Sonderbooks Book Review of Calling on Dragons

Reviewed July 13, 2005.
Magic Carpet Books, 2003. First published in 1993. 272 pages.
Available at Sembach Library (JF WRE).
Sonderbooks Stand-out 2005 (#5, Young Adult and Children's Fantasy Old Favorites)

Calling on Dragons is the third of the wonderful Enchanted Forest Chronicles. It’s probably my least favorite of the four books in the series, but it’s still fantastic.

Calling on Dragons is really just a set-up for the fourth book, Talking To Dragons, which it turns out Patricia C. Wrede wrote first. The book is told from the point of view of Morwen, a witch friend of Cimorene and Mendanbar, the heroes of the previous books. Morwen has a whole tribe of cats and, along with Morwen, we get the fun of hearing what they say.

In this book, we find a threat to the Enchanted Forest, again from wizards. Mendanbar’s sword, which protects the forest, has been stolen. While Mendanbar must stay in the forest to protect it from any further damage, Morwen, Cimorene, and a motley group of friends go off to try to recover the sword, since only someone from the family of the King of the Enchanted Forest can touch it without pain.

They end up traveling with an always-hungry rabbit who keeps on eating enchanted things and becomes a giant, floating, insubstantial blue donkey with wings. They also meet a fire-witch and seem to keep coming across a man who insists on upholding tradition by the name of Arona Michaelear Grinogion Vamist.

Their adventures are always entertaining and stand certain fairy tale traditions on their heads. The last chapter is called “In Which Nobody Is Satisfied,” and the ending is indeed unsatisfying, since the book was apparently written to explain the background of the situation in the fourth book. As long as you think of it as a continued story, it’s wonderfully fun reading. But you will absolutely have to read the next book.

Reviews of other books by Patricia C. Wrede:
Dealing with Dragons (Book 1)
Searching for Dragons (Book 2)
Talking To Dragons (Book 4)
The Book of Enchantments
Thirteenth Child
Across the Great Barrier
Sorcery and Cecilia or The Enchanted Chocolate Pot
The Grand Tour
The Mislaid Magician
The Seven Towers

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Book Reviews by Sondra Eklund

******Calling on Dragons*

by Patricia C. Wrede