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Name: I'm Afraid You've Got Dragons: Beagle, Peter S.: 9781668025277: Amazon.com: Books
Price: 22.49 USD
Availability: InStock
Rating: 4.4 (594 reviews)

Peter S. Beagle

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I'm Afraid You've Got Dragons Hardcover – May 14, 2024

by Peter S. Beagle (Author)

4.4 594 ratings

Editors' pick Best Books of the Year So Far 2024

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From the New York Times bestselling author of The Last Unicorn comes a new novel with equal amounts of power and whimsy in which a loveable cast of characters trapped within their roles of dragon hunter, princess, and more must come together to take their fates into their own hands.

Dragons are common in the backwater kingdom of Bellemontagne, coming in sizes from mouse-like vermin all the way up to castle-smashing monsters. Gaius Aurelius Constantine Heliogabalus Thrax (who would much rather people call him Robert) has recently inherited his deceased dad's job as a dragon catcher/exterminator, a career he detests with all his heart in part because he likes dragons, feeling a kinship with them, but mainly because his dream has always been the impossible one of transcending his humble origin to someday become a prince's valet. Needless to say, fate has something rather different in mind...

Print length

288 pages
Language

English
Publisher

S&S/Saga Press
Publication date

May 14, 2024
Dimensions

6 x 1 x 9 inches
ISBN-10

1668025272
ISBN-13

978-1668025277
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From the Publisher

Editorial Reviews

Review

"Peter S Beagle is, as ever, a master. Like the dragons and dreams therein - gorgeous and vibrant and wistfully fantastic - he never neglects the sharp teeth that confirm a tale as absolutely real." -- ―Travis Baldree, New York Times bestselling author of Legends and Lattes

"A moving tale from a fantasy master." ― ―Reactor Mag

“Bringing to mind both Neil Gaiman’s Stardust and Patricia C. Wrede’s Enchanted Forest Chronicles,...a reluctant dragon hunter escorts a prince on a dragon-slaying hunt through the kingdom of Bellemontagne as the prelude to a betrothal between kingdoms.” ― ―LitHub

"Equal parts Monty Python and Dragonheart? The Smaug section of The Hobbit? Let’s just say Beagle’s I'm Afraid You've Got Dragons is its own creature entirely, much like every dragon I've ever met." ― ―Parade

“Beagle’s cozy novel embraces over-the-top fantasy tropes, and the effect is a tale that’s as hilarious as it is endearing. Evocative of Terry Pratchett, the writing grows beyond its charming aesthetic to deliver a deceptively serious narrative.” ― ―Library Journal

"Peter Beagle is an icon in the world of fantasy fiction … charming characters and cozy high fantasy vibes are worth the wait." ― ―Paste Magazine

About the Author

Peter Beagle, noted author and screenwriter, is a recipient of the prestigious Hugo, Nebula, Locus, and Mythopoeic Awards, and a World Fantasy and Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America 2018 Damon Knight Memorial Grand Master, among other literary achievements. He has given generations of readers the magic of unicorns, haunted cemeteries, lascivious trees, and disgruntled gods. A beloved author, his best-known work is The Last Unicorn.

Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.

Chapter One

ONE
Robert dreamed…

It was The Dream—the one that visited him so often that it had long since lost any terrifying aspect and become as drearily predictable as the ones in which he was being driven out of town by a jeering, laughing mob, or found himself suddenly naked and pink as a shrimp while kneeling to court Violette-Elisabeth, the baker’s daughter. Even so, The Dream left him feeling strangely thrilled—in a shivery sort of way—when he woke to his mother’s call from downstairs: “Gaius Aurelius! Gaius Aurelius Constantine!”

“Not now, not now,” he muttered into his pillow, turning over in forlorn pursuit of a few last fragments of sleep. But Adelise was on the bed already, pulling the coverlet back with her tiny fangs and tickling his ear with her forked tongue. He could hear clumsy Fernand scrabbling for purchase on the shaky bedstead, which meant that Lux would be next, and then Reynald—poor little Reynald, always last in everything.

The call came again. “Gaius Aurelius Constantine Heliogabalus!”

He tried to shout, “I’m awake!” but only managed a croak this time, as he forced himself to sit up. What was in that new batch at Jarold’s last night? “Get away, Adelise, I’m awake, I’m awake…. Oh dear God, I’m dead but I’m awake.” Reynald’s long scarlet head appeared above the edge of the bed, accompanied by a piercing cry for attention. “Reynald, keep it down, I’m not well.”

