#chris d’lacey

[godzilla-reads]

❄️ Icefire by Chris d’Lacey

[the-emerald-wyrm]

Ugh, the covers are just too pretty!!

I’m obsessed with anything as long as it has a dragon on the cover and between the pages 😋

[marcvscicero]

wait guys in tldc whatever happened to zanna’s family? do they still believe she’s dead? but wouldn’t she have been mentioned on the news w all the david stuff maybe? or did she tell them she’s alive but they just never get mentioned? cos she seemed rly close with her sister and like… she has a literal kid now so have they never met alexa?

[tc-illustration]

The ninth project of my second course focused back onto illustration work in terms of creating a zine. With this zine, we could focus on any topic we wanted which I personally chose dragons as that was my fixation at the time.

We first did a workshop that focused on Cut/Shape, Collage and Doodle​. We then focused on print making and ink drawing, with the print making we did monoprinting which I have previous experiences with from my time in high school. These prints generally had nothing to do with the main theme as these were tests/experimentation.

With these tests/experiments, I took photographs of them so that I could do the digital session of editing photographs together and applying effects in Photoshop.

After doing these tasks, I then focused on the main focus on this project. I gathered some images for inspiration which the main inspiration came from the dragon statues I have and the illustrated book covers for Chris d’Lacey books, mainly his series 'The Last Dragon Chronicles'.

I then had to do another session about creating collage work, most likely to inspire the designs for the zine. The first was a traditional collage (Which mine was horrible as I didn't understand) and a digital one where I used a range of my own photographs to create, with the digital collage, I created three versions of it.

I then started on creating the main zine where I drew thumbnail sketches and the assets traditionally. I wanted the zine to look traditional but I needed to apply specific effects so I decided to edit them digitally.

With the final design, I used both illustration and photographs to create it as I wanted to experiment with using photographs for backdrops instead of hand drawing it.

I used the techniques introduced to us in the digital sessions and Photoshop to create the final. I am really proud of these since it took some time for me to edit them together.

That's is all I have to show for this project.

If you have any questions, don't be afraid to ask.

[saphira-approves]

We as a fandom really see a book cover completely dominated by a colorful dragon face written by a Chris-something and lose our minds, huh

[worselydrawnaranea]

Hey Aranea you should have my old copy of The Fire Series aka The Last Dragon Chronicles by Chris d’Lacey. They start pretty simple but once the Polar Bears get involved the lore goes Wild I think you’d like them.

Thank you very much! ::::)

I love 8ooks that are like that so I'll make sure to enjoy them!

[orchidyoonkook]

Get to know me Tag Game!

Tagged by: technically @sailoryooons (hello darling!!)

Name: Yoon/Orchid

Number of Siblings: okay so this is hard cuz I only have two I consider actual siblings. My biological ones. But my parents both have partners who they aren’t married too. And those people have one kid each, however I haven’t met either of them so I don’t count them. So 2. But technically 4.

Number of Pets: 1 cat that’s mine, my daughter Marmee, and 1 cat that I live with who’s my roommates.

Favourite Colour: sun flower, sunset, golden yellow and deep royal purple.

Favourite Author: Sarah J Maas, Richelle Mead, Marissa Meyer, Chris D’Lacey, Holly Black • SenLinYu, Kithtaehyung, mxlia, themfchase, and many many many more.

Favourite Song: Currently probably Dethrone by Bad Omens or Atlantic by Sleep Token or Eat Your Young by Hozier or Supernatural by Barns Courtney—music is my life’s driving force and this question is impossible. Also the answer to this changes weekly.

Hobbies: on an ever changing rotation of reading, writing, painting, book binding, crocheting, knitting, clay sculpting, drawing, window shopping, and book collecting.

Favourite Holiday: Halloween 🎃

Fun Fact/ Something I’d Enjoy Sharing: I’m on a celebrities Instagram page in a post they made. And by celebrity I mean like. 17 million followers.

And I try not to think about that.

