The Dragon and the George

Dickson, Gordon R. The Dragon and the George. 1976. Preface by David Drake. Dragon Knight No. 1. Start, 2013.
I can scarcely believe that it has been two decades since Gordon R. Dickson died. I somehow keep expecting another Dorsai or Hoka story to appear any day now. Dickson had a dry wit that one does not usually find in writers of adventure fantasy and military science fiction. But The Dragon and the George, the first novel in the Dragon Knight series, has it aplenty. Consider its premise: Jim, a struggling teaching assistant in the English department of a small Minnesota college, has to try to rescue his fiancé Angela when an astral projection experiment in the psychology lab where she works runs amok and teleports her who knows show more where. He straps himself into the machine and soon finds his consciousness inhabiting the body of a large dragon in a cave where Angela is being held by other dragons. So, Jim is a dragon and Angela is a George because to dragons all human beings are Georges. Let the adventure begin. Not only is there more wit than one expects but stronger character development. In his heroic quest to free Angela, Jim finds that he and the dragon have similar character flaws, including anger management issues. I enjoyed reading this one again. show less

I actually read a scanned copy on my ereader.

This reminded me, a lot, of the Guardians of the Flame series by Joel Rosenburg. But this was SO much better.
We only have to deal with 1 coward/douchebag and by the end he's not a douchebag anymore, just a dummie.[unlike the Guardian series, where there is a group and they are still pretty much complete jerks even after several books]

This was a nice fun read that went quickly and gave me an hours enjoyment. I have high hopes that the rest of the series will be as fun.

Another blast from my past. I remembered laughing as I read it years ago; I laughed again. And yet, there were things to think about: what is honor, what is bravery, what is the right thing to do. I loved these thoughts more than my younger self did. What is clear is it is an excellent fantasy that has held up well.

If you like fantasy and haven't read this, go forth, find a copy, and read it now!

A classic, must read. I love the characters, and the concept of the accounting office. Dickson has a very SCAdian view of the middle Ages, or at least HIS Middle Ages. I went back and watched flight of Dragons and was so disappointed. But I can re-read this one over and over. Would we choose to give up our world of soft toilet tissue, good dentistry and hot water for magic and romance? I suppose it depends on how strong your teeth and bowels are...

I enjoyed this greatly. The basic premise is one you see a lot in fantasy fiction--Jim Eckert, a present-day man of our world, is transported into a magical medieval world of talking beasts and monsters. That's similar in premise to a book of Poul Anderson's I recently reread, Three Hearts and Three Dragons, and indeed Dickson tips his hat to that in his dedication to "Bela of Eastmarch"--which was Anderson's moniker in the Society for Creative Anachronism. The twist here though is that Jim finds his consciousness in a dragon's body. This is even more light-hearted than Three Hearts and Three Lions and funnier--particularly when Jim finds himself overwhelmed by dragonly appetites for gold and food. I also liked and cared more for the show more characters in this book--Jim, Sir Brian, Aragh the talking wolf... Nothing to deep her, no, but this was a blast to read and I often found myself with a grin on my face as I read. My one caveat is that, at least in the paperback edition I read, there were a lot of errors, particularly the wrong character being named in dialogue tags. Nevertheless, it was enjoyable enough I may look up the rest in the series, or at least more of Gordon Dickson. show less

Charming and droll tale of a young couple who are transported to a parallel universe version of merrie England complete with dragons and wolves that talk and other stranger creatures. The hero of the tale, James, winds up in the body of a dragon and the story focuses on his misadventures while trying to rescue his girlfriend who has been taken prisoner by the baddies. Nothing profound, but a good and lighthearted read, which is a nice change from some of the angst ridden fantasy tomes I have been reading lately. Didn't realise till now that 8 sequels were produced much later - don't know if I'll bother, but I've decided to keep this one anyway.

Jim Eckert, a medieval history student transports into a magical world, inhabiting the body of a dragon named Gorbash. He must navigate this, rescue his fiancée Angie from a george, human prison, and face evil dragons in a world where magic functions via logic.

He pursues his girlfriend Angie, sent to another world via a laboratory accident, only to end up trapped in the dragon Gorbash. A magical realm populated by humans, 'georges' by dragons, talking dragons, and sorcery. Jim must adopt dragon skills: flight, while collaborating with allies like the magician S. Carolinus, to combat the evil dragon Bryagh holding Angie captive.