The Dragon's Tooth

Ashtown Burials #1

By: N. D. Wilson

Narrated by: Thomas Vincent Kelly

Length: 13 hrs and 8 mins

Publisher's summary

N. D. Wilson, author of Leepike Ridge and 100 Cupboards, returns with an action-packed adventure that will captivate fans of both Percy Jackson and Indiana Jones with lost civilizations, ancient secrets, and buried treasure.

For two years, Cyrus and Antigone Smith have run a sagging roadside motel with their older brother, Daniel. Nothing ever seems to happen. Then a strange old man with bone tattoos arrives, demanding a specific room.

Less than 24 hours later, the old man is dead. The motel has burned, and Daniel is missing. And Cyrus and Antigone are kneeling in a crowded hall, swearing an oath to an order of explorers who have long served as caretakers of the world's secrets, keepers of powerful relics from lost civilizations, and jailers to unkillable criminals who have terrorized the world for millennia.

©2011 Listening Library (P)2011 N.D. Wilson

most definitely one of the best authors of Our gen

incredible storytelling a mixture of historical and fictional. creatively retold by the author, truly amazing

a very compelling setting

A universe that feels real with kids doing things that matter, also a snake bracelet /necklace instead of snake arms

Interesting characters!

Very creative and our kids loved it. Looking forward to next book and where the story goes!

exciting and vivid story

This story is great. It's very exciting with memorable characters and an original storyline. The narrator is mostly good with the exception of one female character who sounds stuck up in contrast to her actual personality. Overall I enjoyed listening to it.

Excellent Book, Not for Littles

We absolutely loved this book. The characters were intriguing and the storyline was unique. The narrator was fun to listen to!

Books!

I love this book series, and I can't wait for the forth! N. D. Wilson is a great author!

Amazing Storyweaving

This is an amazing work of art! This author has a way with words when describing scenes and characters, especially what they are thinking and feeling. His word choices are so wonderfully creative.

The story starts of slow but picks up quickly and is riveting until the end.

Captivating

Great story and narrator . Very captivating story for all ages and loved listening to this book as a family

Set Assumptions Aside...

This story seems to borrow from a dozen different successful children's adventure stories--some of the borrowing is not even subtle: many of the names are taken right out of the pages of Treasure Island. It is the story of orphaned youths who find themselves to be the heirs of some estate they knew nothing about, mixed with a secret society that trains their members in exotic arts, and a "bad guy that everyone fears and who has a family history with the heroes. . . .

BUT....It's good. The characters are engaging, the wordcraft excellent, the conflicts compelling, and the world enchanting.

I kept expecting the story to go somewhere "cheesy," but I was pleasantly surprised. Some elements were predictable but no more than a YA story should be.

I really enjoyed this one, and I plan to read the next in the series.

I liked it

Wilson writes a good sentence. This is the rare ability in writers of young adult fiction. He is able to entertain while provoking thought and beautiful imagery by the careful, creative use of the English language. I liked it.

For my taste as an adult, the book relies a little too much on the action / level / object / powers pattern of modern fiction which seems to have borrowed from video game story lines. This is sure to appeal to younger readers, though, and does nor annoy me sufficiently yet to keep me away from the rest of the series. I was most intrigued by the Frankenstein and Animal Farm -like story line in the book. That is something I have not encountered in modern YA fiction yet (it is in movies like Jurassic Park but not in books), but it is something that modern science almost seems to be leading towards.

Definitely worth the read or listen.