Dragonfly by Frederic S. Durbin is a modern fairytale adventure written by an author I met at World Fantasy. I picked up the book out of curiosity and in support. There are no regrets. If I had to classify this book, I’d say it’s a little like Nightmare Before Christmas crossed with Narnia, and a good dose of unique elements.

A young girl is drawn into a world of vampires, werewolves, and monsters from other dimensions when she ignores the warning of her uncle and a mysterious character named Mothkin. Rather than condemning her for following Mothkin when he goes to prevent the break-in between the two worlds, Mothkin’s attitude is more that if she was there, she was supposed to be.

Bridget Anne, or Dragonfly as her uncle dubbed her, is amazed to discover the end of the laundry chute in no way resembles her uncles basement, but that amazement turns to terror and then a quiet courage as she learns that this place is full of creatures whose only goal is to turn her world into a massive feeding ground, from emotional vampires who thrive on fear to creatures that use human bodies as hosts for their spirits, this is not a nice place. And whatever her purpose in being there, it does not prevent Dragonfly from capture or loss. She has to grow through the experiences, and move beyond both terror and despair, before she can find her way to the end of the story.

Written in an aware first person narrative, the question of this book is not if she will survive but rather if she will succeed, and who among her allies will make it through as well. The writing is evocative, description reminiscent of Tolkien with elaborate details that still manage to craft a sense of place that seeps into your bones. It’s not a pretty, everything’s perfect in the end, Disney tale, but for every grim moment, something comes from it. The novel was in no way an easy read, it wasn’t popcorn to be crunched in a few short bites, but the journey was worth every bit of the time it took. ( )

I found this while browsing in a bookstore and I must admit that the arresting cover caught my eye. Upon a closer look, the cover would seem to appeal to a Young Adult audience but an even closer inspection revealed that to be misleading. (There's a moral here somewhere.) From the back cover: As Hallowe'en approaches, young Bridget Anne ("Dragonfly," to her friends) begins hearing strange things coming from the basement of her uncle's funeral parlor — peculiar noises and odd voices speaking of a stairway... a stairway that is almost complete. Uncle Henry, suspecting sinister forces may be at work, summons his mysterious friend Mothkin to investigate. Mothkin goes down the laundry chute for a look. And Dragonfly stubbornly follows him — into the strange and spooky underworld known as Harvest Moon...In addition to that were various blurbs that described the book thusly: "Children's fears become real in this intriguingly odd, old-fashioned dark fantasy of a world beneath ours..." and "think of an even more twisted version of a A Nightmare Before Christmas" and "A classic, epic, action-adventure fantasy, chronicling the struggle between good and evil... imaginatively dark with gruesome creatures... " and so forth. Well, it was as advertised. This imaginative, original story gets cracking from the very first pages. The imagery is lush and painted with a rich vocabulary. There's nothing cutesy about the story (thank God) and it manages to include all sorts of beasties. Vampires, werewolves, gypsies, and other various ghouls all make an appearance in this unpredictable tale. And when the action is really moving it brings to mind thrills you might find in a summer blockbuster. Good times. ( )

http://www.sfreader.com/read_review.a... ( )

Dragonfly is a great read. The premise is nothing new--a child has adventures in a mystical realm. But unlike Dorothy, Meg Murry or the Pevensie children, Bridget Anne (also known by the nickname Dragonfly) heads down to a dark realm--the essence of Hallowe'en. Not quite hell, but much closer than any other "faerieland" of which I've read. But it's not all blackness, either. There is love and hope and faith amidst the suffering and death. Mr. Durbin does a very good job of bringing the story to life, weaving together the plot and characters. Nothing is wasted--details that I just thought of as embellishment suddenly turn out to be important to the plot. One of the folks who reviewed Dragonfly at Amazon.com said that the book reminded him of Ray Bradbury. Me, I was reminded of C.S. Lewis, partly because of the basic premise, partly because of the underlying Christianity of the heroes. (And partly because the only Bradbury I can recall reading is Farenheit 451.) But despite Mr. Lewis' skill in portraying good and evil characters, his fiction comes across as a weekend gardener--a tad dirty, but still very prim and proper. Dragonfly, to continue the metaphor, is more like a real farmer, for whom sweat and dust are a part of daily life. I really enjoyed reading this and I'm going to put it on my shelf so I can read it again. I suspect it will only get better the second time around.
--J. ( )