Tagging: @violetsiren90 @remmykinsff @katykatmeow @leohatter @keen-li and @herarcadewasteland

[juliandrws]

I know Lucy is explicitly written as 16 in The Fire Eternal but I dismiss that and favor the idea that Lucy should have been a university student approaching her 20s in TFE, and let me explain why you should, too.

a) it tracks SO MUCH MORE with the timeframe of David arriving at Wayward Crescent and the time jump of five years because I refuse to believe Lucy was 11 for most of The Fire Within AND everything that went down from Ice Fire to/in Fire Star? she was 11 for the months of David dating Sophie, to the point that he thinks he’ll move in with her? she was 11 for the months of that scholarly Arctic escapade? she was 11 for the months of that interpersonal Arctic escapade? absolutely no way. that, and Lucy talks about David as if he stayed with them much longer than a year, which brings me to...

b) the parallels that would have popped had Lucy been a university student for the 4th and 5th books! this is the most important to me. David is 20 in The Fire Within...Lucy is 18-19 in The Fire Eternal...Lucy is 20-21 in Dark Fire...when David returns to her, she is the age he had been when he met the Pennykettles. pls!!! I could cry thinking about the inclusion of that little detail.

c) whatever was going on with the dynamic between Lucy and Tam would have been much more digestible because seriously @ Chris d’Lacey, Lucy could have been 18/19 and pursuing her undergraduate degree, Tam could have been 23/24 writing his master’s thesis about David, and I’d have thought “somewhat questionable but not the worst thing ever” but instead she was 16 and he was close to 30??? what the actual fuck!!! my daughter did not deserve that, and young impressionable teenage me deserved dynamics between Lucy and characters her own age, justice for Bella the cat girl!!!

[ask-the-archs]

“Good”

*He grabs a book and starts reading it aloud*

“Part One — The Spark

‘Welcome to Wayward Crescent’

‘Well, here we are,’ Mrs. Pennykettle said, pausing by the door of the room she had for rent. She clasped her hands together and smiled. ‘Officially, it’s our dining room, but we always eat in the kitchen these days.’”

*Zee slithers into Gabe and Noah's room, clinging to the first person he runs into.*

*Gabriel looks down at Zee*

“Hey, kid, you doing alright?”

[darkandstormydolls]

okay so today I am compiling a list that I have had in the back of my mind for a while and want to get written down: books with well-written goth characters

I am putting it on the internet in the hopes that there are some other people who have spent a while being frustrated with stereotypical rebellious and depressed teenagers in books who will enjoy some decent goth characters

This list is inspired by the fact that I was looking for more books with goth characters and I kept getting recommended by the internet to “The Adventures of Fanboy and Goth Girl”. And I read about half of “Goth Girl Rising” (the sequel. I did not realize it was the sequel until I was pretty far into it) before I had to put it down because I was so frustrated with it. The main character is every negative stereotype played up to an absurd degree, to the point that it’s painful to read, and the same thing goes for all the other goth characters. So, here’s a list of actually good goth characters!

Side note: I know there are lots and lots of books that fit into the gothic genre or are considered “goth” books. And those are good, and I enjoy them. However, this list is reserved for books set in the modern day that have characters who explicitly call themselves “goth” and fit the definition of the subculture.

Without further ado:

1. Goth Girl, Queen of the Universe by Lindsey S. Zrull

I will shout the praises of this book from the rooftops as long as I live. It’s absolutely wonderful, and and admittedly I am a bit biased because I have a lot in common with the main character, but it really is a good book. One of the themes in it is basically “embrace the cringe if it’s something that makes you happy”, which I love, and it also handles mental illness really really well in my opinion. The main character says at one point that she first got into goth through the works of Edgar Allen Poe, and all in all it seems like the author really has a good grasp of the subculture

2. The Last Dragon Chronicles by Chris d’Lacey

Okay, so a confession: it has been years since I read this series. To the point that I had to look up the title because I only remember a vague impression of the books. And I don’t think I ever finished it. But I feel they deserve a place on this list. The goth character here, Zanna, the main character’s girlfriend, and it’s not really a big deal in the books, but she’s mentioned as being a goth early on and is described in black skirts and heavy makeup and things throughout the books. I may have to go back and reread these books because I think I may have been a little young to fully get them when I first read them back in elementary school. Anyways, it’s not a big part of the books, but this isn’t a list of books about goths, it’s a list of books with them, so here it is

3. Vampire Kisses by Ellen Schrieber

Admittedly, this series is not the most highbrow of literature. It is pure teenage vampire fluff. But it is also utterly delightful, as many fluff books are.

