Premise
When the Kingdom of Avantia is under threat from the very Beasts it is supposed to be watched and protected by, an unlikely hero must rise to the occasion, and go on a quest like no other… starting from Ferno, the fire dragon.
Overview
Name – Beast Quest: Ferno the Fire Dragon [#1 of the ‘Beast Quest: Series 1’ (titled: Where it all began)]
Author – Adam Blade
Genre – Adventure/Children/Fantasy
First published – 2007 (Great Britain)
Cover rating (featured image) – 7/10 [Paperback]
This Edition Published – 2015 by Orchard Books
Chapters – 9 (plus a prologue)
Pages – 125 (excluding other pages)
Review
NO Spoilers
The Beast Quest. This is one of those series, which as a kid, I always wanted to read, but just couldn’t get my hands on for some or the other reason. After finally doing so after a long, long time (since childhood that is), I was eager to go through the very first book as soon as I could.
Here’s what it was all about –
The Beast Quest is set in the Kingdom of Avantia, which has been watched and protected by six mythical beasts – fire dragon, sea serpent, mountain giant, horse-man, snow monster, and flame bird, since the very first settlers arrived. But now, the Dark Wizard Malvel has taken control over the beasts, leading them towards a path of destruction.
Before the story begins, a quick note from the Good Wizard, Aduro, is present mentioning a quick, brief introduction to the readers (a great addition indeed!).
We are introduced to Tom, a boy living in the village of Errinel. He lives with his uncle Henry (who is the village head) and aunt, who are taking care of him since his mother passed away when he was very young. His father, Taladon the Swift, a very well know warrior of the Kingdom, has unfortunately gone missing.
Meanwhile, as Ferno is set loose upon the lands, Tom is reluctantly agreed to be selected as a representative for the village, and is sent to King Hugo’s Palace to seek help for the damage being caused by the fire dragon (unbeknownst to the village folk), with the people worried that they will soon run out of food. Once managing to finally sneak inside the palace, he meets the short and elderly Aduro, the good wizard, who, along with King Hugo himself, explain Tom about the dangers they are about to face due to the evil actions of Malvel. But all hope is not lost yet. There is a prophecy which mentions that a hero will rise to protect Avantia, and by fate (no surprise here!), Tom is chosen as the one to fulfill it.
For doing so, he must undergo a very long and equally dangerous quest, starting with freeing Ferno from the evil clutches of Malvel by any means possible. Aduro provides Tom with some “gifts” to help him on his quest, including a magical map of Avantia, a sword, and a shield. Before setting off on his journey, Aduro gives Tom some words of wisdom –
“On your Quest you will find allies in the strangest of places, and in the unlikeliest of forms. But you have a wise head, Tom. Trust your instincts.”
Along with the help from Aduro, Tom is allied with a jet-black stallion, Storm, to help in his quest. Soon enough, as Aduro mentioned, Tom and Storm are met by Elenna, and her pet wolf, Silver. Together, all four set out to free Ferno from Malvel’s evil spell and put a stop to his destruction of Avantia, in what is just the first step in a long, long journey.
And so… let The Beast Quest begin!
What was good?
- A very quick read; very easy language.
- Numerous illustrations are present throughout as well, which makes for better reading, especially since it’s for children (approx. 1-2 illustrations per chapter!).
- A map of Avantia is present, which is great (I love maps!).
What was bad?
- Honestly, not a bad thing comes to mind here. Just a classic fantasy adventure for children to enjoy!
Other features
- A special “gold coin” at the end of each chapter for children to collect as part of the ‘Quest’.
- ‘Quest Club’ (‘fight the beasts, fear the magic’); along with ‘Can you survive the Beast Quest?’
- The ‘Beast Quest’ mobile game from Miniclip.
- Other details and info. on the Beast Quest website.
All the above add to the ‘Quest’, making the readers (children, of course) to actively take part themselves in helping the characters undergo the journey as the series progresses. A pretty nice touch in my opinion. And lastly, a sneak peek into the next book, ‘Sepron the Sea Serpent’, is also present featuring the first chapter in full!
Final thoughts
Overall, although being exclusively written for children, I quite enjoyed it! Recommended for children as a gateway into reading fantasy/adventure.
Rating: – 7/10 (Enjoyable)
