NOTE: As you'll soon find out by reading this review, it is for a short story that is the first in a four-story series. I will be releasing reviews for each short story in individual posts. For readers who consistently look at this blog or are planning on reading the reviews for each short story, know that the summaries for each will be different, but the portion of the reviews that "analyze" the writing, plot, etc, will be more or less the same.
Fire and Shadow (A Dragon’s Spell, book 1)
Author: Abby Arthur
Publisher: Abby Arthur
Publication Date: December 2020
In this first short story in a four-story series, we meet Albree Vaydmehn, prince of Jasikx. Albree’s having a terrible birthday week. The ability to travel through shadows, something that has always been his refuge, has been twisted into a curse; a dragon has him under a spell, forcing him to chase after a firebender. The spell doesn’t care that he’s in a band, that he has a twin brother and a little sister, and that his sweet sixteen has officially been ruined. It wants him to secure his target, no matter the toll.
Albree is the archetype perfect teenage boy - with bravery, looks, charm, and wit to spare. Fortunately, his potentially annoying perfection is leavened with comedic sarcasm. And there’s some apparent substance to our young hero. In a few short chapters, readers get to glimpse Albree vulnerable, persevering, frustrated, courageous, infatuated, and intelligent. Fragments of information about the rest of Albree’s personal life help build him as a character and create a lead-in for the second short story. Unfortunately, the influx of information can sometimes be overwhelming and create confusing references. I would recommend this short story to middle grade fantasy readers looking for a familiar type of kingdom - one with a prince bound to save people, but also needing to fight his own demons.
D. K. Nuray, age 14
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