Here, There Be Dragons

This redirect is about a novel by James Owen. For other uses, see Here be dragons (disambiguation).

Here, There Be Dragons

Author	James A. Owen
Cover artist	James A. Owen (illustrator)
Language	English
Series	The Chronicles of the Imaginarium Geographica (Book 1)
Genre	Fantasy novel
Publisher	Simon & Schuster
Publication date	September 2006
Publication place	USA
Media type	Print (Hardback & Paperback)
Pages	336 (+16) (paperback edition)
ISBN	ISBN 978-1-4169-1227-9 (US hardcover edition)
OCLC	62492969
LC Class	PZ7.O97124 He 2006
Followed by	The Search for the Red Dragon

Here, There Be Dragons is a fantasy novel by James A. Owen. It is the first book in The Chronicles of the Imaginarium Geographica series. A sequel, followed by several more books in the series have since been released, including The Search for the Red Dragon (January 2008), The Indigo King (October 2008), The Shadow Dragons (October 2009), The Dragon's Apprentice (October 2010), and The Dragons of Winter (August 2012)

Plot synposis

John, Charles, and Jack are three Oxford scholars, who are united by the death of Stellan Sigurdsson, John's mentor. The three are entrusted with a special book, The Imaginarium Geographica, which contains the geographic locations of all fabled locations.

They meet Bert, who helps them flee from the minions of the Winter King. They journey on Bert's ship, the Indigo Dragon (captained by Bert's daughter Aven, to whom Jack is attracted), to Avalon, and then to Paralon, the capital of the Archipelago. There was no king, as the lineage of Arthur had supposedly been ended when the Winter King killed the last king and all of his relatives. The party discovers also that the Winter King is searching for the High King's Ring, which they have.

Around this time, the partners realize how dangerous the Imaginarium Geographica could be in the wrong hands, and decide to destroy it. As it can only be destroyed by he who made it, the Cartographer of Lost Places, the companions journey to his refuge, the Keep of Time. They lose the book, however, before reaching the Keep, but after they leave the keep they find that their potboy, Artus, is a descendant of King Arthur. However, the ring is then stolen.

The companions also discover that the Winter King is using Pandora's Box to create shadow minions, and decide to meet him in a battle on the island at the end of the world. During the battle, Charles is charged with closing Pandora's Box, which he does, eliminating the Winter King's shadow minions. Jack is charged to fight on the battlefield, where he was responsible for the death of another man, Captain Nemo. John was charged with leading Artus to the bluffs of the island, where a descendant of Arthur could, with the incantation in the Geographica and the Ring of Power, summon dragons.

They summon the dragons, discovering that the Ring of Power is not jewelry but a ring of standing stones remarkably like Stonehenge located on the cliffs of the island. After the dragons rout the enemy troops, the companions again encounter the Winter King, who reveals himself to be Mordred. After a brief encounter, Mordred is thrown of the Edge of the World by the dragon Samaranth.

The companions then return to their own world, where their true identities are revealed.

Characters

A number of people referenced in the novel were members of the Inklings, a literary discussion group at the University of Oxford, England that produced a number of fantasy and science-fiction writers.

• John (J.R.R. Tolkien) is the series protagonist. An ex-soldier, he becomes the Caretaker Principia of the Imaginarium Geographica after his tutor Stellan, the former Caretaker Principa, is killed. He makes up his own words sometimes, of which there is the word "eucatastrophe". At first, he does not know how to read the many languages in the Imaginarium Geographica, having not paid attention to Stellan's teachings, thinking the languages were not important, but slowly gains knowledge.

• Jack (C.S. Lewis) is one of the three Caretakers. He is the youngest, having not yet attended university (Oxford). He is attracted to Aven. Early on he demonstrates the most imagination of the three, getting the companions out of sticky situations through inventive means. He loses his soul but regains it, though Captain Nemo loses his life because of Jack's recklessness. His nickname, Jack, was gained when Peter Pan whispered it into his ear when Jack was a child, during his sleep.

• Charles (Charles Williams) is the third Caretaker. The eldest of them, he is an editor of the Oxford Press and more groundly rooted in reality. He takes a strong disliking to Magwich and on several occasions beats him and threatens to kill him. Charles calls Magwich "Maggot" to show his dislike for him. However, he is shown to have a soft spot for the badger Tummeler.

• Bert (H.G. Wells) is an old Caretaker of the Imaginarium Geographica along Stellan and J.M. Barrie. He is also the father of Aven. He delivers the Geographica to the three men and knows a great deal about Archipelago.

• Aven is Bert's daughter, the captain of the Indigo Dragon. Both Jack and Artus are attracted to her, though she appears to be more affectionate towards Artus (notably after he is revealed to be more than just a potboy). She is a strong fighter and is good friends with Captain Nemo.

• Bug/Artus is a boy (then called Bug) who stows away on the Indigo Dragon after being released from the service of three witches. He dreams of being a knight and becomes John's eager assistant. Later they learn he is a descendant of King Arthur, and is thus the true heir to the Silver Throne of Archipelago, and that his real name is Artus. He is attracted to Aven, a feeling that appears to be mutual as the story goes on. He asked Aven to marry him, and she agreed, but backed down after realizing she was not happy away from sea.

• The Winter King/Mordred is the main antagonist of the story. His goal is to rule the Archipelago and stops at nothing to reach it. He is also an heir to the throne but loses out on it to Artus. At the end of the novel he is thrown over an endless waterfall, that in The Shadow Dragons is shown to have an end, and Mordred is rescued from the Deep and escapes into past England.

• Magwich is Mordred's spy and assistant. He steals the High King's Ring and the Imaginarium Geographica, though these prove to be of little help to Mordred. He was formerly an apprentice to Charles Dickens. He is constantly threatened and beaten by the companions, especially Charles. In the end of Here There Be Dragons, he became a Green Knight, to serve the Morgaine on Avalon.

• Tummeler is a talking badger who assists the companions. He is given by Samaranth the dragon a shield which turns out to be the lid to Pandora's Box. He is the basis for Jack's later The Chronicles of Narnia character Trufflehunter. Tummeler has produced a recipe book and published five editions of the Imaginarium Geographica to the Archipelago, but his Imaginarium Geographica only contains the major lands in the Archipelago and is written mostly in English.

• Ordo Maas is a wise sage who fuses the ancient mythological characters of Thoth and Deucalion. He is considered one of the oldest human beings. He created the seven dragon boats, the Indigo Dragon, the Violet Dragon, the Blue Dragon, the Orange Dragon, the Yellow Dragon, the White Dragon and the Red Dragon (which is the modified Argo). He offers advice to the companions and is the person to reveal Artus' true identity. He sends seven of his sons, changed permanently into cranes, to watch over the companions.

• Samaranth is the first dragon, and possibly the oldest living creature. Like Ordo Maas, he gives the companions advice and, in the end, aids them in the final battle. He is the one to give Tummeler the lid to Pandora's Box, the shield of Perseus.

Film

In the intro to The Search of the Red Dragon it was announced that Warner Brothers purchased the rights to make Here, There Be Dragons into a feature film. Travis Adam Wright is set to pen film adaptations of the first two books. Rick Porras is producing the film adaptations.

External links

• Official website
• Here, There Be Dragons title listing at the Internet Speculative Fiction Database