I was fortunate enough to find a copy of Icefire by Chris D’Lacey amongst the books here in the cave.  I was intrigued to read it, as my daughter had raved about it so much just before my abduction.  I had already read the first book in the series – The Fire Within – and had thought it a gentle read aimed at more able younger readers, but perhaps a little lacking in the action department for my taste.  You can read my thoughts on it here.

The dragons in this series are nothing like the ones I write about.  These are pottery dragons that have life imbued in them by their creator, a potter called Elizabeth Pennykettle, who lives with her daughter, Lucy, and their cat, Bonnington, in the sleepy village of Scrubbley.  The story is seen from the viewpoint of the lodger, David Rain, a geography student and reluctant writer.  He has his own dragon – Gadzooks (great name for a dragon!) – who acts as his muse, giving him ideas for his stories.  Although he’s a dragon, Gadzooks can hardly be called a monster … Aunty Gwyneth, however, I think I’d rather have Blusterfart the Unsteady stay as my jailor than get a visit from her!

Where the first in the series is perhaps lacking in pace compared to many books for young people these days, Icefire, steps through the gears rapidly, introducing far more danger, tension, mystery and intrigue than the first.  I’m very grateful to my daughter for insisting that I put this book at the top of my reading list, as I thoroughly enjoyed it.  I will no doubt be scrabbling through the pile to see if there is a copy of Firestar, the third book, at some point.  In the meantime, I’ve started reading Finding the Fox – first in the Shapeshifter series by Ali Sparkes.  I’ll report back on that later.

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