"Love dragons? You’ll devour this!"
May 2025 Book of the Month
Struan Murray shot to attention with Orphans of the Tide, a beautifully written, page-turning fantasy adventure which was awarded the prestigious Branford Boase Award for outstanding debut novel. Dragonborn features the same immersive world-building and another set of lively young protagonists with the added bonus of dragons, lots of dragons!
Alex lives a restricted life with her mum who strives to keep her at home or under adult supervision at all times especially since the death of her father. Driven to despair, she rushes into the woods she loved to explore with her dad, and roars her frustration, only to breathe fire. She is, says the mysterious but apparently kindly man who appears, a dragon, and soon she is enrolled at a kind of school for human dragons, waiting for her true form to emerge.
In a plot that twists and turns, and in which readers realise they can’t be sure of anyone, Alex discovers that humans and dragons are on a terrible collision course unless she and her new friends can find and stop the ruthless Drak Midna.
Struan Murray is a gifted storyteller, the dragon transformation scenes and battles particularly thrilling, and this adventure, the start of a series, is red hot reading.
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Dragonborn is a unique book that’s full of magic, mystery and adventure. I don’t think I’ve ever read a book quite like it.
In Dragonborn, we meet Alex, a girl who has always been protected and watched over ferociously by her over protective mother since her father died. But Alex isn’t happy about this, and one day when things get too out-of-control, fire erupts from her mouth. Suddenly, her life is tipped upside down… Alex is a dragon. Soon afterwards, Alex is whisked away to a different world hidden away from ordinary humans, where dragons fly in the sky and children like her undergo brutal training on how to become one. However, not all dragons are good, an evil enemy is searching for an item of power and he will let nothing get in his way. It’s up to Alex and her friends to stop him before it’s too late.... Read Full Review
Amazing, gripping and one of those “want to read more” books!
This novel is a gripping piece of writing unfurling with suspense and burning with mystery. The first few pages made me picture where Alex could be when she arrived in Skrlla. This book is filled with vocabulary enough to make me feel as if I'm there with Alex.
This book would appeal to many readers of all ages. It unravels with puzzling moments and it is punchy too. Amazing and brilliant. The story is the journey of a girl and how she discovers more about herself and what secrets are waiting to be told.... Read Full Review
