Skip to main content
PBS logo
 
 

Book Review of Day of the Dragonking: Book 1 of The Last American Wizard (Volume 1)

Day of the Dragonking: Book 1 of The Last American Wizard (Volume 1)
miz-firefly avatar reviewed on + 112 more book reviews


I took one look at the cover of The Last American Wizard and had to read it. It looked like a blast. A fantasy with a gun toting wizard with the possibility of dragons? Sign me up! It didn't take me long to realize that two and two don't always equal four. Sometimes you must break out the quantum physics and a glass good of red and just go with it. I'm not sure what mixture of drugs Edward B. Irving was sleeping off when he dreamed up this story, but 30 years ago I'd have been all over that stuff.

I was expecting a lot of action and excitement and boy did Irving deliver. When bullets and glass and blood are not flying it is the wryest - tongue-in-cheek representation of Washington DC I have ever had the privilege to read. Let's be real, we all know DC is full of Trolls and demons and hellhounds. Irving just put their psychosis on display and gave them really big fangs.

I suppose I should try to thumbnail this for you, but I haven't had enough wine, and you probably wouldn't believe me anyway. It's a little chaotic and a lot unexpected; but If you like underdogs, and magic and tarot cards, The Last American Wizard may be the most original book you read all year. My advise? Disengage your brain and settle in for an exciting (if a bit wordy) ride