Dragon Solstice

Written and Narrated By: Nance Crawford

Length: 9 hrs and 13 mins

Just in time for the winter solstice! Just in time for Christmas!

Okay so, like, I’m gonna start this review with all the bad things about this book, and then I’ll go on from there. Cuz if you can get past the unfortunate, you’re golden…!

First, author Nance Crawford narrates this herself, and while it’s all well and good that an author would truuuuly know where s/he’d like emphasis, how s/he envisions a character’s voice to sound when paired with actions and all that, it all doesn’t necessarily mean that this result is good. And to start with, Crawford’s voice is all smooth… until she starts doing all sorts of vocal juggling for characters. Never a good thing in my estimation.

Then it’s like she couldn’t decide if this was a Kids book or one geared for young at heart. Plus, she’s all over the place when it comes to plotting her action sequences, jumping from one character to another. And she throws in soooo many things. In this book, we’re given enchanted fields that turn people into statues, Time rolling and grasping, carnivorous bats, a sea serpent who’s all ticked off.

And of course?

A dragon.

And Santa Claus, uhm, Saint Nick.

Too much, right? Well, actually, it all started coming together, and there was so much of it that was handled deftly that I found myself fully engaged. It starts with a ticked off Kitchen Witch vanishing a prince and princess in a tiny Medieval kingdom. The Whipping Boy gets his promotion to become King’s Champion and soon grows into his magic suit of armor, wielding a broken sword, and stumbling into the king’s Huntsman’s son as he goes off to slay a dragon. The Huntsman’s son is just looking for his little sister who’s lost in the woods, but soon the two realize the dragon’s taken her.

This alternates with little Sarai, lost in the woods, now friends with the dragon. And it follows with aaaalll those things I already mentioned, as all four characters struggle on their quests.

And thus I began to enjoy Crawford’s narration. Soooo much is happening, there are sooooo many characters, and her juggling has a unique voice for each situation, each character. I grew to appreciate her performance rather than be annoyed by it. It was really cute when all the characters got to the North Pole (LONG story!), and they met little elves with their little voices. It seemed like Crawford was reading this story to her own kids, tucked into bed, pouring her heart and soul into the telling. Brava, Ms. Novice Narrator!

I’d been in a bit of a funk, feeling a bit fatigued and generally not in a festive and merry sorta mood when I started this audiobook. By the time I ended it?

Oh dear me! I was starting to write Christmas cards and compiling a Covid Christmas music playlist!

Ho Ho Ho!!!

Who knew this Covid Christmas needed a dragon?!?