Danny Birt

This book had me from the cover. I love dragons. I mean I really love dragons. And while the title doesn't say it, the cover certainly does. There's a baby dragon sitting in a nest of bird chicks.

The author, Danny Birt, pulled off an adorable children's book that was completely worth it. There are many lessons taught from the idea that family is what you make of it to defeating racism. A poor orphaned dragon is given to a nest of birds, of rocs, and is raised with a family so entirely show more different than itself that it learns many lessons that those of its kind never had before.

I completely enjoyed reading this book, especially when I found that it was more than the standard ugly duckling book that it appeared to be at first. show less

I finished Danny Birt's BRILLIANT "Ending an Ending", and was greatly impressed by it! Chock full of rich and meaty characterizations, it was without a doubt a very filling read! I LOVED IT, and highly recommend it to anyone who wants vivid, unique characters in a wonderfully nonstandard fantasy adventure.

"Ending an Ending" has been criticized as being too cerebral, and cerebral it is, but the "too" part depends upon the reader. I found the depth refreshing. The philosophical show more self-reflection by the main character who was quite literally trying to find himself and his place in the world was an exciting change of pace, all the more satisfying because it challenged us to think about and digest what we'd read.

Here was a story that did require me to think, to participate even, and this truly was a strength. Birt plays a lot with writing conventions, much to the story's benefit. His original and creative approach to storytelling wholly complemented the story he was actually telling, as well as the unique characters he populated the world with. It wasn't just Different to be Different, it was form following function.

I am EAGERLY awaiting the other four books in the Laurian Pentology! show less

My first impression was "it's a story of The Ugly Duckling" retold with a dragon, perhaps with a mixture of the saying "Between a sword and the wall" (impossible/hard decisions). Instead, I found traces of other themes like family, cooperation, understanding, and even love.

I also liked the names of the dragons in the story and how they seemed to represent some natural aspect. For a children's book I think the illustrations could have been colored although I do not think it is a show more requierement. Also, the conflicts seemed to easily appear and resolve leaving most of the book with a filler kind of story telling. Questions you might ponder with children are: Did Tephra ever hunt for food? Did she improve her flying? What happened after the agreement with the King? Did they fall in line or was there a King who refuse and waged war? Perhaps stories left for other books. show less

Ending an Ending is the first in the Laurian Pentology by Danny Birt. In the interest of full disclosure, Danny and I are regulars in the Green Dragon group here on LibraryThing, so I know him a bit. Having said that, Ending an Ending is a pretty good fantasy. Danny plays a bit with the types we usually find in the genre and manages to break out of the stereotypical box. But then, he tells us that in the forward.

Danny's story is involving, and his characters feel real. The book is interwoven show more with some interesting philosophical questions about the nature of his universe given the differences from our own and how higher powers might interact with their creation. It's fun to see how he plays with these ideas, and the story ends on an exciting note pushing us into the next volume in the series. There are a couple of flaws with the work. The early chapters are a bit too expository and the plot could use a little juicing up in these chapters.

All in all, it's a pretty good book, and I'm looking forward to the next one! show less