Guest Review by Hannah Nicole Lands Uncharted –Fantasy for Teens
Eye of the Oracle is the first book in the Oracles of Fire series by Bryan Davis. The Oracles of Fire series straddles the Dragons in our Midst series, since Eye of the Oracle is a prequel to Dragons in our Midst, but the rest of the books in the series are sequels. However, Eye of the Oracle is a fantastic read all by itself. It follows the dragons Makaidos, Thigocia, and their children as they endure the Great Flood on Noah’s Ark, protect humans from evil forces, and struggle as they are soon shunned by the very people they were created to serve. The book also introduces two human main characters: Elam, the son of Shem and grandson of Noah, and Mara, an Oracle of Fire, who has the power to create and control fire. Elam and Mara are raised underground as slaves to the merciless Morgan, who seeks to overthrow God’s sovereign rule.
If you are a fan of Christian low, urban, or portal fantasy, or if you just love dragons in general, I would wholeheartedly suggest this book and the rest of the series. I would mostly put them in the fantasy adventure/action genre, but there is also mystery and the supernatural, presented in a Biblically consistent way. On top of all of that, they are filled with the Christian message of salvation, and some of the most prominent themes are faith, redemption, sacrifice, and how God uses the weak to accomplish mighty things in His Name. They run 400-600 pages a piece, and there are twelve books total, so you will be reading them for a while.
Age Range: 10 and up
The Oracles of Fire Series Review – Bryan Davis’ “Dragon Books”
by Hannah Nicole
Of course, these are not the only books with dragons, nor are they the only books I have read that contain dragons. However, since it is a set of twelve books in three separate but connected series, I just call them the “Dragon Books” for convenience. If you are a fan of Christian low, urban, or portal fantasy, or if you just love dragons in general, I wholeheartedly suggest these books. I would mostly put them in the fantasy adventure/action genre, but there’s a bit of romance, as well as mystery and the supernatural, presented in a Biblically consistent way. On top of all of that, they are filled with the Christian message of salvation, and some of the most prominent themes are faith, redemption, sacrifice, and how God uses the weak to accomplish mighty things in His Name. They run 400-600 pages a piece, and there are twelve books total, so you will be reading them for a while. I absolutely devoured them, and they are still to this day my very favorite books. They were written for young adult/new adult age groups, but my dad thoroughly enjoyed them as well.
As you can probably guess from the title, dragons feature heavily in these books. Dragons in our Midst, the first series written, introduces Billy Bannister, a high school student with great instincts and bad breath. He meets a girl named Bonnie, who always seems to wear a backpack. Over the course of the first book, he comes to discover that they are both descended from dragons, which were transformed into humans many years ago. Billy, with his fire breath and sense of danger, and Bonnie, a girl with dragon wings, are aided by the hilarious Walter and wise Professor Hamilton as they try to stay one step ahead of the Dragon Slayers, protect their friends and family, and ultimately rescue all of dragonkind.
Oracles of Fire is a prequel/sequel series that straddles the events of Dragons in our Midst. The first book, Eye of the Oracle, gives the history of the dragons from Noah’s Ark to King Arthur, how they came to be in human form, and introduces two new main characters: Elam, the son of Shem, and Mara, an oracle of fire, who has the power to create and control fire. The second, third, and fourth books are sequels to Dragons in our Midst, and follow Billy, Bonnie, Walter, the brilliant Ashley, Elam, Mara (under a new name), and several of the dragons as they journey across many different dimensions, from Earth to the seven circles of Hades to the doorstep of Heaven itself in a desperate battle to ward off the dark forces that are trying to overthrow God’s sovereign rule.
Children of the Bard takes place 15 years after the end of Oracles of Fire, following Matt and Lauren, twin children of Billy and Bonnie. In a world now hostile to the newly revealed dragons, they struggle to avoid detection by the evil powers that seek to use them for their own nefarious purposes. They team up with old friends and family, as well as new allies to fight some of the most formidable opponents they have ever faced.
The three series are finally complete, with the release of Children of the Bard #4, Omega Dragon, just recently. I have to admit, I have not quite finished the Children of the Bard series, but, judging by how much I have loved all of the books so far, I would not hesitate to recommend these to anyone who is willing to give them a try.
The only thing I would warn you about is the complexity. Davis is a brilliant author, and he writes very well, but the story gets very complex and juggles many, many characters. I did not have a problem following them, and most people I know who have read them have also not had too much trouble, but they are certainly not good for reading a little at a time or over a long period of time. There is too much going on and you will lose track if you are not paying attention. I created a family tree while I was reading, which helped tremendously. (I would suggest you make one, and also make a chart of all of the various names of the characters. Most change their name at least once, and it can be a little difficult to follow.) Also, read them in written order. I started with the prequel, and it killed a lot of the mystery of Dragons in our Midst for me. That said, I have reread this series at least twice, and it becomes almost better in hindsight.
Here is the list of all of the books in written order:
Dragons in our Midst #1: Raising Dragons
Dragons in our Midst #2: The Candlestone
Dragons in our Midst #3: Circles of Seven
Dragons in our Midst #4: Tears of a Dragon
Oracles of Fire #1: Eye of the Oracle
Oracles of Fire #2: Enoch’s Ghost
Oracles of Fire #3: Last of the Nephilim
Oracles of Fire #4: The Bones of Makaidos
Children of the Bard #1: Song of the Ovulum
Children of the Bard #2: From the Mouth of Elijah
Children of the Bard #3: The Seventh Door
Children of the Bard #4: Omega Dragon
Thanks so much for reading! I love this series and I hope you enjoy it as well.
Guest Reviewer: Hannah Nicole
Hello, I am Hannah. I am a junior in high school in a homeschool program called Classical Conversations. I am an avid reader, writer, and lover of fantasy and science fiction.
I have been an avid reader since before I could read, forcing my mother to read to me constantly. I began my love of fantasy with Grimm’s Fairy Tales and Greek Mythology, but it quickly evolved into a love of many different genres: fantasy, science fiction, historical fiction (ancient times through the Renaissance), spy/military, action/adventure, and mystery. But fantasy always remained at the top of my list. I have a weakness for well-developed, interesting fantasy or science fiction worlds, and my desire to create my own prompted me to begin writing down some of the many ideas I had.
Being the oldest child, I was the “leader” of my siblings, and my love of magical worlds and complex stories showed up early, as my younger sister and I would spend hours building castles and setting up cities to play what many would call an amateur role-playing game. My first attempt at a novel fell completely apart. That process taught me that I am very much a plotter, and, two years later, I have a completed draft. I love my story, and I love my world, so my hope is to turn this into a series (even if it never gets published).
