Review
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Title: Dragon Watch: Return of the Dragon Slayer
Author: Brandon Mull
Publisher: Shadow Mountain
Genre: YA Fantasy
Year Published: 2021
Number of Pages: 607
Binding: Cloth
ISBN: 978-1629729305
Price: 21.99
Reviewed by Heather Harris-Bergevin for the Association of Mormon Letters
As Dragon Watch: Return of the Dragon Slayer opens, Celebrant has reunited the Dragon kingdom and Seth and Kendra are converging (albeit from very different points of the fantasy world) to attempt to find the final missing artifact which can, they hope, prevent the utter destruction of their world. The world games are over– the Wizenstone is won. Kendra is headed to confront the Humbuggle. She finds him more than willing to “help” their cause while happily claiming credit over part of their past success and also willing to admit Seth bested him, breaking the Wizenstone with the Unforgiving Blade. But, now, Seth is captured by Celebrant’s children…or is he? Kendra befriends a young warrior named Miguel…who might have secret powers that will come in handy later on.
As Mull works towards his own end game, he’s working on pulling in loose threads, and still adding characters to act as tools for critical plot points as they go along. This might be confusing for some of the youngest readers and those not already steeped in Dragon Watch lore, but it’s no less enjoyable a romp. There are dragons, dwarves, harpies, gargoyles, and special skills for each. Mull’s primary sibling characters are headed towards their own end game as well but march towards it gamely. They’ve progressed in the mastery of their powers and are becoming formidable in their own right. Most importantly, Seth has regained his memories that were stolen, which brings him to his natural maturity level – you can’t have a chosen one who has lost all of their memories but who can also continue to progress, after all.
Who will enjoy Return of the Dragon Slayer? Those who have already done a deep dive into Dragon watch, of course! Those who are beginners to the series should start at the Dragonwatch: A Fablehaven Adventure, which is the beginning of the series, as each book’s goal is to build upon the last. The age range for Dragon Watch ideally is between 9 and 13, but there is no gore nor extensive suspense that would make the series inappropriate for younger readers. The books might will an excellent read-aloud for adventure-loving youngsters, especially. My niece and nephew, 7 and 9, who play half the time at being warriors who care for dragons, and the other half at being dragons, would love Return of the Dragon Slayer.
Happy reading!