I'm Afraid You've Got Dragons

Hardcover, 288 pages

English language

Published 2024 by Orion Publishing Group, Limited.

ISBN:: 978-1-3996-2270-7

Dragons are common in the back-water kingdom of Bellemontagne, coming in sizes from mouse-like vermin all the way up to castle-smashing monsters. There are so many of them, the romance is long gone. They're pests, infestations, nuisances.

Gaius Aurelius Constantine Heliogabalus Thrax (who would much rather people just call him Robert) has recently inherited his deceased father's job as a dragon catcher/exterminator, a career he detests with all his heart in part because he likes dragons, feeling an odd 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 . . .

Falling in with a beautiful princess who has no desire to be a damsel, and a handsome prince who would rather not engage in heroics, Robert's attempts to grease the wheels …

Dragons are common in the back-water kingdom of Bellemontagne, coming in sizes from mouse-like vermin all the way up to castle-smashing monsters. There are so many of them, the romance is long gone. They're pests, infestations, nuisances.

Gaius Aurelius Constantine Heliogabalus Thrax (who would much rather people just call him Robert) has recently inherited his deceased father's job as a dragon catcher/exterminator, a career he detests with all his heart in part because he likes dragons, feeling an odd 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 . . .

Falling in with a beautiful princess who has no desire to be a damsel, and a handsome prince who would rather not engage in heroics, Robert's attempts to grease the wheels of their courtship in exchange for help improving his employment prospects throw him into the way of a far greater adventure than he could ever have imagined.

4 editions

Beetle reviewed I'm Afraid You've Got Dragons by Peter S. Beagle

Really good! Would read again.

4 stars

I don't wanna spoil anything since the book hasn't been out long, but I thoroughly enjoyed it and would definitely reread at some point! My only complaint is that it isn't The Last Unicorn, but not many books can live up to that one, for me. Not even books by the same author. And if given the opportunity, I would love for my next partner to be like Robert Thrax.

The one thing I will say is that, like The Last Unicorn, this story makes a clear distinction between what the characters want, or think they want, and what they truly need. I've always loved that about Peter S. Beagle's work.

I don't wanna spoil anything since the book hasn't been out long, but I thoroughly enjoyed it and would definitely reread at some point! My only complaint is that it isn't The Last Unicorn, but not many books can live up to that one, for me. Not even books by the same author. And if given the opportunity, I would love for my next partner to be like Robert Thrax.

The one thing I will say is that, like The Last Unicorn, this story makes a clear distinction between what the characters want, or think they want, and what they truly need. I've always loved that about Peter S. Beagle's work.