I'm Afraid You've Got Dragons - The Library of the Uncommons

English language

Published 2024 by Simon & Schuster Books For Young Readers.

ISBN:: 978-1-6680-2527-7

(2 reviews)

Dragons are common in the backwater kingdom of Bellemontagne, coming in sizes from mouselike vermin all the way up to the fabled Kings, which haven't been seen in an age. Gaius Aurelius Constantine Heliogabalus Thrax (who would much rather people call him Robert) has recently inherited his deceased father's job as a dragon exterminator, a career he detests with all his heart. Things turn from bad to worse when Robert is hired by the royal family to disinfest the entire castle, as Princess Cerise is determined to receive Crown Prince Reginald with the shabby château looking its best.

What happens next is not the fairy tale you may be expecting.

5 editions

Soh Kam Yung reviewed I'm Afraid You've Got Dragons by Peter S. Beagle

A twisty fairy tale involving a dragon exterminator, a princess and a prince

4 stars

A lovely fairy-tale like story about a dragon exterminator who loves dragons, a princess and a prince who comes calling. Only, the exterminator hates his job, passed down from his father, for he loves dragons and even keeps the smaller ones as pets. The princess is bored with the princes she has to 'interview' as potential partners. And the prince, who fits the physical role of Prince Charming, would rather not try to live up to expectations of his bloodthirsty father who wants to make a 'man' out of him.

They are all thrown together when the princess unexpectedly meets the prince and falls in love (puppy love?). She calls on the exterminator to come to her castle to get rid of the small dragons infesting it before the prince arrives. As for the prince, he decides that he really has to kill a dragon before he can consider himself …

A lovely fairy-tale like story about a dragon exterminator who loves dragons, a princess and a prince who comes calling. Only, the exterminator hates his job, passed down from his father, for he loves dragons and even keeps the smaller ones as pets. The princess is bored with the princes she has to 'interview' as potential partners. And the prince, who fits the physical role of Prince Charming, would rather not try to live up to expectations of his bloodthirsty father who wants to make a 'man' out of him.

They are all thrown together when the princess unexpectedly meets the prince and falls in love (puppy love?). She calls on the exterminator to come to her castle to get rid of the small dragons infesting it before the prince arrives. As for the prince, he decides that he really has to kill a dragon before he can consider himself worthy of asking the princess for her hand in marriage.

But the journey to find a large dragon to kill would darken this fairy-tale when the expedition meets with disaster. An evil wizard will be revealed that has a grudge against the prince's father, and the three would have to work together to try to save the day. In the process, they all discover that they are not meant to fulfill their expected roles in such a fairy tale. But it does have a happy ending, although maybe not the expected one. And, of course, dragons would play a large part in the story.

Magpie reviewed I'm Afraid You've Got Dragons by Peter S. Beagle

Really good! Would read again.

4 stars

I don't wanna spoil anything since the book hasn't been out long, but I thoroughly enjoyed it and would definitely reread at some point! My only complaint is that it isn't The Last Unicorn, but not many books can live up to that one, for me. Not even books by the same author. And if given the opportunity, I would love for my next partner to be like Robert Thrax.

The one thing I will say is that, like The Last Unicorn, this story makes a clear distinction between what the characters want, or think they want, and what they truly need. I've always loved that about Peter S. Beagle's work.