Reviews

The Last Dragon by Jane Yolen, Rebecca Guay

pastel_princess's review

adventurous hopeful sad fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.5

sarahsnacks's review

adventurous fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No

2.0

Good art, sexist content. And the whole commit genocide of a species and then get mad when one still lives and needs to eat so we must murder it thing is tired. 

snoopy_daffodil's review

adventurous fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

zepysgirl's review

3.0

The art is very pretty, but it felt sort of... removed, I guess? Like the narrative of the fairy tale made it less immediate, so I was less connected to the characters.

lucyblack's review

4.0

At first I thought this was too full of fantasy tropes and overly desciptive writing. It grew on me though and I came to appreciate the subtle humour and subversion. I liked the messing with gender roles and the unexpected turns.

melmollick's review

2.0

I recommend this book for those who love fantasy--all kinds, but especially fairy tales. I was entranced by the illustrations. In fact, the illustrations were one of the only redeeming qualities of this book. I felt the panels and plot were wildly disconnected and lacked flow. I was also very disappointed with the treatment of women in this graphic novel--at one point a female hero ("shero") was completely disregarded simply because of her gender. The other women in the story seemed helpless, dependent on the men in the village, and meek. Without giving away too much, I'll say that I found the ending to be one big cliche. There's really no excuse for an author, as highly-respected as Jane Yolen, to be writing such weak heroines.

waclements7's review

5.0

The Last Dragon
By Jane Yolen & Illustrated by Rebecca Guay
Dark Horse Books
Pub. 9/21/11
eBook courtesy of NetGalley

***Contains Some Spoilers***














This sumptuously illustrated graphic novel is truly a treat to read and admire. The rich colors and fine details are gorgeous—and the characters are drawn beautifully and expressively. The characters are interesting and even while given short descriptions, summed up very well. The main character is Tansy, the youngest daughter of the healer. She is intelligent, curious about the world, imaginative, and, her father says, already as good a healer as he is. She is also the bane of her mother’s existence—those qualities her father admires in her are the qualities that make her forget what’s important to her mother, her chores and other duties around the house.

Meanwhile, a long lost and forgotten dragon egg has hatched, unbeknownst to anyone. It’s first victim is the healer as he goes searching for herbs. Now, Tansy is the healer, far before she feels she is ready.

After their livestock begins to disappear, then a child, after first blaming each other, a fisherman sees the dragon. An old man in the village has an old book regarding dragons, and Tansy reads it while the villagers prepare weapons. Tansy realizes they need a dragon-slayer to kill the dragon—the villagers are not prepared. Three boys are sent to find a hero to come back with them.

The man they find, Lancot, is a would-be hero, very good at talking, possibly not so good at being a hero. They bring him back because he’s the best the boys have found.

The story is about growing up, finding one’s place in the world, and learning to work together. Lancot has to learn humility and admit fear, and Tansy takes over her fathers role. In the end, it is both of them who truly save the village, along with the help of all the villagers to make an enormous dragon kite. The town of Meddlesome has finally learned to join in and help each other when they really need to. It’s a relatively simple tale on the surface, but the underlying messages are much deeper.

This is a truly wonderful graphic novel, and one that I would definitely recommend to anyone.

rouver's review

3.0

Beautiful illustrations, fun (if slightly) predictable story. Quick & enjoyable read.

perednia's review

3.0

Dragons once ruled the islands on the edge of the land where men lived. But men settled on the islands and eventually conquered the flying serpents. For the last 200 years, men believed there were no more dragons. But they were wrong.

The first person to disappear is the healer, who had a timely conversation with his daughter Tansy about dragonsbane just before he makes a decent dinner for the dragon. Tansy is his youngest daughter and the one who will become a healer as well.

In true fairy tale fashion, she has two older sisters, who fill Mary and Martha roles as worker and dreamer. They and other villagers react to the dragon's menace in ways that show, in true fairy tale fashion, how fear makes people foolish.

Three boys are sent to scour inland for a hero to vanquish the dragon. They find someone, all right, but Lancot isn't quite what he seems (just as his name isn't quite Lancelot, he isn't quite heroic when we meet him). But because this is a fairy tale and it is written by Jane Yolen, Lancot and Tansy find a way to slay the dragon.

Jane Yolen's words and Rebecca Guay's art combine superbly for a richly detailed story. Dark Horse shows once again why it is a serious publisher in a field that encompasses a wide range of storytelling themes and styles with publications such as this. And Jane Yolen shows once again why she is one of the grand storytellers of our time.

treesofreverie's review

4.0

I picked up this graphic novel because I love Rebecca's style of artwork. This is really lovely story full of incredible art and interesting characters. I think this is the sort of book I'd be more than happy to reread in the future.