Slathbog's Gold

by M.L. Forman
book one of Adventurer's Wanted series
Hennepin County Library hardcover 382 pages

Alex enters a book shop to ask about the strange sign in the front window, but finds himself signed on to be an adventurer. He travels to a place whose name I forgot and embarks upon a trip to vanquish a dragon. Everything about this book sounded perfect for our grade 6 LAX, which is why I requested it. I found it had positive values and a good tone, lots of traditional elements (dwarves, elves, trolls, etc.), and a somewhat reluctant hero. Ultimately, I thought it was slow, with too many descriptions of meals and travels. The fight with the dragon was extremely short and anticlimactic. I honestly don't know if middle school boys would like it, but I found it to be a disappointing fantasy title. The only innovative piece was the geebs - odd little messenger creatures who can only make yes and no sounds. I have no idea why 15-year-old Alex would be so reluctant to learn and use magic. I'm not planning to read book two to find out.