Wayward Crescent is a small suburban town decorated with beautiful oak trees and furry wild life scurrying about, with the occasional busybody nosing around in everyone’s business. David is a young College student, who has rented a room in Mrs. Pennykettle’s, along with her eleven year old daughter Lucy’s, house. David instantly notices a strange vibe in the air when every room is garnished with an ornate clay dragon. Not only this, but Mrs. Pennykettle and Lucy speak as if the dragons have feelings and ideas of their own. David becomes curious as to the secrets that lie beyond the exquisite exterior of these pottery masterpieces, such as the “hrring noises” or the “dragon den” which is forbidden to look in. He must unravel the mystery while balancing College and figuring out what makes the Pennykettles so special. Whether it’s the clay dragons or the fire they have within them.The entirety of “The Fire Within” was generally an easy read. It was written in a clear, precise format that can be enjoyable for any age group. Its detail and sarcastic humor makes each page a delight and gives you the energy to read on. Chris D’Lancey writes in 3rd person, but mainly tells the story through David’s perspective of things. He sets up the plotline as to make the readers curious about what unrevealed secrets the dragons possess and what information the Pennykettles are hanging on to. The author depicts David as an “unbeliever” of sorts, meaning he doesn’t see the full "power" of the dragons as seen in the eyes of the Pennykettles. This technique helps unmask David’s developing character throughout the novel. If you enjoy anything between fiction, mystery, folk lore or adventure, you will enjoy “The Last Dragon Chronicles.” Its everyday setting blends perfectly with its mythical backbone.
The Fire Within by Chris D’ LaceytWhen David takes a room for rent in Liz’s and Lucy Pennykettle’s home, everything seems normal enough, except for the dragons that seem to be on every shelf in the house. David pays little mind to the clay dragons till his own dragon starts appearing in his thoughts, giving him advice for stories and seemingly predicting the future. David quickly begins to realize that the dragons are more than clay. They are real.tFinding the ad for a cheap room near his college, David doesn’t ask questions about the description, “Must like children, cats, and dragons….” Though he quickly discovers the strange clay dragons built by Liz Pennykettle, he takes them for nothing more than clay sculptures. Meanwhile, Lucy, age eleven can’t seem to leave the tenant alone about the topic of squirrels. She quickly draws David into the problem of a one eyed squirrel named Conker and begs him to write a story about him, claiming that his clay dragon, Gadzooks, will help him.tUnwillingly he decides to start the story for Lucy’s birthday and comes one step closer to the truth when his dragon actually appears in his head and guides his writing. It’s not long before he realizes that Gadzooks can seemingly tell the future and that the dragons may be more than clay. Between helping the injured squirrel, figuring out his strange landlords, and discovering the secret of the dragons, David has his work cut out for him in The Fire Within. tThe book overall was not a favorite of mine, but the idea of the clay dragons being able to help with things like writing was a fun part of the story. A lot of the book is focused on squirrels and didn’t do the job of pulling me in. So while I did like The Fire Within, I would most likely not recommend it for anyone ages 13+.
What do You think about The Fire Within (2007)?
OH MY GOD! This book is so outrageous! It's so suspeseful and it has dragons, which I love! Well, for anyone who hasn't read this book, I'm sorry, but I HAVE to give you my part so far (so here's a spoiler alert):'Oddly, he thought about his dragon, then; Gadzooks, sitting on the windowsill at home: a spiky silhoutte against the rain pattered glass. And, in that moment, something peculiar happened. In his mind's eye David saw Gadzooks take his pencil from his mouth and try to scribble something down on his pad....He shook himself once and Gadzooks disappeared. But as David clanked his way through the tall iron gates and entered the gardens for the very first time, he couldn't shae off the bizzare idea that the dragon had been trying to tell him something.'WHOOOOOOOOAAAAAAAAAA!!!!!!!!!!!! SUUUUUUUSSSSSSSSSSSSPPPPPPPEEEEEEEENNNNNNNSSSSSEEEEEEEEE!!!!!!!! First of all: 1. Tall iron gates: In all my experience in being a bookworm, tall iron gates usually mean something leading to trouble- and it is waiting for the person getting through them!2. The Dragons: At this point, someone might be confused about the dragons- well these are statues, ok? I won't tell you more, you'll just have to read it yourself!
—Kimberly Paul
Before I start let me just imply that I read this years ago when I was younger and part of the second, so I am a tad biased writing this review for it being one of my favorite childhood books.Now, for the actual review. Who doesn't like dragons ? And that's exactly what the book is filled with to the brim. A twenty year old college student named David moves into the Pennykettle household as a temporary tenant. There he meets Liz, the single mother who works as a potter and creates clay dragons to sell at a market in town, and her younger daughter Lucy who has a strange obsession with squirrels. The story lays out the foundation of the series of seven books by introducing the idea of dragons and teasing the idea of them being real, concrete living beings like a carrot on a stick the entire novel. I understand the book getting some pretty bad reviews because the main point of the book is revolved around an injured squirrel and how they are going to catch him and save him eventually, but it's a brilliant idea. By focusing on a temporary main plot D'Lacey is able to slowly forge the bonds of Liz, Lucy, and David, and slowly reveal more info on dragons as the book unfolds, making you want to sit down and marathon read for hours on end wanting to know more.In the end this is one of my all time favorite books, and I would recommend it to anyone interested in dragons or with a love of fantasy touched with a little romance and the convalescent bond of family tieing the book together.Hrrrrrr
—Anthony Dimario
I normally love books by British authors but I didn't finish this one.While it had some unusual characters and several funny lines, the plot was too ambiguous... and meandering.And there were far too many squirrels. Where did all the squirrels come from? It's supposed to be a book about dragons. All the dragons do is write in notepads, make strange noises, and cry, etc. And I'm supposed to care about some squirrel dying just because the annoying little girl is obsessed with them? I guess squirre
—Ryan
