289 pages
English language
Published Nov. 7, 2011 by HarperCollins.
In the good old days, magic was powerful and unregulated by the government, but now it's fading away. 15-year-old Jennifer Strange runs an employment agency for soothsayers and sorcerers, but work is drying up. But then the visions start, not only predicting the death of the Last Dragon, but also to the return of Big Magic.
I had forgotten how much I like Jasper Fford. This is not one that plays games with English (like most of his), but it plays games with expectations and goals. Satisfying ending, and surprising circumstances throughout.
Wow. Have you (ahem) written off Fforde because of what happened with the Thursday Next series? Well, he's definitely back. Maybe he felt trapped in there? Last Dragonslayer feels fresh, vibrant, from the heart. Yeah, it's a little heavyhanded -- but it's a kids' book and you knew that coming into it. Despite the constraints of the format, Fforde makes it shine with enough humor and liveliness to keep this adult rapt.
Douglas Adams never got a chance to come back. Fforde is, I believe and hope, not so much coming back as going new places. Rumor has it that this will be a trilogy, as will the exceptional [b:Shades of Grey: The Road to High Saffron|2113260|Shades of Grey The Road to High Saffron (Shades of Grey, #1)|Jasper Fforde|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1275714371s/2113260.jpg|2118671]. I hope he's pacing himself, because I am extra-eager to see what he comes up with next.
