kimberlydyer's review against another edition
4.0
Don't be fooled--this is not the story of Owen Thorskard, dragon slayer of Trondheim. This is the story of Siobhan McQuaid, the first bard in over half a century. She is a loyal companion and fearless friend who revolutionizes a nation by being cunning, faithful, and brave.
The Story of Owen is set in modern-day rural Canada. With dragons. That feed on carbon emissions. It's amazing. Seriously--there's even a joke when Siobahan's parents buy her a car and she asks, "What, you didn't love me enough to buy a hybrid?"
For ages, dragon slayers protect the people from these carbon-eating dragons, and their trusty bards tell the tale. Until Henry Ford hired dragon slayers to protect his car factories and soon dragon slaying became commodified and commercialized, and bards become all but extinct. That all changes when, following an accident, Owen and his family of dragon slayers move out to rural Canada and decide to shake things up.
Enter Siobahan McQuaid. Music courses through Siobahan's blood, and she sees the world as a composition waiting to be written. When she meets people, she can't help but write them into the symphony in her head, identifying them by instrument--flute, french horn, trumpet. Before she even heard the word, "Bard," she started composing The Story of Owen in her head, so when Owen asks her to be his Bard, it's a fairly simple decision.
Owen Thorskard is a generational dragon slayer. His father and aunt is a dragon slayer, and his aunt's wife is a blacksmith. Dragon slaying oozes through his blood as much as music does through Siobahan's. His dragon slaying aunt is famous, so when he moves to a small town and starts high school, every one knows who he is. He takes it in stride, though, and adjusts quickly.
The pacing starts a bit slow. The story is from Siobahan's perspective, and as she is learning dragon slaying history, so are we. So it starts off a little dry, but hang in there--it's well worth it. The plot really starts to pick up once they realize the dragon population is booming in Trondheim, which indicates that something is not good.
As Siobahan and Owen train together, they form a friendship and partnership. They trust each other with their lives. It's a beautiful thing to watch, and one of my favorite parts of the story. In my opinion, the best part (spoiler alert) is that they DON'T have a romantic relationship. If you've read a YA novel at all, then you would know how hard it is to find a book about a boy and a girl who form a deep, trusting relationship and don't date. It's a wonderful thing, and I hope to see more of it. Romance is great, but I want to read more books that show how girls and guys CAN be friends without ulterior motives.
The Story of Owen is, without a doubt, my favorite book I've read this year. It is a fun, alternate universe, urban fantasy--WITH DRAGONS! I give it 4 stars only because it was a bit exposition heavy in the beginning. Otherwise, this novel is amazing, and I cannot recommend it highly enough. I can't wait for the sequel to come out!
Review originally posted on The Stories We Read.
The Story of Owen is set in modern-day rural Canada. With dragons. That feed on carbon emissions. It's amazing. Seriously--there's even a joke when Siobahan's parents buy her a car and she asks, "What, you didn't love me enough to buy a hybrid?"
For ages, dragon slayers protect the people from these carbon-eating dragons, and their trusty bards tell the tale. Until Henry Ford hired dragon slayers to protect his car factories and soon dragon slaying became commodified and commercialized, and bards become all but extinct. That all changes when, following an accident, Owen and his family of dragon slayers move out to rural Canada and decide to shake things up.
Enter Siobahan McQuaid. Music courses through Siobahan's blood, and she sees the world as a composition waiting to be written. When she meets people, she can't help but write them into the symphony in her head, identifying them by instrument--flute, french horn, trumpet. Before she even heard the word, "Bard," she started composing The Story of Owen in her head, so when Owen asks her to be his Bard, it's a fairly simple decision.
Owen Thorskard is a generational dragon slayer. His father and aunt is a dragon slayer, and his aunt's wife is a blacksmith. Dragon slaying oozes through his blood as much as music does through Siobahan's. His dragon slaying aunt is famous, so when he moves to a small town and starts high school, every one knows who he is. He takes it in stride, though, and adjusts quickly.
The pacing starts a bit slow. The story is from Siobahan's perspective, and as she is learning dragon slaying history, so are we. So it starts off a little dry, but hang in there--it's well worth it. The plot really starts to pick up once they realize the dragon population is booming in Trondheim, which indicates that something is not good.
As Siobahan and Owen train together, they form a friendship and partnership. They trust each other with their lives. It's a beautiful thing to watch, and one of my favorite parts of the story. In my opinion, the best part (spoiler alert) is that they DON'T have a romantic relationship. If you've read a YA novel at all, then you would know how hard it is to find a book about a boy and a girl who form a deep, trusting relationship and don't date. It's a wonderful thing, and I hope to see more of it. Romance is great, but I want to read more books that show how girls and guys CAN be friends without ulterior motives.
