Dragon Fall Avon/Flare Book Horror Book Review

I just read this book a few days ago - found it in a box of books I had from the mid-80’s and I remembered enjoying it as a young adult.  As a thirty-something, post-graduate, software engineer…well….


Lee J. Hindle’s “Dragon Fall” is a great attempt at a first novel. However, I disagree with other reviewers about how thrilling the book is; it is a page turner only because at 139 pages its a quick read.


What works:  Hindle is a pretty good writer. If I had not known that he was 18 when he won the Avon/Flare Young Adult Novel Competition I would not necessarily have guessed it from his writing.  His use of language is good, his descriptions are vivid and his story has potential.


What does not work:  Hindle sometimes has problems remembering who his point of view character is; in one scene, in which he attempts to parallel what the main character is doing with a tense television show being watched by his family, he keeps jumping between the main character and the family but they are not even in the same room. 


He also drops too many references to 80’s pop culture (granted, the book was written in the 80’s). For example, instead of telling us the main character is listening to music, we get the name of the band and the song. If he did it once, it would be okay but it happens five or six times throughout this very short book.


The relationship between “Gabe” and his boss “Mrs. Valieri” is a bit tough to swallow. Valieri is little more than a plot device and a caricature (and Hindle as much as says so) making her difficult to swallow.  This would not be so bad if it were not for the fact that the entire book hinges on an agreement between Gabe and Valieri.


The ending is rushed but does leave you to draw your own conclusions about whether or not everything that happened was real or imagined.  I would have liked to have seen him leave the ending a bit more murky.


Hindle provides an excellent sample of what young writers are capable, he has talent and I give the man credit for writing a pretty good novel - but it is not five stars. If you are a young adult, maybe 12-14 or so, you’ll probably enjoy this.