Calling on Dragons (urspr publ 1993; utgåvan 1993)

Always fun. ( )

The wizards are up to no good again, and this time it starts with a seven-foot-tall rabbit named Killer who ran afoul of the residual effects of a spell. The wizards have stolen Mendanbar’s sword, and Cimorene, Morwen, Kazul, and Telemain set out on a quest to recover it — along with a couple of Morwen’s cats and Killer, who seems to have an absolute genius for getting into magical mishaps.

There’s so much to love here. The interactions between characters are fantastic, the humor is delightful, and the plot moves briskly on through various twists and turns. This is my favorite book of the series, even though it does end in a whopping big cliffhanger. Read it, but have the sequel at hand. ( )

'The Enchanted Forest Chronicles' were getting along just fine, an initial novel, 'Talking to Dragons', was followed up with a prequel trilogy so Wrede could expand on her world and its sensible fairy tale logic - the absence of which used to define children's fantasy stories.

In this, the last book written in the series, we get a Jar-Jar Binks and I just can't bear it. Our Jar-Jar is called Killer. Killer is a rabbit who by accident and increasingly stupid decisions gets entangled in such deep magic that Cimorene, Morwen, Kazul, and Telemain have to take him along on their mission so they can fix him. The book should be concerned with stopping the Wizards from destroying the Enchanted Forest with their greed for magic but we instead keep hearing from our hilarious new friend. Good witch and cat lady Morwen has a strong presence here, which is nice, but the commentary from the cats doesn't always add to the action. Wrede has some ideas and cool magic, but because of Killer the novel is a slog.

Oh, and it ends in a cliffhanger.

Enchanted Forest Chronicles

Next: 'Talking to Dragons'

Previous: 'Searching for Dragons' ( )

This series is forever destined to be slightly incomplete on my GoodReads shelves because there's no way I can remember just how many times I reread it as a child. Of all the books in The Enchanted Forest Chronicles, it is this and [book: Dealing with Dragons|150739] that I had the clearest memories of. It amuses me a bit that Brandel, the fire mage, I recalled so clearly as being my favorite character in this book apart from Morwen... he's barely in the book at all. What exactly was I thinking?

Following [book: Searching for Dragons|169875] tradition of following a character other than Cimorene, this book focuses upon the wonderful witch Morwen and her cats. The wizards are up to no good again, only this time they're far more organized. When the Enchanted Forest is once more beginning to be peppered with dead patches, and Mandanbar finds his sword stolen, Morwen, a pregnant Cimorene, Kazul, and an unfortunately magically changed six foot something rabbit, go to confront the wizards and find out what's up. The book is funny, fast-paced, and just about as full of laughs as the others. Only this time [author: Patricia C. Wrede|36122] seems far more self-assured, and ends the book on a somewhat maddening cliff-hanger wherein very few of the characters are truly satisfied at all.

If you get this book for your kid - make sure you have the next one ready for when they finish.

I loved this book just as much as I have the rest of the series. It's funny, clever, and Cimorene is as wonderful as she always is. Morwen is a particularly inspirational character for me, if only because of her practical nature and ability to compose herself so incredibly well at the first sign of distress. There's a lot to be said about patience while reading this book, and how much it may be tested upon reaching the ending. I can remember how quickly I devoured the final book after, as well as the much beloved [book: Book of Enchantments] after that. I'm going to be sad when I'm done rereading them, I think, but at least now I know some young girls I can buy this series for as soon as they're old enough for it! ( )

Not as good as the first two but still enjoyable. it's to be interesting reading the fourth one given how this one ended. ( )