The Search for the Red Dragon

Owen, James A. 2008. The Chronicles of the Imaginarium Geographica: The Search for the Red Dragon.

Set nine years after the close of Here There Be Dragons, The Search for the Red Dragon continues the story of one magical book and its three incredible caretakers: John, Jack, and Charles. The book opens with the three caretakers meeting for the first time in almost a decade. John and Charles received word that they were needed. Jack had been having some troubles, some troubling dreams. Their meeting, however, is interrupted by a little girl with wings--Laura Glue. She's come for Jamie, for the caretaker. She comes bearing bad news--someone, something, is taking all the children. Laura's grandfather, whom we soon learn is an all-grown-up Peter Pan, has sent her there to get help, to find the caretakers, to right a wrong that someone inadvertently set into motion nine years ago. Time. Time has been losing its structure, its cohesiveness, and strange things are happening--really strange things. Missing children. Missing ships. Can these three--along with the help of the first guide, Bert, find out what's wrong and fix it before these troubled happenings begin to translate, transition, into trouble for the real world, the world as we know it?

The Search for the Red Dragon is rich in detail. Its complex weaving of fantastical mythology and classic storytelling makes this one an enchanting read. Owen has created a world that I enjoy spending time in. Of course, the more experience the reader has with fantasy and mythology with the classics, then the more the reader will fall in love with the story and the backdrop. But I think as a classic, quest-filled adventure story, it can appeal to a wide variety of readers no matter their background and experience.

© Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews