Musing Monday - June 13, 2011 - All-nighter

This week’s Musing asks…

What’s the last thing you stayed up half the night reading because it was so good you couldn’t put it down?

 
I think the last book that had me wanting to stay up late to finish was Dark Fire by Chris D'Lacey (my review).
I think of it now and some of the book is really complex but that parts that weren't were the parts that had me wanting to read more.  Which were the parts about the characters.  Since this was a book from a series (#5 of 7) I was returning to old friends and some of them were growing up and it was as exciting for them as it was me.

Author Spotlight - Chris D'Lacey

Name: Chris D’Lacey   

Born: Dec 16th 1954  Valetta, Malta UK           

Best Known For:  The Last Dragon Chronicles

Grew Up In: U.K.

Graduated from : University of York w/ degree in Biology

Work History:  At the University of Leicester at Preclinical Science Dept.

Books: The Last Dragon Chronicles (#1-6), Rain and Fire: A Guide To The Last Dragon Chronicles, The Dragon of Wayward Crescent (#1-4), From E to You, Dexter’s Journey, The Salt Pirates of Skegness, Riverside United, Henry Spaloosh, A Break in the Chain, Shrinking Ralph Perfect, In the Frame, Franklin’s Bear, Falling for Mandy, Yelban : A Brake in the Chain, On Me’end Santa!, A Hole in the Pole, Juggling with Jeremy, Lofty , The Prompter, Bubble & Float, Horace The Table Foorball League, Pawnee Warrior, Fly Chekokee Fly.  

What Is He Doing Now? Finishing up the last book in the Last Dragon Chronicles - #7 The Fire Ascending.

Connected to the Web?  Yes
http://www.icefire.co.uk/

Blog? Yes.
http://zookiesnotepad.blogspot.com/



Book Reviews on This Blog: The Fire Eternal, Dark Fire, Gruffen, and Gauge

Dark Fire by Chris D'Lacey

Title: Dark Fire
Series: #5 of the Last Dragon Chronicles
Author: Chris D’Lacey
Genre: Young Adult, Fantasy, Series
Publisher: Orchard Books                                         
Received: Purchased at Barnes & Noble
Release Date:  September 2009
Pages:567
Rating:

What Is It About?  In this 5th book of the series of The Last Dragon Chronicles returning characters David Rain, The Pennykettle dragons, Liz and Lucy Pennykettle, Arthur, Zanna, Alexa and more. All come together as real dragons come back to life!

My Thoughts: I loved that D’Lacey brought back characters back like Sophie even if it was a small scene. My only problem is there are so many character now (not to mention races) that I get confuzzled especially  since I haven’t re-read the earlier books and do not have the time.

I did like this book better then the 4th book The Fire Eternal.  I am more interested in the story of dragon and girl then all the alien like beings you can scratch those or the polar bear which are okay in the story but it is just too much.

So I did enjoy the book but just had some issues with it.

It's Tuesday Where Are You? - England & Chocolate Shop

 It's Tuesday, Where Are You?  is a event that takes place every Tuesday at An Adventure in Reading.

I am in England learning the lore of Dragons and the Fain. "Dark Fire by Chris D'Lacey"
 

I am not sure where I am but I know it is in a chocolate shop and there are also fortune cookies but they are called misfortune cookies. "Sweet Misfortune by Kevin Alan Milne"

Gauge by Chris D'Lacey

 

Title: Gauge

Series: The Dragons of Wayward Crescent

Author(s): Chris D'Lacey

Genre: Young Adult

Publisher: Orchard Books

Received: None - read in book store

Release Date: March 4, 2010

Finished: March 2010

Pages: 289

Challenges: None

Rating:

My Thoughts: Another delve into the Pennykettle's past, as we witness the creation of a little dragon named Gauge.

Lucy, her mother and Gauge are a little stumped at what Gauge's gift is. Mom is also distracted with protesting the demolition of the town clock. But Gauge does something Pennykettle dragons almost never do: he leaves the Pennykettle home unnoticed. The dragon then takes an interest in the town clock, and what he finds changes some things.

I find these back stories charming as they revisit the dragons we have come to know and love from The Last Dragon series (especially while awaiting the next book, Dark Fire). The Dragons of Wayward Crescent books are magical and readable, even if you haven't read The Last Dragon series.

About the Author: Chris D'Lacey is a U.K. author known for The Last Dragon series: The Fire Within, Icefire, Fire Star and The Fire Eternal. His newest series, The Dragons of Wayward Crescent, has two books so far: Gruffen and Gauge. To see more of his work, go to http://www.icefire.co.uk/.

Weekly Geeks - Author Fun Facts - Chris D'Lacey

Weekly Geeks is a event that happens every Saturday go to WeeklyGeeks.com to participate

This week’s theme is: fun facts about authors.

How to:

1. Choose a writer you like.
2. Using resources such as Wikipedia, the author’s website, whatever you can find, make a list of interesting facts about the author.
3. Post your fun facts list in your blog, maybe with a photo of the writer, a collage of his or her books, whatever you want.
4. Come sign the Mr Linky below with the url to your fun facts post.
5. As you run into (or deliberately seek out) other Weekly Geeks’ lists, add links to your post for authors you like or authors you think your readers are interested in.

Chris D'Lacey

1. a) He has written many books for children but is best know for The Last Dragon Series (He is holding the first book in that series above, Fire Within)

b) When he started writing he wrote a 250,000 word story about polar bears to be given to his wife for Christmas.

c) The ceramic dragons mentioned in The Last Dragon were made by Mrs. Pennykettle in the book. In real life Mrs. Pennykettle is based on a real woman who does make ceramic dragons. (One dragon is in the picture above)

Gruffen by Chris D'Lacey

Title: Gruffen
Series:: The Dragons of Wayward Crescent
Author(s):: Chris D'Lacey
Genre:: Children Picture Book
Publisher: Orchard Books
Release Date: September 1st 2009
Finished: July 2009
Pages: September 2009
Challenges: None
Rating:










My Thoughts: This is a cute introduction of the dragons that are featured in Chris D'Lacey's The Last Dragon Chronicles. The book takes place before The Last Dragon Chronicles first book, The Fire Within, and features Liz Pennykettle and her young daughter Lucy. Lucy fears that there is a monster in her bedroom. Her mother soothe her fears by making a special guard dragon named, Gruffen. Like all the Pennykettle dragons made this dragon comes to life but only for Lucy, her mother, or when no one is watching. As for Gruffen, he does his job well, keeping Lucy safe.

I am a fan of The Last Dragon Chronicles so revisiting the character from the book before the series starts is thrilling. Even if you haven't read The Last Dragon Chronicles you can read this new series about the dragons. I thought this book was adorable and a good start for young readers.

About the Author: Chris D'Lacey is the author of The Last Dragon Chronicles the most recent, Dark Fire, due out this month. You can visit his Official Website.

The Fire Eternal by Chris D'Lacey

2nd Book Finished for Read- a- Thon!!

pages : 506

Summary: Fourth book in a series by Chris D’Lacey. This one takes place five years after the last book FireStar. Our main character, David, from the last books is missing and we now find out that his girlfriend, Zanna, has had a daughter by him. The daughter might be the key to saving the world from the end of days.

My Thoughts: Loved to see the returning characters in one, Zanna, Lucy, Arthur and let’s not forget all the dragon characters. Very creative and imaginative story about dragons and where they come from. They even added some fairies in this time. I most loved about this book is the characters returning to them just felt natural and it did seem like there was more story to be told. I even got the feeling there could be another one in the works. I recommend this book any time a there is a kid asking for a good series and especially if they like fantasy I recommend this at work. I thought this whole series was great and I have even made my husband read them. One thing I didn’t like was how abruptly it ended I was confused when it ended and had to go back and read it again to make sure I had not missed some thing. Other then that is was good. 4 Stars

About the Author: You can tell Chris D’Lacey is passionate about saving the polar bears and the ice caps from this series and the other small books he has written for children about them. He mostly known for his dragon series.