Josefine Ottesen
  prize-winning Danish author
Presentation > Books > Easy Readers > Lord of the Dragon 1-11

Lord of the Dragon 1-11

Illustrated by Niels Bach

Alrune, 2000
Easy Reading serial in 11 separate books, or 3 collected editions.

Extract from Lord of the Dragon, part 1
Author's comments
Covers of the 11 separate books


Book 1 in the collected edition:
Every spring, the dragon must have a sacrificial victim. Otherwise it will burn the city down.
This year Dian is chosen. Not many will miss him.
He is poor and has no mother or father.
There is just an old woman who cares for him.
The dragon takes hold of him with his talons and flies off with him.
His jersey is so tattered that it tears and the dragon drops him. He thinks he will die in the fall but luck is with him.
What will happen to him now?
Can he hold his own against the huge minotaur?
And what about the orks?
Who is Aro actually? And why does he give him the Red Knife?
Will he survive the journey through the swamp?
Dian has to be alert all the time.
Fortunately he meets some friends, but there are plenty of enemies too.
Why are they trying to kill him?
He's just a poor boy who really wants to live - or is he more than that?



Book 2 in the collected edition:
Dian has returned to the city.
He is in time to say goodbye to the old woman before she dies.
She gives him a special jewel.
When Kempa sees it, he falls to his knees.
He says that Dian is a prince.
Can that be true?
Stella is captured. He must rescue her, but is unsuccessful.
Instead, he has to work as a slave in the camp in the steep mountains.
But here too there is someone who says he has royal blood.
Reda helps him escape.
He must find Haga and Foglan in the Blue Mountains. They have the Dragon Sword.



Book 3 in the collected edition:
Who has betrayed Dian? Now he's in Nagir's clutches.
Who can he trust now?
He won't allow himself to be cowed by his father's brother. He believes he can become the Lord of the Dragon.
But even if Nagir has taken the sword, Dian still has the jewel.
Stella helps him escape.
But what about Foglan?
Nothing must harm her. He will do anything for her.
Outside the gate, all his father's friends are waiting.
Now they're all together.
Now the battle can begin.
Who will become Terra's Lord of the Dragon?


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Extract from Lord of the Dragon, part 1: Sacrificed to the dragon :

Chapter 1 : Full moon

It's warm and late in the day. Dian straightens his back. He's tired. The blacksmith watches him.
He takes hold of his hammer once again.
"One day I will make a sword for myself," he thinks.
But he knows he'll never get his own sword.
Not as long as Nagir rules over the land of Terra. Only his men may carry weapons.
The door is flung open. It's the old woman who Dian lives with. He calls her grandma. She has taken care of him since he was little. No-one knows who his father and mother are.
Grandma whispers, "Nagir and his men are on their way. You must hide, Dian."
She looks afraid. He knows exactly why.
Every spring a sacrifice must be offered to the Dragon. And tonight will be full moon. So the time has come.
Before the moon rises, the Dragon will collect a young man. He must stand in front of the town gates bound to a pole.
Otherwise, the fields and the city will be the victims of the Dragon's fire.
The blacksmith nods and says, "Your grandma's right, Dian. You're not a boy anymore. You're a young man."
Dian hurries out. It makes him angry. Why must everyone be so afraid of the Dragon?
But it's too late. Soon all the small, miserable houses will be visited by Nagir's men.
All the young men are gathered together by the large well. Nagir lifts his hand. Everything goes quiet.
"Tonight the moon is full. It's the first time since the Equinox. You know what must be done."
Everyone looks down at the ground, while Nagir goes amongst the young men. He

looks closely at each of them.
It's totally still. All that is heard is a quiet sob from a mother. Dian closes his eyes. He hopes he's still too young. His mouth is dry with fear.
Then Nagir points at Dian.
Two of Nagir's men take hold of him. His heart is beating furiously. But he doesn't dare resist.
His grandma stares at him in despair. She's crying and hands him a small bag.
The soldiers won't allow him to take it.
There is joy all around him. Mothers kiss their sons but Dian is taken away. The last he sees of grandma is the fear in her eyes.



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Author's comments:

I was contacted in 1998 by an easy-reading publisher and asked if I would write a serial for them. My first reaction was rather sceptical. I had no educational qualifications and knew nothing about what was required to help readers along, but the publishers were very eager for me to try and I decided to give it a go.
At that time, my son had just begun to read and he was thoroughly fed up with easy-reading books about dogs which ran away from home or children who overslept and were late for school.
He would much rather read about monsters and magic, warriors and battles. I imagined that other children may feel the same, so that's how I came to write Lord of the Dragon, which in the passage of 11 short books tells the story of Dian and his struggle to lead the life for which he is predestined.
Fortunately, Niels Bach agreed to illustrate the serial with his fantastic drawings, later in the brilliant company of Hans Høygaard.

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Covers of books 2-11



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