Shadow Dragons (Chronicles of the Imaginarium Geographica, #4)

by James A. Owen

The Caretakers of the Imaginarium Geographica are at war. The last stones from the Keep of Time are falling, and, at the request of an old enemy, a new tower is being built in our world. The old enemy is the Winter King's Shadow, and he wields a terrible weapon - the Spear of Destiny - which can be used to command the shadows of anyone it touches...including the protectors of the Archipelago, the dragons. The Shadow King returns to the Archipelago using the ship, the Iron Dragon, and enlists an unstoppable army of Dragon Shadows...While WWII rages in our world, all the caretakers, both past and present, must come together to save the Archipelago. All hope lies with a small group of companions, along with mythical knight, Don Quixote, who must sail beyond the very ends of the Archipelago in search of a broken sword, and the only being alive who can repair it: a scholar, who, once upon a time, was called Madoc.

• ISBN10: 1847386512
• ISBN13: 9781847386519
• Publish Date: 1 December 2009 (first published 1 October 2009)
• Publish Status: Active
• Out of Print: 22 April 2015
• Publish Country: US
• Publisher: Simon & Schuster
• Imprint: Simon & Schuster Children's
• Format: Paperback (B-Format (198x129 mm))
• Pages: 432
• Language: English

Reviews

[Terri M. LeBlanc]

After a very confusing 3rd book with lots of time travel weirdness, Owen redeems himself with the 4th book which sets the series off for what will hopefully be a fantastic finish!
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A few years ago I discovered the novel Here, There Be Dragons by James A. Owen. This is the first book in the 7 books series known as the “The Chronicles of the Imaginarium Geographica” which follows the lives of Jack, John and Charles as they battle the forces of evil in an effort to save the World. Quite a tall order for three unknown gentlemen from Oxford.

This is a wonderful series of books that draws on many of the known myths and histories laid out in our most treasured stories. The books mix elements of time travel and fantasy to produce a rich and dense forest of interconnected story lines–both real and fictional–that keep you moving forward to discover the Grand Reveal at the end of book seven, The First Dragon. The artwork at the start of each chapter is also stunning! That’s right, each chapter in every single novel of this series is illuminated. Each image is hand drawn by the author himself.

By the third book in the series, The Indigo King, the plot gets a bit complicated and becomes one of those time travel books/series that will keep your mind spinning and trying to work it all out. The shear number of the characters with their similar names and the overlapping, intertwining timelines also cause the mind to spin a bit. However, I stuck it out after a confusing third book and thoroughly enjoyed book 4, The Shadow Dragons, and book 5, The Dragon’s Apprentice, which set the series up for the what I hoped would be a fantastic finish. Book 6, The Dragons of Winter was once again just a s complicated as book 3 and once again confusion set in. However, all was made clear with book 7, The First Dragon. The conclusion was satisfying even if it felt a little rushed with some of the true historical background about the three main Caretakers not being fully fleshed out and shared with the readers.

Overall, I liked “The Chronicles of the Imaginarium Geographica” by James A. Owen. The world he creates is partially known and brand new. The illustrations provided in each book at the start of every chapter are amazingly detailed. “The Chronicles of the Imaginarium Geographica” series by James A. Owen gets a thumbs up.

This review was originally posted on Second Run Reviews.