Now, I will say: yes, these books are full of troupes and stereotypes. But they’re the kind that the subculture makes fun of itself for affectionately. The main character is obsessed with vampires, and the vampires are perhaps tied with the movie Hotel Transylvania for stereotypical appearance, but they’re great fun to read, and they portray a wide variety of goth characters representing all facets of goth, from the main character of rather mallgoth Raven, to the gentle, romantic Alexander, edgy and rebellious Jagger, femme-fatale-pastel-goth-out-for-revenge Luna, perky Scarlett, and a whole range of others. I’ve only read the fist seven books (my library doesn’t have book eight and I didn’t want to read nine before it), but they’re wonderfully fun, easy reads. There’s also a couple of manga books if that’s your thing.

4. Mall Goth by Kate Leth

Now, graphic novels are not usually my cup of tea. But the draw of good goth characters was enough for me to pick up and idly read about half of it at the library. I don’t have a super firm grasp on the plot of this book, since I was mostly skimming it, but it seems like a pretty typical teen drama book. I have no objections to the way that the alternative characters are depicted, and there are a couple of them, including the main character

Honorable mention to: My Summer as a Goth

This one is a movie, not a book, but it still deserves an honorable mention because it shows teenaged goths really well. It’s a pretty typical teen drama, and there are a few contrived coincidences and minor plot holes, but it’s overall a delightful movie with a very nice plot and lots of fun characters. One of my friends and I have taken to watching this movie repeatedly and have a wonderful time every time

If anyone has any books to add to this list, please tell me! I am always looking for more books with goth characters

[bonanana]

ok book recs!!!

if youre feeling fantasy/medieval -> Rangers Apprentice series

if you’re feeling like you want a sweet little modern story with a little fantastical mystery - The Fire Within by Chris D’Lacey (idr much about it but I read it and fell in love as a kid)

If you’re feeling like you want an almost paranormal(?) mystery about family and loss and coming of age-> Hour of the Bees by Lindsay Eager

Cute animal magic fantasy story -> The familiars

Spooky yet cozy mystery with cute dogs but less child targeted-> Mysteries in Aspen Falls: Hounded by the Past (I wanna find the rest of the series but haven’t been able to!!!!!!!)

I’m sure I have a million more for other genres too ahhxhahhdhw I mostly read fantasy

I am getting to this so late, but honestly? That's just how it be sometimes.

But thank you so much for all of these awesome recommendations! I've added them to my long list. >:) And one day... I will read them all...

[godzilla-reads]

🐲 Dragon Recommendation #4 🐲

THE FIRE WITHIN by Chris d’Lacey

📖 SYNOPSIS 📖

When David moves in with Liz and Lucy, he discovers a collection of hand crafted, clay dragons that comes to life and has magical powers. David's personalized dragon, Gadzooks, can forecast the future, and inspires him to write a story which reveals the truth behind an unsolved mystery close to home.

⭐️WHY I RECOMMEND IT⭐️

Another unique story, this one filled me with childlike wonder at the prospect of magic and dragons that are just at your fingertips. The story is mysterious and fills you with hope.

[fisherrprince]

was it like. college kid w like lil dragons but they were like. statues. bc. shrugs thats one of the Few i remember that was like. fantasy but modern (n i dont even remember the name lmao)

No but that’s actually the Last Dragon chronicles by Chris d’Lacey I think!

[bigbangbuffer]

middle grade to YA fantasy books that were formative for me, personally, that I don’t feel like I see talked about all that much?? idk lmk if you read any of these too, I’m feeling nostalgic :0

The Old Kingdom Series, by Garth Nix

The Last Dragon Chronicles, by Chris d’Lacey

The Enchanted Forest Chronicles, by Patricia C. Wrede

Septimus Heap, by Angie Sage

The Heir Chronicles, by Cinda Williams Chima

The Song of the Lioness Quartet, by Tamora Pierce

The Protector of the Small Quartet, by Tamora Pierce

[ariapmdeol]

Reading the ORV epilogue for the first time. At the same time I am finishing my reread if Chris d’Lacey’s Last Dragon Chronicles, which I read and reread so often as a kid that the spine of the first volume is coming apart. I’m cackling because David Rain, the protagonist of LDC, seems to have a similar backstory to YJH. Right down to their parents’ address being an address no one has ever lived at. (Tho due to David being more of an author, things are either ‘better explained’ or ‘even more confusing’ in his case.)

