The Dragon Hoard

The Dragon Hoard is a fairy tale following Prince Jasleth on his quest to win his family a fortune and maybe break the curse set upon he and his sister by the wicked witch, Maligna.

As I mentioned in a previous post, I’m making a better effort to read more of my Tanith Lee collection and I decided to start with the first novel she published. The Dragon Hoard is a children’s book, but I had fun reading it and would recommend it for fans of fairy tales (or Tanith Lee), regardless of age. Maligna puts a curse on Jasleth (love his name) and his sister Goodness on their birthday, which will last for one year – he will turn into a raven for an hour each day, but he will not know when it will happen, and his sister will be too good. show more Goodness immediately begins giving away all the king’s wealth to the servants and poor people of his kingdom. The king sends Jasleth on a quest to win them back their fortune before Goodness leaves them begging.

There are many familiar fairy tale elements mixed together in this story and Tanith weaves them with vivid simplicity. I had no problem imagining her world and its goings on, despite the shorter page count. I loved her characters too – Maligna could be your cliche fairy tale witch, but she has some original elements, like the bats living in her hair and her penchant for riding evil, winged chariots without paying her bills for previous rides. I wish I could draw, or find fanart for this book, because her characters are so wild and fun that I’d love to see them animated. There’s quite a bit of wit in here too – I found myself chuckling more than once.

It’s a quick read and I think it would be a good start for children who are learning to master chapter books and enjoy magical tales. Could also be a great bedtime story to read to your little ones. show less

This was completely a nostalgia read for me. I had this book when I was a kid, and I remembered it the other night, so went hunting on eBay and found it.

It's funny how you can remember some books quite vividly and then others seem to get lost over the years. I remembered parts of this book and seemed to remember it being a bit more of a grand adventure, but that could be the impression my younger self gave the book. As an adult, it's not a bad read, but it's nothing great either.

Tanith Lee's The Dragon Hoard is your typical heroes journey. We follow the adventures of Prince Jasleth as he must find his fortune in the world after an evil relative has cursed him and his twin sister on their 17th birthday. He joins a quest to find the show more fabled Dragon Hoard, thereby securing his fortune if the quest is completed. Meanwhile, his evil relative will do everything in her power to make sure that the quest is not completed.

Comprised of easy plot lines, easy adventures, easy danger and easy resolutions, I can see why my adult self was just a little on the bored side with this story, while my younger self would have really enjoyed it. This would be a great read for any younger kids who are beginning to be interested in the fantasy genre. show less

Although the blurb does not state it, this story seems to be aimed at young children. It is a fairy tale style story in which a wicked sorceress arrives at the birthday party of the twin son and daughter of the local, remotely related, king and in a fit of pique curses them both for a year - in the style of 'Sleeping Beauty'. In their case, the daughter becomes so good she gives away all the wealth of the king to beggars and other needy folk, whereas the son turns into a raven for an hour every day but can never predict when this will happen. His father tasks him with going off to find his fortune and somehow restore theirs before the curses expire.

This provides the very thin excuse for the travels of the prince. Along the way he show more becomes friends with the prince of another kingdom who is seeking an unknown treasure which once belonged to his ancestors, but the two princes were so little differentiated that I sometimes mixed them up. They meet other stock fairy tale characters including mermaids, some who seem to come from Aladdin or the Arabian Nights, and a beautiful princess who at least is fairly bright and is training to be a (good) sorceress and lends magical aid. Dragons don't feature very much despite the title - the unknown treasure is supposedly guarded by a dragon. The best bit for me was the cover, but sadly the story does not relate to it at all. At least it was a very quick read, finished in a day. I can only bestow an OK 2 star rating in the light of the above. show less

My favourite kind of fairy tell, the quest. :) I've gotten used to Tanith Lee's stories being dark and disturbing, but this one takes the classic evil fairy cursing a prince and princess, prince going off to seek his fortune tale and puts a playful spin on it. The prince encounters friends and enemies, is caught in a lie but admits to it and his friends forgive him, and is helped along the way by totally non magical people. On his way home he revisits everyone, bringing the tale full circle.

One from back when Tanith Lee had a sense of humour. If only someone would re-release 'Princess Hynchatti'!

A MagicQuest book.