“Gaius Aurelius Constantine Heliogabalus Thrax, it’s chestnut pancakes—and if you’re not here in the kitchen in two minutes, it’ll be hog slop!” The three pigs rooting disconsolately in the small pasture out back could no more have passed as hogs than Robert could have, but Odelette Thrax was an optimist in all things. “And there’s a job waiting, Gaius Aurelius—”

“Don’t call me that!” It was enough of a bellow to send all four of the dragons scurrying as he lurched out of bed and began stiffly fumbling his way into his heavy working clothes. Robert’s mother alternated between being his best friend and a headache to dwarf the one he already had—sometimes she filled both positions simultaneously—but at all times he was extremely fond of her cooking.

Adelise leaped to his shoulder as he clumped down the stair, her claws skidding on the dragonskin vest that he always wore to a job, and whose origins she and the others never seemed to sense. He hated the vest and all the rest of the armor of his trade as he had never hated any item of clothing—all right, except for the silly green forester’s cap that his mother had made him wear as a boy—but his customers took confidence in his appearance, as some kind of emblem of his expertise, and it did have practical benefits in a day’s work, for all its uncomfortable stiffness. He reached up awkwardly to pet the carefully balanced dragonlet, feeling the feather softness of her deep green scales, which would not turn tough, almost impermeable, for another year yet. The women like them just like this at Dragon Market. The men want the yearlings.

The thought of Dragon Market roiled his empty stomach as he sat down at his mother’s table. She was at the stove with her back to him, cooking what amounted to her third breakfast of the morning. Robert’s younger brothers, Caralos and Hector, were of course already out and at work behind a neighboring farmer’s oxen, having left at dawn. Now Patience and Rosamonde were racing through their own meal, late for lessons as usual, too hurried even to greet him.

Robert loved his younger sisters, but he also envied them painfully. He had always thought it unjust that village girls got to be properly educated, while boys must apprentice early, and were lucky if they were taught to read and write at home, as he had been. He often peered over his sisters’ shoulders while they were studying, until they complained and their mother shooed him away.

By the time Patience and Rosamonde had left for the schola, trailing promises of good behavior they would keep only if absolutely necessary, Robert had revised his opinion of the day. Chestnut pancakes, browned perfectly at the edges… pomegranate syrup… fresh milk… there might be something said for living after all. Wolfing down his third cake, he asked, with his mouth full, “Who’s the engagé?” He never referred to the people who hired him as customers, that being a term favored by those in trade, the people who sold things, rather than renting out their skills. In all honesty, he didn’t actually care, but it mattered a great deal to his mother. She was intensely aware that her late husband’s work, now Robert’s work by inheritance, assigned them to the lowest rung of a steep and unforgiving social ladder.

“Medwyn and Norvyn, behind the granary.” Odelette turned then, frowning as she saw Adelise on his shoulder. “Does she have to hear this?”

“Go help the others with the beds, Adelise,” Robert said gently. The dragonlet flicked out her tongue and spread her minuscule wings, their inner vanes flushed purple as thunderclouds, then glided to the floor and scuttled up the stairs to Robert’s bedroom. The four of them always did his bed first, no matter how often he tried to get them to alter their routine. Sometimes they even tried to make the bed with him still in it.

When he was sure the little dragon was out of earshot, Robert turned back to his mother. “Medwyn and Norvyn? That’s going to be nasty. Another caud of Serpens flamma vegrandis, I’ll lay odds—it’d serve them right, not letting me sweep for eggs the last time. Five, what, six seasons in a row, is it? You think they’d learn.”

“They didn’t like your father. They like you. Maybe you can convince them.”

“Not much chance of that so long as they both keep the books. They’re too busy cheating each other to know a bargain, once nothing’s blistering their ankles. Ah well,” he sighed as he slid his seat back, “more food on the table, and new scrolls for the twins. There are worse livings.”

But later, after he’d left the house to gather up Ostvald and the day’s tools, he had to confess to himself that he really couldn’t think of any.

