A journey for organic hummus results in unwarranted prejudice. The story of how George The-Decent Dragon became the greenest vegan in human society. Fast-paced, irreverent satire for Pratchett and Python fans.
***NOTICE FROM THE AUTHOR: Vols 2-7 are FAR SUPERIOR to Vol 1 (Vol 1 is ok but it’s short and basically just background – don’t let it put you off the series…!)***
THE CHICKPEA CHRONICLES VOLUME – 1
Despite being a regressive and unhelpful stereotype, it was nevertheless accurate to say that dragons were aggressive, bloodthirsty brutes. Not George, though. He’s a self-professed ‘decent’ individual with a penchant for organic cookery, gardening, and making his own clothes. Oh, and he’s a vegan, you know!
George’s adventure begins when he decides he wants some hummus. However, as Dragonville definitely isn’t the sort of place to find chickpea-based snacks, he sets off towards People Town to visit his favourite place in the whole world, the glorious Farmer Fred’s feel-good, local, family, fair-trade, organic wholefoods store.
Follow George as he traverses Dragonville, desperately tolerating the idiots who wander into his path – before continuing on towards lovely, civilised People Town where unfortunately our heroic, massive, fire-breathing reptile encounters further unwarranted prejudice.
Will George get his delicious dip? Will he make any new friends? Will years of suppressing his true instincts make him have a terrifying and very-public nervous breakdown? Find out!
Free on 10th - 14th Aug 23
Reviews:
" For those who enjoy satirical or farcical humour, or comedic reads, this is a must."
Reviewer: Reader for Bookangel.
Julian, the owner of a sustainable business that in financial terms is anything but sustainable, is trying to deal with the bank inspector. Unfortunately his best customer is also the reason for his lack of other customers, due to the fact he is a dragon. A dragon that everyone suspects of eating one of his other regular customers...
I picked this up because the description made me laugh. The cover is delightful, but I will be honest, it made me think it was a children's book. That impression didn't last. Instead, with the classic sentence that "the only thing Farmer Fred's was currently sustaining was a stream of red letters and court summonses", it cast itself firmly into the realm of adult satire and humour and I settled in for a read. By page 7 I had a huge grin, and my tea cup in both hands because I didn't want to look away from the page to take a sip. On Page 10 I laughed out loud.
This is humour in the Jeeves and Wooster mould with no sacred cows (or should that be sacred dragons?) left unturned at all. A dragon version of Hyacinth Bucket might be social commentary, but it is also simply hilarious. Right down to protesting that "the disgustingly disadvantaged" can't leave him alone at home before walking into a shop and being, I believe the modern phrase is, 'a right royal Karen'. I restate, this is certainly not a children's book. For those who disagree, I shall merely say "dough-scale exfoliation". If you don't know what I am talking about, read the book.
Formatting-wise there is a table of contents at the front, though the Kindle Cloud Reader is not picking it up in the top menu bar for quick access. Flashbacks are marked by a row of asterisks, scene breaks by a double line break. I found this a little bit confusing but soon got use to it. Paragraphs are indented and I didn't find any spelling errors. I did not see anything wrong with the grammar, but I was having far too good a time to care. It is in third person, and chapters alternate between Julian the shop owner in Peopletown, and George the Dragon in Dragonville. Both our twin protagonists have very clear and distinct voices, and their characters come through from the first page.
For those who enjoy satirical or farcical humour, or comedic reads, this is a must. For the rest of us, its a welcome laugh in a dark time. Vegans, however, will need a sense of humour about the extreme ends of the movement to enjoy this book. I am recommending this to Angel for a second review, because I think she needs the laugh. It is part of a series and I nearly picked up the sequel on the spot.
This is an easy four stars, possibly five.
Rating: 4Quicklink to this review
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