Melissa McShane's Reviews > The Last Dragonslayer

Reread 9/15/22, in audio: The audiobook narrator didn't do this book any favors; her range is narrow, and most of the ancillary characters and some of the secondary ones sound the same. I was more conscious of the weird disconnect between the first, oh, ten chapters and the rest of the book. Those chapters set the scene for a very different novel than unfolds after (view spoiler)[Jennifer discovers she's the Last Dragonslayer (hide spoiler)], and it was...let's stick with weird, shall we? Weird how all the setup with Kazam disappears after that spoiler. But Fforde pulls it together, and by the time the final confrontation with the last dragon comes about, I was completely engaged, since I'd forgotten how it ends.

I'm sort of in a position where audiobooks are easier to read than print now, so despite my indifference to the audiobook narrator, I'm probably going to continue listening. (This is because the fourth Kazam book just came out, and it's been long enough that, as I said, I don't remember much of what happened in the series.)

Read 1/3/13: Jasper Fforde's first young adult novel has all the hallmarks of his books for adults while still being aimed at a younger audience; the story is shorter and more focused, the main characters are teens, and you will find no Jack Schitts here. 15-year-old Jennifer Strange runs a magicians' employment agency called Kazam in a time when magic is at the ebb and people are turning more to technology to solve their problems. Jennifer's problems are more complex; her boss has disappeared, her employees are at each others' throats, and a prophecy that the last dragon will die at the hands of the Last Dragonslayer in just a few days has dumped that problem in her lap as well. (view spoiler)[Because it turns out she's the Last Dragonslayer. (hide spoiler)]

I never felt Jennifer was really 15 years old. Granted, she's had a great deal of responsibility in her young life, but she talks and acts like...well, like Thursday Next. I think if I cared about the distinction between YA and adult novels, this would have bothered me more. As it is, I point it out because it's one of only a few flaws in the story. The plot is well-paced and the repercussions of Jennifer assuming her new role all make sense. Fforde is good at pointing out human flaws, especially greed, and putting Jennifer at odds with her king makes for good conflict.

One tiny thing that cracked me up was the marzipan. Fforde always has one element in his novels that is totally bizarre and totally taken for granted by the characters. In Thursday Next, it's illegal cheese; here, marzipan is a dangerous drug that might as well be angel dust. Things like "Police broke up a dangerous marzipan smuggling ring" just amuse me all out of proportion. But then, I already don't like marzipan.

I'm looking forward to the next books in the series, though I resent them a tiny wee bit for not being sequels to Shades of Grey. Any new Jasper Fforde novel is a lovely surprise.