I am just. Deeply amused. I loved LDC so much, perhaps liking ORV a lot too was kind of inevitable with them both going so meta and paradoxical? I forgot how the final volumes of LDC get so confusing that a hundred or so pages of the finale have to be spent making sure all the characters, and the reader, are all on the same page…

the overlap is real! metafiction enjoyers when there is metafiction at the function,, I cried at the ORV epilogues they GOT TO ME

it's always funny when the lore gets so off the rails that they need to take the time to make sure no one is lost SADKADJSKL

[gentlemanjester]

I can’t remember if I’ve written about this before, but here’s another rant. Similar to my one on the Cirque du Freak movie, this one is a bit better but about a book series called The Last Dragon Chronicles by Chris d’Lacey.

So, when I was a kid, I read a book called The Fire Within. It was a really fun and cute book. A guy called David moves in with Liz Pennykettle and her 11 year old daughter, Lucy. The Pennykettles make clay dragons for a living, and it turns out some of them are special dragons who are kind of alive. They give David his own dragon, who he names Gadzooks, and his skepticism basically kills Gadzooks and he emotionally restores him back to life. There’s also a plot about David writing a story about a squirrel in the garden for Lucy’s birthday, it’s really cute, and that writing leads to him meeting a wildlife rescuer who becomes his girlfriend and... i honestly can’t remember her name, she was super generic, your standard nice girl.

But that story’s good. It’s a great standalone novel, has a (mostly) happy ending, fun adventures, it’s good. Then a sequel came. And in this sequel, David’s girlfriend has gone to Africa for a few months because of work, and David’s got a... weird professor at college who’s obsessed with inuits and offers a prize of a research trip to the Arctic for whoever can write the best essay. Two things are off here: firstly, professors teach at universities rather than colleges in the UK, where this is set, and secondly, a research trip to the damned Arctic? In college? That’s a postgraduate trip, at least.

So, we’re also introduced to big tiddy goth gf called Zanna, who is horny as fuck for David. Like she’s basically saying “put a baby in me you mousey dragon boy” in the most kid-friendly way she can. Because this is a kid’s book, without a shadow of a doubt. Keep that in mind for the future: a child is supposed to follow this storyline.

So, we’re also introduced to a villain: Gwilanna. Who, I think... tries to get Liz to... fertilise a dragon egg? Oh, I forgot to mention, the Pennykettles are descended from... uh... I think it’s a lady in ancient times who was tasked with a witch to trick a dragon, but instead sided with the dragon, and the dragon gave her part of his soul? Which is why they’re able to make special dragons that are kinda-sorta alive? I think that’s the gist of it.

So, Gwilanna turns out to be that ancient witch and David uses the power of polar bears (because polar bears are connected with dragons, somehow) to toss her out. He and Zanna make out in the kitchen and just as they pull away, David’s girlfriend comes in and Zanna leaves. Girlfriend then basically says “hey, so I’m gonna be in Africa for several years, so you go ahead and date whoever you want.” OH, that reminds me, David was absolutely a player during this book. Not only was there Zanna, but he also went to a publishing house to publish the story he wrote for Lucy in the first book, and the office is staffed basically only by young women, and David’s eyes are wandering everywhere.

So, David learns that for some reason, Zanna is mad at him for having a girlfriend... even though I am fairly certain he’d already told her, or else he’s even more of a dick, but it all ends with him winning the Arctic trip, Zanna picks him up and is all “we gon fuck in the cold loverboy” because her dad’s rich and everything.

So... okay, an alright sequel, it starts to set things up for the future, but it’s starting to get a bit... iffy. Well, book three is where the normalcy ends.

So, David and Zanna are having a good time at the North Pole, banging, hanging out with the Inuits, David’s writing his story on polar bears. Except he’s... kinda telling the future? Sort of? Like some of the chapters in this book are from the perspective of the polar bears, and David’s writing the story about those specific polar bears. It’s a magic power he has, he used it in the first book while writing Lucy’s story as well. But for some reason, he and Zanna get in an argument and he decides to go back down to England to hang out with Liz and Lucy.

Speaking of Lucy, she’s been kidnapped by Gwilanna and taken to some cave which I think it up against the last dragon? Maybe? Gwilanna’s planning to use Lucy for... something... I’m not entirely sure what. But the polar bears are kinda guardians of the dragon or something? Oh, and David’s professor has an invisible dragon he just keeps around and sends on missions. I think it transforms into an Inuit artefact? That might be something else. I don’t quite remember.

So, the climax sees David saving Lucy, but he gets injured, and he dies in Zanna’s arms. He gives her the invisible dragon, somehow, and the polar bears drag him off.

Okay... a pretty definitive ending there. Sad, but it does the job.

Except it doesn’t end there.

AND THE CRAZINESS RAMPS UP.

