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In Bruce Coville's Dragonslayers, there is a king with the misfortune of having a woman's name. Even the fact that Mildred means 'gentle strength,' hasn't made up for the problems his name gave him when he was growing up. He and his queen, Hortense, have a very wilful fourteen-year-old daughter named Wilhelmina. Instead of being called 'Mina,' as Wilhelmina Harker was in Dracula, she's called 'Willie'. Willie is what we used to call a tomboy. She wants to learn some knightly skills and have adventures. One thing Willie most definitely doesn't want to do is marry any of the three suitors her father has in mind. Willie is making her undying opposition forcefully known when a peasant woman brings the news there's a dragon on the loose.

King Mildred's three knights might as well be called the three stooges because they're about as competent as that famous comedy team was in their short and longer films. Rather than sally forth to slay the dragon, the knights come up with excuses. The job falls to Elizar, a bald graybeard, by far the oldest of the king's squires. There are four other squires, but only Brian, the shortest, volunteers to help Elizar.

The prize for slaying the dragon is half the kingdom and Willie's hand in marriage. Willie has no intention of marrying a man old enough to be her grandfather, so she sneaks out of the castle in disguise.

What none of them realize is that the dragon was magically created by a witch named Grizelda (with the help of another witch named Phrenella), to get revenge on King Mildred. If things go according to Grizelda's plan, Willie isn't going to have to worry about getting married -- or anything else.

Our would-be dragonslayers manage to save some talking animals who join their quest. Four spirits of the aptly-named Forest of Wonders get in on the action too, for a little while. Besides the dragon, Grizelda has some helper creatures called goons. The most helpful of those is Igbutton, who craves liver cookies the way Scooby-Doo craves Scooby snacks.

There's plenty of humor and characters showing what they're really made of. Even though I figured out the biggest revelation ahead of time, that didn't keep me from enjoying the story. In fact, I enjoyed anticipating it. I enjoyed the ending, too. Okay, one of the book's characters has a fate I didn't think deserved, but otherwise the book was fun. ( )

I adored this book when I was younger. Sure, it's lost some of the luster now that I'm old. But seriously, I read this book constantly, totally wanted to be Wilhelmina. I definitely recommend it for anyone who's got younger kids. ( )

Take one angry witch, one headstrong princess, one elderly knight, one overly enthusiastic orphan squire, and one conjured dragon. Mix them together in a magical forest, and what you get is The Dragonslayers. You also get a fun story about bravery and a story about what seeking revenge can potentially cost you.

Grizelda is a witch who hates the king. To get revenge, she conjured up a dragon with a spell that causes the dragon to become the instrument of her vengeance. In due course, King Mildred (a name that causes him some consternation) finds out and tries to get his best knights to slay the beast (by offering half his kingdom and his daughter's hand in marriage to anyone who does so). Unfortunately, they all decline the task, and in their stead, Elizar the oldest living squire is quickly promoted and given the task. He chooses an orphan pageboy named Brian to become his squire and together they set off to the Forest of Wonder.

However, the king's headstrong daughter Princess Wilhelmina, who doesn't like the idea of being cooped up in a castle, and absolutely rejects the idea that girls can't be knights, has other ideas. In the proud tradition of headstrong princesses, she disguises herself as a boy, and sets out to slay the dragon herself.

Once the dragonslayers reach the Forest of Wonder, they find themselves drawn into a bunch of adventures, earning a variety of allies and friends along the way. They also end up revealing various things about their respective life histories that make it apparent that Grizelda may end up getting her revenge in a way that will be more painful for her than it is for the king.

The couple of plot twists at the end are fairly obvious, although as this is a book aimed at younger readers, that is probably to be expected. The various characters are all likable enough that it isn't really a problem when all the troubles are solved in the end and all the loose ends tied up in a nice little bow. Overall, this is a very good fairy tale with a nice moral told with a little wit and a lot of humor.

This review has also been posted to my blog Dreaming About Other Worlds. ( )

Pre09:
Okay, special review. This book is exactly what you think it is. It's about some princess coming of age in a fantasy setting with predictable plot twists. But it's done well and set me on the path of a bibliophile all those years ago. I'll always love it. And really, it doesn't do anything wrong. ( )