Product details

Publisher ‏ : ‎ S&S/Saga Press (May 14, 2024)
Language ‏ : ‎ English
Hardcover ‏ : ‎ 288 pages
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 1668025272
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1668025277
Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 2.31 pounds
Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 6 x 1 x 9 inches

Best Sellers Rank: #30,295 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #446 in Humorous Fantasy (Books)
- #1,067 in Sword & Sorcery Fantasy (Books)
- #2,680 in Epic Fantasy (Books)

Customer Reviews:
4.4 594 ratings

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Peter S. Beagle

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Peter S. Beagle was born in 1939 and raised in the Bronx, where he grew up surrounded by the arts and education: both his parents were teachers, three of his uncles were world-renowned gallery painters, and his immigrant grandfather was a respected writer, in Hebrew, of Jewish fiction and folktales. Today, noted author and screenwriter Peter Beagle is a recipient of the prestigious Hugo, Nebula, Locus, Mythopoeic, and World Fantasy Awards, and he is a Science Fiction & Fantasy Writers of America 2018 Damon Knight Memorial Grand Master, among many other literary achievements. He has given generations of readers the magic of unicorns, haunted cemeteries, lascivious trees and disgruntled gods. A prolific author, his best-known work is The Last Unicorn, a fantasy novel, which Locus Magazine subscribers voted the number five "All-Time Best Fantasy Novel" in 1987. Fellow Hugo and Nebula-award-winning author Neil Gaiman has described Beagle’s A Fine and Private Place as his “I-wish-I'd-written-that-first" novel. In addition to writing novels, short stories, poems, and songs, Peter S. Beagle is also known for his work on screen, including the screenplay he co-wrote for the 1978 Ralph Bakshi-animated version of The Lord of the Rings. He also wrote the teleplay for "Sarek", one of the most critically-acclaimed and popular episodes of the television series Star Trek: The Next Generation.

Customer reviews

594 global ratings

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Customers say

Customers find the humor cute, fresh, and amusing. They describe the book as an awesome, delightful, and satisfying read. Readers praise the writing quality as skillful and say it's one of the best fantasy writers ever. They also appreciate the wonderful characters and genuinely good people.

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Humor Enjoyment Character development Writing quality Story telling

19 customers mention "Humor"15 positive4 negative

Customers find the humor in the book cute, fresh, and amusing. They describe the story as entertaining and lighthearted.

"This book was a wonderful read! It was funny, whimsical, heroic, sad, and overall a joy to read!..." Read more

"I've always been a fan of Peter, and his latest is another delightful story...." Read more

"...Perhaps more importantly, there is humor and fun in the book, rather than the tendentious plots and dialog that often populate modern fantasy these..." Read more

"...and gender stereotypes and turns them on their heads in a fresh and most amusing way that is typical for Beagle...." Read more

14 customers mention "Enjoyment"14 positive0 negative

Customers find the book awesome, delightful, and entertaining. They say it's well-written and there isn't a wasted word. Readers also mention the story is cute and perfect for a family read-aloud.

"...It was funny, whimsical, heroic, sad, and overall a joy to read! I loved the idea of a dragon exterminator who actually loves dragons!..." Read more

"...many respects to Terry Pratchett's style of writing, but an enjoyable read nonetheless." Read more

"...A fast entertaining read." Read more

"...with signature Beagle humor and heart, and you'll have a highly satisfying and poignant tale." Read more

6 customers mention "Character development"6 positive0 negative

Customers find the characters wonderful and genuinely good.

"...through, however, things developed in surprising ways: characters became more well-rounded and less predictable as tropes were turned sideways..." Read more

"...Lovable characters, plenty of dragons, heart, and I didn't have to read any sentence or paragraph twice (code for well-written)...." Read more

"3.5 The characters were likeable and the story started out with a lot of promise, but then it just fell flat...." Read more

"The author creates interesting characters and plot...." Read more

6 customers mention "Writing quality"6 positive0 negative

Customers find the writing quality of the book skillful and no unnecessary words are used. They also say it's a true pleasure and that Peter Beagle, one of the best fantasy writers ever, has exceeded himself with this one.

"...(code for well-written). I looked forward to reading it, slowed down so it wouldn't end...." Read more

"...If you are at all a fantasy fan, you will love this one. Well written, not a wasted word, and brain tickling...." Read more

"...There is a beautiful economy in the story telling here. No words wasted, no unnecessary words used. A true pleasure." Read more

"...The writing is witty and the story is cute- perfect for a family read aloud or savoring as an adult when the world is too much." Read more

3 customers mention "Story telling"3 positive0 negative

Customers find the story telling rich, gritty, and lovely.

