Review of The Royal Order of The Fighting Dragons by Dan Elish

The Royal Order of the Fighting Dragons
By Dan Elish

Paperback, 300 pages

Published August 7th 2018 by Vesuvian Books

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Summary

Born to... Fight?

Ike Rupert Hollingsberry is haunted by the past because complete strangers won’t let him forget that his famous father died on the set of The Fighting Dragons, a cult favorite that still has people talking. But when he’s attacked by a large locust, like the one that killed his dad, Ike is helped by the geekiest nerd of all, Elmira Hand. Killing the giant locust is only the beginning of the surprises in store for Ike as he is whisked away from New York City to an isolated Florida compound to assume his role as the next in line to lead the Royal Order of Fighting Dragons—that are NOT supposed to exist—and learns his dad’s death was a cover-up for a far greater purpose… 

Review

* I want to first thank TLC Booktours for sending me a copy of this book for an honest review.”

In modern day New York we follow a sixth grader named Ike who father has recently passed due to a traumatic death while the filming of his show The Fighting Dragons. What he doesn’t know is that everything on this set is real and that now fate lies in his hands. Ike is sent a video of the day his dad was on set and came to his demise. In that video Ike is told by his dad that he is next in line. Ike doesn’t know what to believe and now has to fight just like his dad with a nerd he barely likes and is the only one able to help him. When a giant locust attacks him right outside of school, Ike has to rely on the help of El,ira Hand. Elmira Hand is the geekiest girl in school no one wants to be around. But she has Ann important role she is a defendant of the royal order.

I really enjoyed this book, because it was fast paced and easy to read I was able to get through pretty fast. It was such a fun read and it reminded me a lot of Percy Jackson even though I only read the first book. I loved the fact that this book was well diverted and even its use of tropes was very well done. I love the portrayal of the dragons and that the colors were so different from ordinary colors you’ll see in books or TV shows. The characters were so easily followed, they were so fun and constantly kept you on your toes. 

I’d Love to see how this world grows in the hands of Dan Elish. He has such great light writing and I’m sure I’d love all of his other works. This book was very age appropriate in the writing as well as the depiction of the writing and also no gore and too much violence. I definitely recommend to middle graders looking for a light and fun fantasy read. 

About the Author

Dan Elish 

http://www.danelish.com/

Bio

Dan Elish is the author of the novel Nine Wives (St. Martins Press, 2005) and The Misadventures of Justin Hearnfeld (2008), both published by St. Martins Press. Dan is also the author of Born Too Short, Confessions of an 8th Grade Basket Case, which was picked as a Book for the Teenage 2003 by the New York Public Library and won a 2004 International Reading Association Students' Choice Award. He has also written several other novels for young adults including, The School for the Insanely Gifted, The Attack of the Frozen Woodchucks, 13, The Worldwide Dessert Contest, Jason and the Baseball Bear, and The Great Squirrel Uprising. "13," the musical for which he co-wrote the book with music and lyrics by Jason Robert Brown ran on Broadway from September 16, 2008 through January 4, 2009. In his career, Dan has also written non-fiction books for young adults, scripts for kids' TV shows (in particular Cyberchase (PBS)), music and lyrics for six musicals, funny corporate videos, and played piano for various Off-Broadway productions. He has received fellowships and scholarships to the Bread Loaf Writers' Conference, the Sewanee Writers' Conference, and is a member of the Dramatist Guild. Dan lives in New York City with his wife, daughter and son.