The Princess and the Firedrake (Jim Stinson)

The Princess and the Firedrake
Jim Stinson
Smashwords
Fiction, YA Fantasy
*** (Okay)

DESCRIPTION: Princess Alexandra, or Alix, is graceful, beautiful, and clever. Too clever. Cursed by a warlock at her christening, she takes her mother's scientific leanings to alienating extremes, unknowingly pushing away even her own family when she insists on being right about everything all the time... as she invariably is. Fed up, the humiliated king finally locks her away forever.
In nearby Mount Sulphur, the firedrake Griddle grows restless. There was a time when his name was feared throughout the known world, when champions came from thousands of miles around to test their mettle - and, invariably fail - against his might. Now, with that newfangled science telling everyone that magic doesn't even exist, it's been ages since he had a proper challenge.
As Griddle's fury plunges the kingdom into a deadly heat wave, the king's efforts to stop the dragon only make things worse. To save her land and her family, Princess Alix turns her immense intellect to the task... but it will take a power even greater than her prodigious mind to defeat the firedrake.
An eBook-exclusive title, not available via Amazon.

REVIEW: I was looking for a light, fast read on my Nook when I downloaded this title. Little did I realize that what appeared to be a short story was, in fact, nearly a full-length novel. The premise, based loosely on a tale by Andrew Lang, puts a bit of a twist on the classic fairy tale, with a rather silly overtone. Everyone here, from the princess to the firedrake, reads like a caricature, tumbling and bumbling along through a story whose ultimate outcome is telegraphed in the first few chapters. Nevertheless, it has some fun moments, and Alix must earn her victories over both the firedrake and her curse. While ultimately too goofy for my tastes, I've read worse.

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