Saint of Dragons, The

The Saint of Dragons is a long read and is likely to please fantasy fans who want another good versus evil tale into which to sink themselves. The opening engages the readers as one Halloween, we meet Simon St George, a pupil at the Lighthouse School for Boys, an exclusive New England academy. Simon has been placed in the school as an orphan, and is somewhat surprised when Aldric, the last dragon hunter who is set to find and kill the last dragon on earth, appears one day and turns out to be his father. He enlists his son in his quest.

The pace is fast and furious, and settings range from New York to Venice to the cruel Coast of the Dead off Russia. On the way they meet Alaythia, a beautiful art dealer who is also a magician. The dragons are civilized, now able to pass themselves off as mortals, even taking an interest in art which is how the White Dragon meets Alaythia.

A lot of the narrative derives from other fantasies, but it has to be admitted that it is difficult to be original in this genre. And originality may not be what readers want anyway. VC