Review: Dragon Mountain

Dragon Mountain is an absolute scorcher of an adventure glittering with excitement, danger and an unbelievable sense of anticipation which kept me engrossed from beginning to end.

Although twelve-year-old Billy Chan never wanted to go to a summer camp in China, once he arrives, he senses Camp Dragon is a place for adventure and he can’t help feeling excited.  His interest is piqued further when the camp leader, Old Gold, tells him the legend of a great battle between dragons, a battle which saw the disappearance of dragons from earth.

Whilst taking part in a challenge with his new friends, Dylan, Charlotte and Ling-Fei, the children make a startling discovery about Dragon Mountain, a discovery that leads to them entering the mountain where they are confronted with the reality of the legend:  warrior dragons who have been trapped within the mountain, waiting for the children to help release them.  And, oh my goodness, what fantastic dragons they are, all with such individual personalities that really shone through.  I must confess to having a favourite:  Xing who has a fiery tongue, and is not afraid to use it when putting her opinion across.

The dragons inform the friends about a dangerous quest that they need their help to fulfil, a quest that will see the children each bond with a dragon and travel to the Dragon Realm to attempt to defeat the Dragon of Death and her evil nox-wings in order to stop them from destroying both the Human and Dragon Realms … Will the children and dragons be strong enough together to save both worlds?

Oh my goodness!  What follows is the MOST exciting corker of an adventure filled with danger, revelations and twists that genuinely had me filled with excited anticipation as I eagerly devoured the story, desperate to find out what would happen.  This story has such a clever, action-packed plot that took me on an epic adventure, surprising me, enthralling me and leaving me VERY eager for the next adventure.

I really liked all the children, and loved how different their personalities were which leads to both disagreements and opportunities for humour.  Billy and Charlotte are more competitive and impetuous, Dylan is more wary and tentative and Ling-Fei is wise and kind-hearted.  The friendship between Billy, Dylan, Charlotte and Ling-Fei is brilliantly portrayed.  These children have been brought together in incredible circumstances and quickly form a wonderfully close bond of loyalty, trust and support.  Working as a team makes them stronger and gives them the courage to face up to the fear and danger that their adventure brings.  They believe in each other and in their dragons, which is a powerful source of strength and determination when faced with great peril.

I loved the close bond between the dragons and the children, with each of the children bonding with a dragon and being given a special power to use in their fight against the dark dragons.  There was such a sense of magic and awe as the children rode the dragons, and connected with them on such an emotional and empathetic level.  I would love to say I’d like my own dragon, but I’m not sure I’d be brave enough – and I’m scared of heights -, which is why I love reading about them instead.  So much safer!

This is the most exhilarating, epic adventure that is a MUST-READ for anyone who loves stories of heroes and dragons, who loves excitement and action, who loves to be surprised and awed.  It utterly captured my imagination and transported me into a magical, exciting and dangerous world which I did not want to leave … sheer perfection all wrapped up between the pages of a wonderfully told story.  And that ending!  I absolutely CANNOT wait to return to this world!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for an e-ARC in exchange for my honest opinion.