Jasper Fforde has done it again and this time he has written a treat for young adults. And as an adult reader I had an enjoyable ride too. The Last Dragonslayer is a brilliantly imaginative feast – as you’d expect if you’ve read his excellent Thursday Next series. It will gently beckon you back into its web every time you have a spare moment, making your reading time magical. Oh, and the hard back version has a wonderfully dragony feel to it too!

In brief, the plot centres around a 15 year old girl called Jennifer Strange. It is set in the Kingdom of Hereford, in the Ununited Kingdom – Fforde has created a different version of Great Britain. It’s counties are independently run by tyrannical kings. And magic is real but it’s in danger of running out. Jennifer is a foundling who was brought up by ‘The Blessed Ladies of the Lobster’ and is working out her resulting servitude by running ‘Kazam’, one of the last employment agencies for soothsayers and sorcerers. The previous manager, formerly the Great Zambini, now just Mr Zambini has disappeared leaving her to handle a complicated muddle of wizards, sorcerers and pre-cogs while the magic of the world is slowly dwindling. Not only is magic declining, it is now controlled by a dangerously difficult array of bureaucracy with a form to fill in for every kind of magic. And a range of penalties for every missed form. Jennifer’s staff are reduced to clearing drains by magic and predicting the colours of future flowers for garden centres.

Then it is predicted that the last remaining dragon will die and its lands will become available for claim and the county changes. A force field buzzes around the lands, upheld by the living dragon. Millions of people swarm across Hereford and stand waiting forcefield to come down, for the dragon to die. And life doesn’t change so much for anyone in Hereford as it does for Jennifer Strange. When she meets a mysterious old man, she discovers that she has an unexpected vocation which will determine the course of the future, and the dragon.

This is just a great book. Its well drawn and exciting characters pull you along into the engaging world that Fforde has created. Jennifer Strange is sassy in the best possible way with a good mix of healthy fear and questions. Her companions are without doubt unreliable, you should never expect Fforde’s characters to be black and white after all, but they all advance her through her adventure in their own way. And you might learn a little about the trickery of human nature; and of dragon nature too.

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