The Last Dragonslayer

Foundling and indentured servant Jennifer Strange runs Kazam Mystical Arts Management in the absence of its founder, the Great Zambini, hiring out the agency’s sorcerers, carpeteers, and pre-cogs for practical jobs to keep the company afloat. Flying carpeteers deliver organs for transplants; sorcerers magically fix plumbing and electrical systems; and pre-cogs are useful in flower nurseries, predicting colors of blooms in ungerminated bulbs. The power of magic is at a low ebb, making even these mundane spells difficult. Then a pre-cog has a premonition of the death of the Last Dragon, and Jennifer learns that she herself is the Last Dragonslayer. All her skills at negotiating product endorsements, bribes, and threats are put to the test -- as is her ability to handle the much-vaunted Big Magic. Full of "wizidrical" and literary energy, Fforde’s fantasy is smart, funny, and abundantly imaginative in its critique of commercial culture. Jennifer is an endless, zesty font of wit and comic analogies; the brisk, businesslike rhythm of her account deepens the comedy and gives the story irresistible momentum. Reminiscent of Pratchett in tone, this is nevertheless Fforde’s own creature entirely -- and entirely satisfying. deirdre f. baker