Searching for Dragons

Title: Searching for Dragons
Author: Patricia C. Wrede

What it's about: Mendanbar is the king of the Enchanted Forest. While taking a walk through his domain, he comes across a patch of forest that's been turned into a wasteland. At first he suspects dragons, but a chat with Morwen, a sensible witch, sets him straight, and Mendanbar goes to visit the King of the Dragons. However, the Kazul, King of the Dragons has gone missing, so Mendanbar teams up with Cimorene, the King of the Dragon's princess, to go find Kazul and figure out what's been going on.

What I thought: Mendanbar is easier to identify with than Cimorene because he seems a bit more realistic, worry about stuff, getting things wrong, etc. Cimorene, too, isn't as perfect as she was in the previous book. Also, Searching seems to me to have a little more sense of danger to it than the first book, which was more of a funny fractured fairy tale. The supporting characters, like Willin, Telemain, Morwen, Jack, and the various other folks Mendanbar and Cimorene
meet on their journey are also interesting. This volume keeps the parodies of fairy tales going, but there's more to the story this time, which makes Searching for Dragons even more entertaining than its predecessor.

Overall: A fun read.