Bentwhistle in A Threat from the Past Review

Greetings readers!

I finished this book a little while ago, but it isn’t until now that I can finally sit down and have some coherent thoughts about it. This book was provided to me by the author, Paul Cude. Thank you Paul for allowing me to read your work!

Bentwhistle the Dragon in A Threat from the Past is an adventure story children and adults alike will love, about the present day world in which dragons disguised as humans have infiltrated the human race at almost every level, to guide and protect them. Three young dragons in their human guises become caught up in an evil plot to steal a precious commodity, vital to the dragon community. How will the reluctant hero and his friends fare against an enemy of his race from far in the past? Fascinating insights into the dragon world are interspersed throughout the book. Ever wondered how dragons travel below ground at almost the speed of sound? Or how they use magical mantras to transform their giant bodies into convincing human shapes? In an action packed adventure that features both human and dragon sports, you’ll get a dragon-like perspective on human social issues and insight into what to do if you meet a giant spider grinning at you when you’re wearing nothing but your smile! You’d be flamin’ mad to miss it.

Well…hmmm…what can I say? It is just not for me. The dragons disguised as humans had potential to make a great story, but I just couldn’t mesh with this story in particular. It was too juvenile for me and I never found my self truly entertained.

What I Liked

It Was Funny: I will not lie there were some parts of this book where I was laughing. It wasn’t outrageously comedic, but some of the scenes or comebacks that the characters came up with had me cracking up. This definitely made up for some of the more boring scenes in the story.

Peter Was Not Broody but Still Fun: A lot of the main characters in a lot of fantasy books, especially those who are male, are typically dark, mysterious, cunning, know-it-alls . As much as I like that type, it is also a breath of fresh air to see and MC who is not all “Follow me, peasants. I actually know what I am doing.” Peter was different, he was very soft and unsure of himself. He did have times where his anger would cause him to make unwise decisions, but that happens to all of us, so we forgive him.

The Transition from Dragon world to Earth: It was fun to read about how the dragon world worked in relation to modern earth time. It was a neat setting to explore, although I wish it could have spent a little more time there.

What I Disliked

It Dragged On!: Holy cannoli. Geez Louis. I could have been finished this book a lot sooner if there weren’t so many unnecessary scenes. There were two problems. Either a whole lot of nothing would happen and a whole week would pass in book time OR one scene would stretch on forever and ever. This book should have been shorter.

Plus the chapters were so looooooooonnnnnnnnnnnnnggggggggggg. Rendz cannot do long chapters. That is a NEGATIVE.

I Could Spot the Plot Revelations A Mile Away: I knew who the bad guy and secret hero were as soon as they walked onto the page. There was no surprise. I knew how things would go down! There was maybe one thing I didn’t see coming, but still. One is never enough.

First Chapter Fumbles: I found the whole first chapter insignificant to the rest of the story. It DOES have a connection, but that connection could have been explained in a paragraph, maybe two. Instead it got a whole chapter!

The Writing Style: It was not my favourite. He would often put something in brackets to highlight certain expressions. (Like this!!! It would literally be in the book like this!!!) I’m not even exaggerating the use of exclamation marks. The writing was very juvenile, it was choppy and just not for me, sorry.

Overall, it was just not my cup of tea. I had to drag myself into finishing it because I felt like I had already postponed this for far too long. So yeah…I am supposed to read the next two books as well, but I don’t think that will happen any time soon….

Rating: 2.5 / 5 stars

Recommend: I can’t really recommend anything under 3 stars…

Alright, so I am currently under a lot of blog stress as I have much to do in a short amount of time! This is what I get for Net Galley binges!

Happy reading!

~ Rendz