"...They are just genuinely good people, and it's lovely." Read more

"...how amusingly the author coated some serious themes in an engaging, rich, gritty package...." Read more

"Such a pleasure to read a book by a master. There is a beautiful economy in the story telling here. No words wasted, no unnecessary words used...." Read more

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Alex and Shea Willis

What a fantastic read

Reviewed in the United States on August 28, 2024

Verified Purchase

This book was a wonderful read! It was funny, whimsical, heroic, sad, and overall a joy to read! I loved the idea of a dragon exterminator who actually loves dragons! 5/5 ⭐️ read for me!

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doc peterson

"everybody in the world is a donkey with the heart of a lion"

Reviewed in the United States on July 17, 2024

Verified Purchase

After hearing an interview with the author on NPR, I was intrigued by the book and the writer. Initially I was not impressed by what I thought was a predictable story line: a beautiful young princess unimpressed with suitors, a dashing young knight errant who has caught her eye (but who is less than enthusiastic about his quest), the lowly dragon exterminator who secretly loves dragons and loathes his career who is love-stuck with the princess - even as I empathized with the characters.

Halfway through, however, things developed in surprising ways: characters became more well-rounded and less predictable as tropes were turned sideways (although not quite on their heads), and finally the real protagonist was introduced (rather than the typical conflict of wealthy, powerful knight seeing the lowly exterminator as rival for the affections of the princess.) The conclusion was sweet, the story told with dry humor and quick wit. The book - as a previous reviewer remarked has a YA vibe to it similar in many respects to Terry Pratchett's style of writing, but an enjoyable read nonetheless.

16 people found this helpful

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MGW

simply a "breath of fresh air" in fantasy!

Reviewed in the United States on June 7, 2024

Verified Purchase

I am a VERY fussy fantasy reader. There are more fantasy novels I have put down than finished through the years - high expectations. I ordered a copy of this on a whim (kinda tired of world building and ridiculous names and eye rolls). It was absolutely a breath of fresh air -- light but fun and impactful. Lovable characters, plenty of dragons, heart, and I didn't have to read any sentence or paragraph twice (code for well-written). I looked forward to reading it, slowed down so it wouldn't end. The ending was a little drawn out, but I'm so very glad I happened upon this book!

19 people found this helpful

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Amber

Absolutely delightful

Reviewed in the United States on July 15, 2024

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I've always been a fan of Peter, and his latest is another delightful story. I don't have a lot of reading time these days but I couldn't put this one down!

One person found this helpful

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Scrapper

Glad to find it

Reviewed in the United States on May 22, 2024

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Moments of whimsy. Ultimately, what did it mean?

3 people found this helpful

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Bob

Great book!

Reviewed in the United States on August 8, 2024

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Got 5l is for a reading club book and the majority of us loved it! A fast entertaining read.

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Amazon Customer

Started with promise, but didn't live up to its potential

Reviewed in the United States on September 22, 2024

Verified Purchase

3.5 The characters were likeable and the story started out with a lot of promise, but then it just fell flat. The 'villain' and his story were pretty lame and the ending felt unfinished.

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Jay Martin

A well-written, entertaining fantasy

Reviewed in the United States on July 12, 2024

Verified Purchase

The author creates interesting characters and plot. Perhaps more importantly, there is humor and fun in the book, rather than the tendentious plots and dialog that often populate modern fantasy these days.

5 people found this helpful

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Top reviews from other countries

Everything's Rosie

Classic Beagle

Reviewed in Canada on May 31, 2024

Verified Purchase

I just finished reading "I'm afraid you've got Dragon" by Peter S. Beagle. One of my all time favourite authors. Truly an author's author. Every sentence is a work of art! One of the few people where I read whole paragraphs twice just to enjoy the sentence compositions. And yet, he does it all so effortlessly (or what appears to be) as everything flows so beautifully.

This book is no exception. A tail of a land where dragons are plentiful and even considered pests. Humorous and heartfelt. I loved all the twists that the hero's go on. Lot's of adventure too. And check out the cover art! This is a hard cover worth dropping the bucks on just to own the art!

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