The Dragon and the George
The Dragon Knight series, Book 1
Gordon R. Dickson
Del Rey
Fiction, Fantasy
Themes: Alternate Earths, Anthropomorphism, Classics, Dragons, Portal Adventures, Wizards
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Description
Jim Eckert is stuck in a go-nowhere university job, where politics keep him from the promotion he needs and a jealous colleague, Dr. Grottwold, monopolizes the time of his fiancée Angela. Grottwold uses her as a guinea pig in his experiments with astral projection, sending one's mind to another point in space and time. Something goes terribly wrong with his latest project, and Angela is transported - mind and body - to an unknown locale. Jim vows to follow her and bring her home, but his transference doesn't go as planned. He finds himself trapped in the body of Gorbash, a dragon in a medieval world where wolves speak, knights-errant wander the land, and magic is real. The dragon Briagh has found and captured Angela as a prisoner, since all "georges," as humans are known to dragonkind, are untrustworthy - especially those who arrive out of thin air in the middle of the dragon caverns. Before Jim can free her, Briagh carries her away, bound for the ill-reputed Loathly Tower. His girlfriend is now in the hands of the Dark Powers who are attempting to throw the balance of power in this world off, and Jim/Gorbash must stop them.
Review
I bought this book, something of a fantasy classic, largely because it was the main source of inspiration for the animated film The Flight of Dragons, a favorite of mine. (The other part of the movie came from Peter Dickinson's classic book, reviewed here.) They took more than a few liberties in the adaptation (as in little more than the names were kept the same), and I must say that I preferred the movie version. Still, it wasn't a bad book. I admit it was a little hard to shake the movie influence when I was reading, but even if I hadn't seen the film, I think I would've found the plot slow and jerky. The ending leaves it set up for a sequel, as in a few major plot threads were left unresolved. I know that there is a whole series of books with Jim and the dragons, but I was still slightly miffed. I have not read any more books in the series, nor do I intend to.