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Book Cover |
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Excerpt |
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The
Loch Ness Monsters Knows How to Fish
Alanna's pile of fish quivered in the
sunshine as the live creatures squirmed to get back to the water.
Normally, Alanna would never risk leaving food unattended, but now she
was just too full to care. Alanna and her children relaxed in the loch
for a short break, and then began to feast again. What a luxury this
was! It was the first time in Elizabeth's and Eric's lives that they
were full, and had yet more food awaiting them on shore.
At that moment, the keen eyes of two
young dragons, flying high overhead, spotted the vibrating mass of fish.
Swooping speedily down, they landed to feast upon this easy prey. Kele
and his two warriors were taken by surprise, and drew back from the fish
to defend themselves as an enraged Alanna charged from the water to
protect her catch. The dragons shot balls of fire at Kele, then turned
toward Alanna, leaving their backs to Matthew.
That was their mistake. From the sheath
on his belt, Matthew drew his razor-sharp Bowie knife as he sprinted
toward the dragons. Leaping upon the back of one of the young dragons,
he threw his left arm around its neck, seized its scaly chin, and, with
a single, deft stroke, sliced through the leathery skin at the base of
the dragon's throat. The other dragon wheeled at the sound of its
sibling's gurgling cry as it drowned in the gush of its own blood. Alanna quickly descended upon the second dragon's neck, clutching it
in the viselike grip of her massive jaws. She dragged the struggling
dragon across the sand, and dove under the water. After a few moments,
the gurgling and thrashing beneath the surface was stilled, and the
dragon was never again seen alive upon the earth or in the skies.
As Matthew leapt away from his dragon,
Elizabeth and Eric burst upon the beach, biting at the dragon's tail.
The bleeding dragon thrashed about in the throes of its death, but
Elizabeth and Eric held fast, finally pulled the dragon into the loch
and under the water.
Kele and his warriors bolted to
Matthew's side, breathing a sigh of relief as they watched the dragons
slide under the water to their death. Matthew looked to his warriors and
asked, "Are any of you hurt?" Before any could answer, there arose a
fierce, howling wind above their heads. All froze in terror as the
screeching filled their ears and chased all thoughts save their own
deaths from their minds.
Looking skyward, they saw a pair of
dragons, much larger than the two they had just killed, swooping down
upon them with the ferocity of a huge falcon dashing toward frightened
mice.
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Synopsis |
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In the year 1999, Matthew Wolverine is a
middle-ages businessman workaholic. He is away from home, Houston,
closing a deal when he is informed that both his wife of 20 years and
his daughter have been killed in a car accident. He regrets all of the
time he was never there for his daughter, all of the parties he missed,
just so he could make enough money for them to live nicely. In a funk,
he flies to Scotland to release his wife's ashes from a spot that she
had declared in a will.
While driving to this small hill, his rental car
breaks down near Loch Ness. Matthew enters a church, passes out, and
awakens in that same church...but everything seems different. He runs
across a group of men. One of them is on the ground after a fight, and
the victor is about to end his life with a sword thrust. Matthew butts
in, and ends up decapitating the victor. The men are all speaking
Gaelic, which he finds strange, until he learns that he has somehow been
transported back in time 1000 years, and is now the ruler of his very
own castle, since he just killed the previous owner.
Matthew lays down
the law when he arrives at the castle demanding that the castle be
cleaned, and that the people bathe in the loch. He then goes about
making sure that there is plenty to eat for all and that they all accept
his God, the only one that really counts. He befriends Alanna, the Loch
Ness Monster, and her two children, which he names Elizabeth and Eric,
and can telepathically communicate with them.
He also learns that there
are real fire-breathing dragons, and a large sect of dragon-worshippers
that still believe in human sacrifices. Matthew vows to fee Scotland
from this scourge and to demand that all people who would join him
believe in his God.
The Ultimate Dragon is a story that mixes science
fiction, fantasy and religion. God, for some reason, transports Matthew
back in time 1000 years. There, his military history, being a Viet Nam
war veteran, serve him well. He is fanatical in his quest to kill ever
single dragon in Scotland and to rid the land of their worshippers.
Because to the loss of his daughter, he adopts another young girl to
take her place. He feels that at least he can get it right the second
time.
Matthew also is insistent that all the people in his castle, and
everyone he meets believe in his God. He states that the reason he can
do these wonderful things is because his God is stronger. So, you had
better believe in his God, or else. He even goes so far as to make Eric
the Red, a Viking, proclaim to believe in his God after saving him from
the Kraken.
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Review |
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I was excited to read about a man going
back in time 1000 years to an ancient Scotland. But I wasn't quite
ready for some of the things that occurred. I was shocked when Matthew
cut off a man's head right after traveling back in time, before he
even knew it. So, if he thought he was still in our time, why was it
okay to do this. And, at the time I had no idea that he had a military
background. Matthew is also very quick to anger, and totally
unreasonable when he is.
Another thing I was confused about was that if
he only went back in time, which really isn't explained, and I feel
that it needs to be, why are there dragons? Real fire-breathing dragons?
The Loch Ness monster, a dinosaur with the brain the size of a
peanut, can telepathically communicate with Matthew. She seems to be on
the same level of intelligence as a human. What confused me about this
was that I supposed to believe that these types of animals really
existed in Scotland's past, or was this some type of alternate
reality.
The last thing that really bothered me with this Fantasy tale
was the involvement of religion. Matthew is adamant that his God is the
only way and that if you don't believe in his way...well, you need to
die. I felt like I was reading about the Spanish Inquisition.
Being a
highly religious man, you would think that Matthew would be a little
more tolerant of people and things. It appeared to me that Matthew
thought himself to be incredibly superior to all the Scotsmen, and
therefore he was the logical ruler...and you had better obey his rules,
or else! All of these things made me not like Matthew much as a main
character.
I did enjoy reading about ancient Scotland and the people
that lived there in The Ultimate Dragon. I just couldn't get into this story as much as I
wanted to. I did find myself enjoying the story, except for the few
faults, until the religion became such a major thing. Others may like
that in their Fantasy tales, but in my opinion, I don't want to be
preached to when I sit down to relax, read a book, and escape into
another world.
I rated this book a 5 out of 10. |
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