The Dragon Boy

I love this book! Once I picked it up, I couldn't put it down. I wish it had been written when my sons were young--I was always looking for this kind of thing then. You're always wondering what will happen next. It's got adventure, mystery, and dragons. But underneath the interesting story and interaction of the characters, there are messages that connect deeply--about the journey of life, courage, and perhaps a hint that it's love and devotion that has the power to dissolve our inner dragons. Connirae

My son and I are reading this book and we look forward to each night. I always stop at some intense point and therefore I have to hid the book until the next night or else he would read ahead. When is the next one coming out? Let us fans know!

I just finished reading The Dragon Boy and thought that this book deserved a round of applause. Donald Samson put more than his heart into this book. This book was truly amazing and brought me to a fantastical world I have not been to in many years. The end however is by far what made me feel the way I do about this book. I thought the final two chapters were wonderful, inspiring, and heartwarming. It gave me a joyous feeling and I am very excited for the sequel.

Donald Samson's "Dragon Boy" speaks to the same general audience that made the Harry Potter books so successful; boys and girls at the cusp of puberty, longing for the security of childhood, but eager for the adventure and unpredictability of the next stage of their lives. Rowlings' books are written like the screenplays they were meant to become, and her characters have a cardboard, stereotype quality to them. Donald Samson's book is good literature, beautifully written, with a feeling for descriptive detail and a sense of speech rarely encountered in today's young adult book world. Samson's story marries the medieval and the modern -- just where and when is all this taking place -- and captures the consciousness of a young man who is at once dreamy and wide awake, naive and cunning, bullied and dauntless. Its truest antecedent might be Wagner's "Siegfried," although Samson's generosity of spirit extends far more sympathy to his dragon than does Wagner! I hope that this book will attract a wide audience of all ages.

I should probably admit it at the outset that until a year or so ago, I never read this sort of book. No, my time was almost always spent reading academic tomes but Harry Potter, which I picked up on a lark got me hooked and Dragon Boy kept the momentum going. I have now finished book one of Donald Samson's Star Trilogy and found it fascinating. I just kept turning pages deeply caught up in this very well told tale of a boy who loves a very special dragon. Clearly written for a young adult audience, it nevertheless kept this aging boomer turning pages with a smile.