Here, There Be Dragons: Volume 1

by James A. Owen

Book Overview

The Imaginarium Geographica

What is it? John asked.

The little man blinked and arched an eyebrow.

It is the world, my boy, he said. All the world, in ink and blood, vellum and parchment, leather and hide. It is the world, and it is yours to save or lose.

An unusual murder brings together three strangers, John, Jack, and Charles, on a rainy night in London during the first World War. An eccentric little...

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1416912274
• ISBN13: 9781416912279
• Release Date: October 2006
• Publisher: Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers
• Length: 336 Pages
• Weight: 1.71 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.1" x 6.3" x 9.0"
• Age Range: 12 to 17 years
• Grade Range: Grades 7 to 12

Customer Reviews

Fantastic story, mediocre quality book

I have read this book many times, and really wanted a good, hardcover copy for myself. As always, the content is fantastic, but I feel a “Good” quality rating was inaccurate, as it had a broken binding with pages falling out. :/

hey i want to ask somthing

hey i have not read this book yet. im a little confused is this a graphic novel or not if you have read the book please answer me

A must for all fantasy lovers

Get ready for a mind-bending magical adventure. HERE, THERE BE DRAGONS, by graphic novel artist and writer James Owen, has clues and twists in each chapter. What if the most famous of fantasy authors wrote their stories based on their real adventures rather then imaginary ones? The tale begins in 1917 England, when college student and soldier John is summoned to his Professor's office, only to find that his teacher has been murdered. He is given a book, The Imaginarium Geographica, and meets Bert, Charles and Jack. Within minutes, the group is racing from a mob of monsters sent to kill them. It turns out that John is The Caretaker of The Imaginarium Geographica, and Charles and Jack must help him. The Imaginarium Geographica is a map of lands of myth, and Bert is a previous Caretaker who must guide the trio on their quest. They begin at Avalon and learn that the fate of the fantasy worlds as well as the real worlds is in danger of destruction. Here, There Be Dragons is the sign that greets them when they cross over into the fantasy world. Are dragons friends or foes? They soon learn that an evil Winter King has taken the throne and is after them to find the Ring of Power as well as The Imaginarium Geographica so he can rule everything in both worlds. John is not at all sure that he is the right man for this mission, and he makes plenty of mistakes. Charles and Jack also struggle to discover their strengths. But John and his new friends travel bravely through famous lands from myth and even the Bible. Fantasy fans will enjoy finding clues from favorite stories. From the Ring of Power to Pandora's Box to a creature who could be Noah to Prydain, favorite fantasy stories meld together. The final battle affects all in the group, as well as their new allies. When readers find out who Bert, John, Charles and Jack really are, they will realize that the stories are only beginning. The beautiful drawings by James Owen help make this vivid imagination trip leap off the page. HERE, THERE BE DRAGONS should be read by fans of Tolkien, Lewis, Paolini, Wells and Verne. In fact, it should not be missed by anyone. --- Reviewed by Amy Alessio

Fantasy Inklings

Here There Be Dragons is one of my favorite sorts of fantasy: Three strangers meet in the mundane world of 1917 London and shortly find themselves plunged into a struggle to save the Imaginarium Geographica, an atlas which holds the key to understanding (and saving) the Archipelago of Dreams. John, Jack, and Charles are all well drawn characters, and their adventures as they journey through the Archipelago are exciting. The young adult audience at which this book is primarily aimed will find it irrestistable. But the reader who has a bit of background knowledge and experience with fantasy will quickly recognize that there's more to Here There Be Dragons than that. Such readers will find themselves enjoying the clever allusions to other fantasy works and will quickly get more than an "inkling" that Owen has tapped into the main veins of the works of three major writers. They will not be surprised when John, Jack, and Charles' full names are revealed at the end of the book. Young adult readers may not be as familiar with the milieu from which Here There Be Dragons springs, but it is to be hoped that they will go on to read many other fantasy works, and in so doing will come to recognize Mr. Owen's accomplishment even more.

