The Hunting of the Last Dragon

by Sherryl Jordan

Book Overview

High overhead, a dragon flies on coppery wings and rains down fire and destruction. It is the last of the great beasts, bent on wreaking havoc. Everywhere it flies, it chars the medieval English... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0060289023
• ISBN13: 9780060289027
• Release Date: June 2002
• Publisher: HarperCollins Publishers
• Length: 186 Pages
• Weight: 0.94 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.8" x 6.2" x 9.3"
• Age Range: 12 years and up
• Grade Range: Grade 7 and higher

Customer Reviews

A beautiful, haunting story.

Written down word for word by a monk under a vow of silence, as recounted by the unwilling hero Jude, this is a tale of England at the time of the Black Death, heavy with moral overtones, life's lessons, and insight into peasant life, as Jude tries to make sense of all that is happening around him. Pity, compassion and a sense of justice compel him to set free a strange fairground freak, befriend and heal her, then together they rid the land of the terrible creature that plagues it. In doing so, Jude discovers how fear turns to hate, greed to cruelty, and friendship to love. As well as finding his inner strength and self-worth, he discovers that beauty is mostly inside and in the eye of the beholder. Although simply and archaicly written, the narrative flows, carrying one along with the adventure, immersed in the plot. In the accompanying (sometimes bawdy) descriptions we learn a little cultural and social history, as well as what made the mediaeval mind tick. What takes a little getting used to are the stilted, one-sided conversations with the silent scribe who's been instructed to 'copy every word', that preface each chapter - but it adds a certain charm to this lovely, addictive book. *****

Sherryl Jordan writes another spell-binding winner

"The dragon came nearer, its head moving low along the ground, side to side, sniffing. Every time it breathed, it scorched a trail of fire across the earth. Its neck was long, graceful, and glittering like gold. Its wings were folded close against its brilliant body, the wing sections shiny and ribbed like fish fins, the fine bones ending in sharp hooks. The long barbed tail was bent, the bones set crookedly, yet it coiled and uncoiled as slowly and smoothly as a snake. All the dragon's movements were smooth, fluid and fascinating, almost spellbinding in their beauty and their deadliness." Everyone thinks dragons are extinct--until a fierce flying beast swoops upon the village of Doran, leaving it in flames. Young Jude survives only because, on the fatal day, he went to Rokeby to buy himself a new bow and arrows. Homeless, desperate, and wracked with grief and guilt, Jude joins a travelling fair, where he meets a young Chinese girl, caged and displayed as a freak. Jing-wei, in spite of her humiliating plight, is strong-willed, brave and cunning. She has her own plan for hunting the last dragon. But will it work? What if the dragon lands up merely wounded? Can she help Jude conquer his fear in time to save their world from destruction? It is Jude himself who tells the story, set in 1356. And this is where problems arise. Jude is an ordinary villager (or peasant) and therefore cannot read or write. Sherryl Jordan's solution is to have Jude relate the story to a monk, who writes at his dictation. Unfortunately, this poses another problem. All Jude's greetings and asides to Brother Benedict are included, which tended to jerk me out of the story because, although they do add background flavour and an extra dimension to the story, their presence felt most unnatural in that Benedict simply wouldn't have been able to write fast enough to get everything down, especially since he would be continually having to refill his quill. But in the face of such powerful story-telling, not to mention the sheer beauty of Sherryl Jordan's prose, to complain about this seems like nit-picking.

AHHH! The Dragon!

I liked this book a lot! If you don't like medieval books, then DO NOT READ THIS REVIEW ANYMORE! In this book a boy named Jude travels to a town to buy a new bow and arrows. When he's there he sees a circus. When he goes into the tent, He sees a man in armor with a great blade the man claimed it was the blade that hunted the last dragon. Next, was a little footed Chinese woman covered in hair, a freak. She claimed there was still one dragon left. Jude didn't believe in dragons. So, he left the village. When he returned to his village, it was gone. It had been burned to ashes. See what I mean? Isn't this an awesome book?!

the hunt

The hunting of the last dragon is a great book.In the beging of the book Jude is telling a monk his story.Jude is on his way to a village to buy a new arrows and a new bow.In the villige Jude hears news about a dragon that was destroying nearby villages.In the village a freak show there is here he meets Lizzie. She is from china.She is forced to walk because her feet are binded,you will learn why later when you read it.Then Jude goes back to his village and finds his village is destroyed.Then the owner of the freak show saves him because he went a little bit over the deep end.He travels with them for a couple of days and runs of with Lizzie.I wont tell you any more and you will have to read it to find out.Hahahaha and the puncutation isnt working so it look like I have bad puncutation.

Watch out, the dragons' coming!

A Review by TannerThe two main characters are Jude and Lizzie. Jude is an average boy and Lizzie is a freak from the circus. Jude and Lizzie go on a quest to kill the last dragon. They go because the dragon has burnt down a bunch of towns, including the town of Doran, where Jude used to live. On their way they encounter weird people like an old lady that is crazy, the dragon and other exciting things. Also, Jude and Lizzie need to find stuff to eat, drink and a place to sleep every night of their thrilling journey to kill the last dragon.The thing I liked most about the book is the ending and how the author makes the whole story lead up to the ending. The author's choice of words are really good, like this sentence in the book, "I froze like a hare when it first hears the hunter." The coolest part is when the author described the dragon, it made you feel like you were in the story. Another thing I liked was the detail and how the author didn't leave anything out. The way the chapters end make the book really interesting. At the end of every chapter it would be almost impossible to stop reading because the author made you sit at the edge of your seat guessing what would happen next. There wasn't one part in this book that I didn't like.I would recommend this book to people who like adventure, excitement and a bunch of action. There isn't anybody that wouldn't like this book. I sure hope the author makes a sequel to this amazing story. Everybody should give "The Hunting of the Last Dragon" a try.