Social Entrepreneur, educationalist, bestselling author and journalist, D K Powell is the author of the bestselling collection of literary short stories “ The Old Man on the Beach“. I’ll report back what I think when I’m done! Hence, I’m looking forward to the fourth – and longest – book. Still, these are characters that I’ve come to know and love and I care about what happens to them. I guess that makes it a safe book for younger children though.

There’s no real sense of urgency, crisis or emotional turmoil. But for me, I found myself less than convinced by the calmness with which everyone faces the final predicament – Cimorene most of all, as it happens. I’m sure children will be delighted by it all too. I’m sure we were all thrilled and delighted the first time around – seeing as we had the fourth book to hand ready to move on to, so we didn’t have to wait long for resolution.

Nevertheless, ahead of time or not, it can bring something of a disappointment – at least to me as an adult reading these for old times’ sake rather than reading to my children. Considering this was originally published in 1993, that’s quite ahead of its time really. Instead, having given us two complete stories previously, Wrede now gives us the cliffhanger which will come to a head in the fourth book. For a start, it doesn’t end happily with everything nicely tied up.

There is something of a different feel to this book. But our focus remains mostly with Morwen as she tries to work out what has happened to the magic sword which belongs and in the Enchanted Forest and threatens to destroy it if not returned. Nor are the pesky wizards very far away too. She’s not absent in this story: far from it. Here we find Cimorene, who began our adventures in book one, has now moved on to become queen of the forest and is pregnant – preparing us for the fourth and final book which was (as the author explains in all her introductions) actually the first of the series to be written and published. Wrede’s Enchanted Forest Chronicles takes yet another character’s perspective – this time, Morwen the Witch and (more importantly) her very many cats.

A meatier classic will come soon!įor everyone else who has an inner child like mine, carry on reading… One more review to go after this and then I’m done with this wonderful series of books. If children’s/YA fiction isn’t your thing, bear with me a little longer.

Calling on Dragons by Patricia C. Wrede