The Story of Owen is, without a doubt, my favorite book I've read this year. It is a fun, alternate universe, urban fantasy--WITH DRAGONS! I give it 4 stars only because it was a bit exposition heavy in the beginning. Otherwise, this novel is amazing, and I cannot recommend it highly enough. I can't wait for the sequel to come out!
Review originally posted on The Stories We Read.
ladyofthelake68's review against another edition
3.0
I felt like there was something missing in this book. I was not convinced of the severity of the crisis or the reality that is the world that these characters live in. Perhaps it was because the battle scenes were over so quickly or perhaps it was because there were few real consequences for character's mistakes. I think that the story is an interesting one and is worth reading, but I also think that E.K. Johnston could have embellished the tail a bit more to make it more exciting for the reader. Besides the breadth of Owen's shoulders not a single character changed throughout the book. Their were a couple of interesting plot points that I think the author could have expanded on such as the character of Sadie and especially her revelation. I felt as though she was only added to give the author a higher word count. She never moves the plot line forward with any decisiveness and is just a flicker of light in an otherwise dim room.
There is one element that I did appreciate in the story, and that was how Johnston handled a lesbian couple. He included this couple for the sole purpose of making a point that it is okay to be different and people should be accepting of others. I would have liked to see the same love that the lesbians shared displayed more clearly in the few other couples that the book had, but perhaps it is good that they stood out as the most in-sync with each other. LGBT people are becoming more common, and even if you don't believe in their life choices, they still need to be treated as people.
Their are reasons not to read this book, but don't let the lesbian couple be that reason. They are probably the best characters in the book.
There is one element that I did appreciate in the story, and that was how Johnston handled a lesbian couple. He included this couple for the sole purpose of making a point that it is okay to be different and people should be accepting of others. I would have liked to see the same love that the lesbians shared displayed more clearly in the few other couples that the book had, but perhaps it is good that they stood out as the most in-sync with each other. LGBT people are becoming more common, and even if you don't believe in their life choices, they still need to be treated as people.
Their are reasons not to read this book, but don't let the lesbian couple be that reason. They are probably the best characters in the book.
deservingporcupine's review against another edition
2.0
This should have been a book I liked, but I ended up skimming the last half to see how it ended. The idea is so good, and the narrator’s voice was strong and original. What dragged it down for me was the way dragons were inserted in the story. There were entire chapters about real historical moments... but with dragons. And entire chapters about the chemistry of a dragon corpse. And entire chapters about types of dragons and their characteristics. It just felt so forced, like dry non-fiction that you had to slog through for the story. Which ended up being not quite exciting enough to make up for the trying-too-hard world building.
vibingjaren's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
annebennett1957's review against another edition
4.0
A really clever fractured history story. Insert dragons into our history and what would our world be like? I enjoyed this first book in the Dragon Slayer of Trondheim series very much.
My review: https://headfullofbooks.blogspot.com/2014/07/the-story-of-owen-is-not-your-uormal.html
My review: https://headfullofbooks.blogspot.com/2014/07/the-story-of-owen-is-not-your-uormal.html
knitwitofthemonth's review against another edition
5.0
Set in modern-day Ontario but there are dragons? Yes please. I loved this book so much and have recommended it to so many people.
dlberglund's review against another edition
4.0
I would have finished this much sooner (perhaps in three or four days), but I put it aside in favor of others that were due soon.
This was a fun, "realistic" look at dragons and those who are called to slay them ( or sing about it).
I particularly enjoyed the revisionist history look at pivotal events in the past 150 years and the actual involvement of dragons.
This review doesn't exactly sound like trumpets and timpani, but the book is better than the review.
This was a fun, "realistic" look at dragons and those who are called to slay them ( or sing about it).
I particularly enjoyed the revisionist history look at pivotal events in the past 150 years and the actual involvement of dragons.
This review doesn't exactly sound like trumpets and timpani, but the book is better than the review.
turrean's review against another edition
4.0
Splendid! I'll be recommending this one like crazy.
My only quibble: in an alternate history world which closely parallels our own,
My only quibble: in an alternate history world which closely parallels our own,
Spoiler
only with the presence of marauding dragons, there are cars, tractors, helicopters, iPhones, and so on. Why is it that people are still fighting dragons with swords, when there are presumably grenade launchers and bombs and whatnot to drop on the dragon eggs?tegz_reads's review against another edition
5.0
I was introduced to EK Johnston's writing in her Star Wars book "Queen's Shadow" and decided to branch out and try one of her other non-SW novels while waiting for "Ahsoka" to arrive. I grabbed this at the bookstore and am *very* glad I did. The story itself and how the author interwove dragon-hunting and music was exceptionally clever, the world-building fantastic, and I loved the character of Siobhan. She was smart, clever, and down-to-earth. That this book was written in Siobhan's voice really made this book what it is, and I couldn't recommend it highly enough.