Here, There Be Dragons

Here, There Be Dragons
Author	James A. Owen
Publisher	Simon & Schuster Children's Publishing
Released	September 26, 2006
Format	Hardcover
Pages	336
ISBN	978-1416912279

Here, There Be Dragons is the first book in the fantasy series The Chronicles of the Imaginarium Geographica, a fictional story involving John (J.R.R. Tolkien), Charles (Charles Williams), and Jack (C.S. Lewis).

Editorial review

The unusual murder of an Oxford professor brings together three strangers in World War I London: John, a soldier and the professor's correspondence student; Jack, a young Oxford student; and Charles, an editor at the Oxford University Press. One rainy night they meet a curious man called Bert who tells them that they are the caretakers of the Imaginarium Geographica, an atlas of imaginary lands. Forced to flee in Bert's ship, the group sails to the Archipelago of Dreams, where a battle over Arthur Pendragon's throne threatens to place the evil Winter King in charge. Owen brings together elements from well-known works of fantasy and legend: the lands and characters lean heavily toward Greek and Arthurian myth, while clues from the caretakers' works point to the legendary writers they will become. Although the episodic plot is overlong, and the period narration's formality occasionally slows things down, there's still plenty of action, and Owen's amazingly detailed pen-and-ink illustrations, dark and atmospheric, lend a real storybook flavor. This is the first volume in the Chronicles of Imaginarium Geographica series. (Krista Hutle)