The Search for the Red Dragon

The series continues in a spectacular sequel to the first book. A single act, with little thought behind it, leads to a catastrophe with consequences that affect the past, present, and future. Something has gone horribly wrong. Children have begun missing. There is a sound, a sweet, beautiful, melodious sound that calls the children away in the night. A little girl hears it, faintly, for her ears are plugged. But even that faint sound is enough to fill her with longing to join it. Tears stream down her face as she hears the pipes calling to her, but she cannot follow them. When she gets up the next morning, the other children are gone.

Who is this Pied Piper? What does he want with the children? One person knows the answer, and this one person has sworn to protect his children, children that are lost. Now, if Peter Pan wants to defeat this enemy, he must rely on the Caretaker. And so he sends his little girl, letting her fly to England to find the Caretaker of the Imaginarium Geographica. The girl arrives to find John, Jack, and Charles, only to tell them that she is looking for somebody else, another Caretaker who swore to never again return to the Archipelago of Dreams. John, Jack, and Charles must recruit this other Caretaker and plunge themselves into the thick of danger yet again if they hope to save the children, and Peter Pan.

Ok, if a book has Peter Pan in it, it's guaranteed I will love it. And yes, I love this book! I would even say it is better than its predecessor. If you know a lot about literature and you love fantasy, then this series is a MUST!

Here There Be Dragons

I have owned this book by James A. Owens for a few months, but I finally determined this last week that I was going to read it. It is INCREDIBLE!!! I had to write the author last night to thank him for such a delightful story!

The book begins with a murder of a professor. His enemies are looking for something, but he tells them that he has already given it away. Shortly after the murder, three people who knew the professor arrive: John, Jack, and Charles. They are strangers to each other, but are quickly united in a dangerous quest. A short man named Herb arrives and tells John that the professor was training him to be the new Caretaker of the Imaginarium Geographica, a book of maps of the most magical place in the world: the Archipelago of Dreams. This place has been ruled by descendants of King Arthur, until the royal line was recently destroyed by one who calls himself the Winter King. The three men are plunged into an adventure that seems almost over their heads as they learn the meaning of truth and fiction, not in lands only, but also the truth and fiction that lies within the soul.

Former caretakers include Jules Verne, Charles Dickens, Mark Twain, and other great writers. They all knew of this magical place and wrote of it, each putting their own twist to it. The companions are surprised to meet Captain Nemo, talking badgers, and elves and dwarves. Now they must discover the courage within themselves to protect this new place that is somehow connected with our world. If the Archipelago falls, so will our world. Do these three men from Oxford have what it takes? Read these pages, and they will take you to the ends of the earth on one of the greatest adventures you've ever known!