5 years have passed. David’s stories have been wildly successful, and Zanna has opened up her own little goth shop which offers massages. She gave birth to David’s daughter so the author could add in the creepy lines of the kid saying shit like “daddy misses us” and wotnot. Lucy is 16 now, and she is an absolute caricature of a teenage girl. On her phone all the time, blowing bubblegum while working as Zanna’s cashier part-time, arguing with her mum... oof.

Journalist guy called Tam comes in for a massage from Zanna, she minorly magically tortures him to get him to admit that he was sent by the paper to get dirt on David. Lucy ends up infatuated with this guy, who’s literally twice her age, she goes on to stalk him to his place of work and tries to sell the family secrets to get close to him.

So, the big reveal: David isn’t actually dead.

Kinda.

Well, he comes back. Zanna is pissed because David is kind of a weird demigod thing? Like he talks about himself needing to save the world, he kinda... imbues the power of two polar bears into Tam? Oh, and Zanna is a witch like Gwilanna. Obviously. Because she’s the big tiddy goth gf, she’s gotta be a witch as well.

Book five gives some backstory to Lucy’s dad. Turns out he was a scientist dude, he and Liz were in love, he then disappeared one day (I think because of Gwilanna?) and he’s spent all this time in self-exile in a monastery as a monk. And while at this monastery, he found a dragon claw which dripped ichor, and anything he wrote with this ichor came true. Kinda like David’s power from a few books ago. Remember that? I barely do.

So, we come to the other massive reveal: David never existed. He was written into existence by Liz’s boyfriend whose name is not even listed on the wiki page, holy fuck. I’ll just call him Bob for easiness. Anyways, Bob wrote David into existence for some reason. They find this out by going to the address listed on David’s letter of application for the Pennykettle lodging waaaayyy back in book 1, and they can’t find the place. Then Lucy gets teleported away and kidnapped again. Oh, and before this, she and Tam went on a road trip to some white horse in the English countryside, they stayed at a B&B and ended up being attacked by their hosts, I think.

OH, YEAH.

THE ALIEN SPACE FAIRIES.

So, there are these alien space fairies that exist. They... worship dragons? Or are dragons? They have something to do with dragons. Anyways, there are the good ones and the bad ones. The bad ones are able to take over people’s minds and make them into slaves. Oh yeah, the evil alien space fairies made the monks of Bob’s monastery attack anyone that came near because Gwilanna wanted to do some ritual. I think.

Oh yeah, and there’s this young dragon called Grockle who... uh... I wanna say Liz gave birth to him? Or maybe Zanna? Or maybe he was hatched from the egg that Gwilanna tried to get Liz to fertilise back in book two? I can’t quite remember. But he’s there.

So, it turns out the good alien space fairies and the evil alien space fairies have been at war for a while, and they need the dragons for... something...

And that, I think, is as far as I ever read. I think there’s maybe two and a half books in the series I haven’t read, because... I just can’t. It’s too much. The story is so convoluted and so far removed from what it started as. The first book was extremely charming. Cutesy clay dragons, an ancient legend which explained why they could kind of come to life, it was a fun read. The sequel was... alright. A bit more complicated, but it managed. The threequel was... eh...

But the rest of it. My God.

Oh, and the weirdest part? There’s this overarching theme of global warming and climate change, except it’s... minorly shoehorned in? Like it’ll be mentioned in passing as background noise on the television, or David will say something like “this is why X is happening, because the ice caps are melting,” but... nothing will come of it. It’s just sort of mentioned. There is literally no payoff to the mentioning of global warming. I get it, it’s a very real and major problem, but it’s just... so out of place in this story (which is saying a lot, considering what I’ve just written) and so obviously shoehorned in.

Oh, also, David’s girlfriend dies in one of the books. Pretty sure it’s book 5. Also, David can teleport. Or fly. Or both? I dunno, he’s a God that didn’t exist until a few years prior. Immaculate conception ftw.

This book series, The Last Dragon Chronicles, is a perfect example of when an author tries to mash together multiple different stories into a single series and, in my opinion, it fails miserably. The alien space fairies. The guy not existing until he was written into existence. The polar bears being guardians of a dragon. Those could have very easily been plot points for an entire different series. There wasn’t really much need to expand on The Fire Within, let along expand it beyond that first trilogy.

The first book is a charming read. I certainly recommend it. The next two... read if you want, but don’t expect the same charm. The rest... stay far away from.