Soars to stratospheric heights

Here's some interesting news...this book has already been picked up by Warner Brothers, and Batman Begins screenwriter David Goyer and Harry Potter producer David Heyman will be the producers of this movie. Boy was that fast! There is good reason that Hollywood is interested in this, because it is a story filled with magic from the first to last page. The story begins in 1917, and we are treated to delightful characterizations of J.R.R. Tolkien, C.S. (Jack) Lewis, and Charles Williams, who didn't know each other then but would later become friends and members of the famous Inklings group, a group of Christian writers and, I believe, Oxford professors who - for lack of a better phrase at this moment - hung out, smoked pipes, and talked about the writing they were working on. I wish their identities weren't already widely known, for reasons that will be clear at the end of the book, but I doubt that many people reading this book would have been at all surprised. Three "Oxford men", all writers, all of whom possessed a strong imagination (according to their initial rescuer and guide, Bert)...who else could they possibly be? About this book. I didn't just love it. I am amazed, breathless, and nearly speechless - I can't believe the author was brave enough to attempt such a daring undertaking and more so that he pulled it off so perfectly. We are taken into the most marvelous of worlds, guided by the Imaginarium Geographica, a world where everything that has ever been imagined (and possibly things that are true...depends on your take) exist. Owens guides us through all of these worlds like a skilled navigator, and time and again we run into situations, people, and physical structures that bear a remarkable similarity to what we have seen in The Lord of the Rings and The Chronicles of Narnia, and I'm sure much of Charles Williams writing, although I am unfamiliar with his work. It's such a delight to see these similarities, as they act as a time traveling machine, but I will mention only one. The main characters and their companions are at a structure that they know to be a door, but there is no discernible handle or keyhole. There is, however, some writing in Elvish that says, "Declare allegiance, and be welcomed." For anyone remotely familiar with Tolkien's work, this is immediately recognized as a scene directly out of The Fellowship of the Ring, where the nine companions are trying to gain entrance to the Mines of Moria. In FOTR, the Elvish script read, "Speak, friend, and enter." Eventually Gandalf (although in the movie I think it's Merry) realizes that one needs only to say the Elvish word for "friend" and the doors will open. They do so, and the doors open. In the scene in Here, There Be Dragons, Jack puts forth the idea that perhaps all they need to do is speak the Elvish word for "allegiance", and the door will open. John says, "That's a stupid idea." You can't help but laugh. Gems like the one described above are all over this book,

Brilliant!

Though listed as a Young Adult book, and I am sure young adults would love it, I can tell you that this 47 year old devoured this book. A wonderful tapestry of fanatsy worlds woven together in one place, and creating an amazing background for an adventure. Worth the money for Mr. Owens rich illustrations alone , the book is a rollicking adventure tale that any fantasy lover will enjoy. I highly recommend it. But a piece of advice, take your time with it, I read it all in 2 days and can't wait for a sequel!

A REAL look behind the curtain.

Do you have an older relative or friend - a parent, uncle, grandparent; you get the idea - that has ever regaled you with stories of their outrageous youthful escapades? I think we all have one of those relatives. Whether the stories are true or not, the stories are REAL (there IS a difference), and we love them and can hear them again and again. After all, `something' had to make that person such a great storyteller. That's what Here, There Be Dragons by James A. Owen is all about. Better than that, we get to see and EXPERIENCE those escapades. In Here, There Be Dragons we meet many vaguely familiar characters. To most of us, they're already friends. But they're old friends. That is; friends who are `old'. In this incredible story we get a chance to meet them at their youth. When we're first introduced to them we `think' we know who they are, but we're not sure. It's like going back in time and seeing if your old man - young and strong and much less familiar - really `did' save his entire platoon using a slingshot. The story focuses around three young men; John, Jack and Charles. At the beginning of the story, WWI Europe, they converge, un-coincidentally, upon the death of an old Professor friend of theirs'. While contemplating this horrible incident, they meet another strangely familiar character named Bert; a funny little man who bestows on them the coolest named book in all of literature: The "Imaginarium Geographica." It's a book of maps. Maps of places that have existed only in the realm of imagination. A map of every place that was ever dreamt is in that book. Remember the place that you created yourself, when you were 7? It's in there. It's a very big and exceedingly important book. John, Jack and Charles are then given the task of saving the worlds - the real living and breathing places - that are in the book. Our "heroes" are three somewhat young and quite different men. John just served a tour of duty in WWI. He is a man of intellect, honor and character, but he's been eye-deep in hell and it left him changed. He's not so sure about life at the moment. Jack is young and impulsive. Like all young and impulsive people he makes decisions quickly, and not always with the best results. But he has such a heart. You will love him. Charles is the eldest of the three. The "level-headed" one. The one who can rattle off the funniest line in the world with the straightest possible face. He's also the most English, and I mean that in a good way. When you read it you'll know what I mean. Once accepting the staggering onus of saving all places imaginary, John, Jack and Charles embark on an adventure in the land of imagination; the "Archipelago of Dreams." It's an adventure that would make Robert Louis Stevenson grin from ear to ear. There are ships, there are creatures of good and darkest evil, there are pirates, there are beautiful warrior women, kings, princes, knights, wizards, sorcerers, heroes, cowards and