The Story of Owen: Dragon Slayer of Trondheim

In this original fantasy, eleventh-grade budding composer Siobhan McQuaid is asked to be bard to dragon-slayer-in-training teen Owen. Johnston has great fun reimagining history in a dragon-filled world. Modern references live comfortably next to those from Viking sagas, often to comic effect. And the final confrontation, due to Siobhan's wry, heroic narration, is nothing short of epic.

The friendship between Siobhan and Owen is unusual and compelling. It avoids romantic clichés and emphasizes a relationship to which each brings particular strengths. Siobhan is Owen’s tutor and bard, while he is her introduction to the dangerous world of dragon slaying. The premise that dragons are attracted to fossil fuels is an engaging way to highlight the dangers of carbon emissions. And the idea that rural towns are left to fend for themselves while dragon slayers are paid to protect big cities suggests another parallel with contemporary American life. E. K. Johnston cleverly incorporates dragons into her counterfactual world history, saying, for example, that the production of automobiles in Detroit led to Michigan having the greatest concentration of dragons and dragon slayers “since the Romans burned Masada.” While the story includes intense battles and plenty of high-school drama, Johnston also includes a good amount of humor. For instance, describing Owen, Siobhan says, “When he’s older, I’m sure, they’ll sing songs of his bravery and heroic deeds. Once he’s filled out enough to merit a name like ‘Owen the Broad’ or ‘Owen the Football-Shouldered,’ he’ll be a legend. Right now, though . . . he’s reed-thin, weighs 150 pounds soaking wet, and I have to tutor him in algebra. And English. It would be embarrassing if it weren’t so funny.”

In an alternate universe much like ours, dragon-slaying is a lucrative corporate gig. Retired legendary dragon slayer Lottie Thorskard hopes to begin a movement to return the profession to its roots -- local dragon slayers doing the unglamorous work of protecting their territory from ravenous, carbon-sniffing dragons. So she moves her family to tiny, rural Trondheim, Ontario, home of eleventh-grade budding composer Siobhan McQuaid, narrator of this original fantasy. Lottie asks Siobhan to be bard to her dragon-slayer-in-training teen nephew Owen: recounting his deeds, providing feedback on his technique, and promoting the idea of dragon slayers as public servants. (Also, he needs an algebra tutor, and Siobhan is good with numbers.) This means, however, that Siobhan will get much closer to dragons than she'd ever planned to. Johnston has great fun reimagining history in a dragon-filled world and takes on carbon emissions and global warming from a different angle. Modern references live comfortably next to those from Viking sagas, often to comic effect. With dragon attacks on the rise, Owen and Siobhan get wind of a new dragon hatching ground and lure the dragons away in order to destroy the eggs -- a final confrontation that, in Siobhan's wry, heroic narration, is nothing short of epic. anita l. burkam