’s editor, Shelf Awareness