I decided to read this for two reasons: 1) the first book in the series this is a prequel to ([b:A Tale of Light and Shadow|21929537|A Tale of Light and Shadow (A Tale of Light and Shadow, #1)|Jacob Gowans|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1401837133l/21929537._SY75_.jpg|41228647]A Tale of Light and Shadow) will be at Book Expo this year and 2) it was free fantasy. I don't turn down free fantasy if the story is at least halfway interesting to me.

Honestly though I almost stopped after the first 20% on my Kindle. There wasn't anything in particular so wrong with it, the writing just didn't catch me. Gowans starts with Henry and Ruther running from some Zapperbees (yes they are what you think they are) and then paints broad strokes of story exposition and character development. Gowans does a lot of telling in the first 15% or so and that gets annoying.

I kept reading though, mostly to see what a "dragonox" was and who the fool turned out to be (its Henry, and yeah I'd have to agree he was pretty foolish). I also wanted to know why Maggie disliked Ruther so much. Her entire manner is antagonistic and dismissive, so even if Henry didn't say she disliked Ruther it would have been very obvious.

I found out one and not the other unfortunately.

By the end I became intrigued enough to read the short excerpt from the first book and decided I definitely wanted to know what was going on. While the world building isn't deep in this prequel novella, there's enough to give it some mystery. Its largely a typical euro-medieval type fantasy setting and that's all I know about it. The politics, culture and society aren't a large part of either the novella or excerpt from the first book included, but readers of fantasy can fill in the blanks well enough to get along.

I'm a romantic enough to want to see if Henry and Isabelle end up together can we kill her father? I think we'd all be happier and what is up with Ruther. He sounded...bitter in the excerpt. Really bitter. This rather followed in the novella as Henry didn't seem perceptive of the situations around him. He knew his friend's situation, but he didn't understand it nor seemed inclined to inquire too deeply.

In the end this is a fun romp in the characters lives, but I can't help but feel that if I had read the first book this would have felt less vague. There's a certain sense of camaraderie that is missing and would have worked better with the addition of an entire book's worth of adventure between the group. ( )

A FUN TALE!
A QUICK READ!
A STORY TO REMEMBER!

Henry and Ruther tend to get into a lot of trouble.

They like chasing after the dream...

more money, more admiration, more adventure.

So when they hear that there is a dragonox in the farmer's field they MUST go see.

Of course they take all of their friends including Isabelle.

Ruther encourages Henry to go ride the dangerous dragonox saying that Isabelle will be so impressed.

Can he?
Should he?
Does he?

Read to see what happens.

An AWESOME stand alone book.
AND/OR a prequel to the upcoming A Tale of Light and Shadow

Jacob Gowans is a PHENOMENAL writer!
Don't miss out on this one! ( )

Read the full review on Jetpack Dragons: http://www.jetpackdragons.com/2014/03/book-review-the-fool-and-the-dragonox-by-j...

In The Fool and The Dragonox, by Jacob Gowans, we get to meet the protagonists of his new series, A Tale of Light and Shadow. This is a short YA novella that features them in a quick adventure together.

Henry and Ruther, two good friends who wreak havoc together, learn about a dragonox in a nearby farm. They invite two girls to see the creature. Of course, the story would not have been fun if they had only looked at the creature, so you can imagine that this story will include some fire breathing and some running.

The Fool and the Dragonox shows us the world for an upcoming YA fantasy series, and that is the best part of the story. The world is believable, the main characters are complex and humanlike, and the writing is entertaining.The ending was the only part that disappointed me, but I hope that Gowan’s full novels will not have that flaw.

I review advance reader copies of books to find new voices to read. There are many authors in the field of fantasy, and I had found myself reading the same authors most of the time. When I started reading The Fool and the Dragonox, I knew I was in safe hands: Gowans’ narrative style shows experience and talent, and I found myself reading on and wanting to learn more about the characters. Gowans is one of those good authors I had not learned about that make the task of reviewing books worthwhile. ( )