The Dragon’s Eye by Kaza Kingsley
When Erec Rex’s adoptive mother disappears into a tunnel under a New York City sidewalk, 12-year-old Erec and his new friend Bethany go looking for her. Below the city streets they find a new world full of magic and enter a contest which, if they win, will make them king and queen of Alypium.
The Dragon’s Eye, the first book in Kaza Kingsley’s EREC REX series, is a fun, fast-paced children’s adventure featuring a magical world that’s hidden from modern society but can be accessed through a magical version of Grand Central station. When they get there, Erec and Bethany meet tricksy ghosts, make potions, learn a new sport, and get their own pets. They live in a castle, which is a welcome change from the closet Erec is used to sleeping in.
The magical competition involves growing gills and swimming below a lake inhabited by a sea monster to meet the race of water sprites who live there. Another task involves a hazardous maze and another requires them to steal something from a dragon. Bethany, who happens to be a math genius, gets plenty of chances to impress people with her brilliance as they complete these tasks. Although she’s only 13, she can talk intelligently about calculus and linear algebra and even uses the correct jargon, despite having no formal education. During all this, the kids must, of course, avoid the traps laid by the mean rich boy and his cronies who are eager to see them fail. There are a few adults who seem evil, too.
A big surprise to Erec (but probably not to the reader) is that his name is famous in Alypium. All this time his adoptive mother, who had magically changed his appearance, had been trying to hide him in the world of the “Losers” above, but his name gave him away when he entered their world. I couldn’t help but wonder, if she was so worried about him being found, why she didn’t change his name, too. Oh, well.
I know what you’re thinking: “This is HARRY POTTER.” But you’re wrong. This is not HARRY POTTER. And that’s its problem. Some of the story is cute, but it’s never very clever, and nearly every part of the plot has a parallel to HARRY POTTER, even down to the soul-sucking Dementors (which are called “Destroyers” in Kingsley’s work). It’s full of heavy foreshadowing and all of the adults are stupid. Despite the supposed danger, we never really worry about the characters.
The Dragon’s Eye is clearly meant to appeal to youngsters who haven’t yet read HARRY POTTER, or maybe are too young for how dark HARRY POTTER can get, and that’s fine. However, it’s hard to admire a work that’s so derivative but lacks the qualities that make the imitated work so brilliant. I think that most discerning readers who love Rowling’s series will be disappointed in The Dragon’s Eye. And if it didn’t want to be compared to HARRY POTTER, it shouldn’t have copied it.
I read the audio version which was produced by Simon & Schuster Audio and narrated by Simon Jones. Mr. Jones was a terrific reader. If you’re going to read The Dragon’s Eye, I recommend this version.
Erec Rex — (2006-2012) Ages 9-12. Publisher: Enter Alypium, a hidden world within our own where our old knowledge of magic is kept and strange and fantastical creatures abound. It is a beautiful and mystical place, but things are caving in. The king is hypnotized and his castle turned on its side. The very Substance that holds things together has gone awry, and whispers tell of evil plans to destroy everything. Twelve year old Erec Rex has been yanked out of the world as we know it and thrown unwillingly into this mess. As he learns how to get by in this strange world he also discovers some truths about himself… and must learn the power of trust and love in order to save his mother, and all of Alypium. In this stunning tale packed with action, humor, a colorful cast of characters, and a riveting plot, debut author Kaza Kingsley brings us into a world of danger and excitement. For Erec, it is a world that is eerily familiar and inevitably intertwined with his future. To the reader, it is a fantastic escape that shall be taken again and again.
It has a great cover tho!
The covers are neat. I think there are writers who can’t decipher what makes a book magic (for me, it is often about the relationships between authentic characters) so they copy the plot events instead.
Yeah, the covers are really nice. Maybe later books get more original.