Alex Neptune, Dragon Thief: Book 1

Great for 10 to 13 year olds

Fun, pacy and teases the range of adventures clearly ahead. Solid world building and clever use of powers and theme of awakening. Nice touches with the diverse supporting cast- who can possibly dislike a seagul?- and the environmental message lands well.

A fun middle grade read that will appeal to fans of Thomas Taylor's Eerie-on-Sea series. Alex Neptune lives in the seaside town of Haven Bay. A town rife with stories of the mythical Water Dragon, which had formed the bay hundreds of years ago. A bay which is now polluted and dying, due to the mysterious Station which the mayor has built. One day Alex finds a creature in the abandoned aquarium. Could it be that the Water Dragon is real?? Alex and his friends set out to free the creature, making some very interesting discoveries along the way. This is a great adventure story. Fast-paced and full of heart and humour. It also carries a strong message about the environment and our impact on it. Featuring strong performances from an octopus named Kraken and a seagull named Pinch, I can heartily recommend this book. Pleased to say that there is a teaser for book 2 at the end, so this is not the last outing for Alex and his friends!

The setting is wonderful. A decidedly strange seaside town reminiscent of Eerie on Sea, though with a charm all of its own. Much of this lies in the rich local legends, about a pirate and a dragon and their battle across the bay. It's a place full of mystery too, from lights seen in the old, abandoned aquarium to the rather sinister structure recently built on the harbour. What is poisoning the water in the bay? What is the mayor up to? Why does he have secretive guards all over the place? There's so much to delve into here.Luckily we have a fantastic cast of characters to do that delving. I really like Alex, and his character arc as he learned more about himself, his ancestry, his powers, and finally comes to understand why the ocean keeps trying to kill him. Zoey is also fantastic, with her inventions that sometimes work but almost always have a tendency to explode. She's just so full of attitude and opinion, and was a joy to read about, especially her art versus technology conflicts with her father. Anil was also fab as the third member of the team, trying to fit in to the group despite Zoey's resistance, and I loved his firm belief in himself. The supporting cast were also excellent, I really liked Alex's grandfather with his ice cream van.Obviously special mention has to be made of the animal characters. The otters were just adorable, the thieving seagull was very amusing, and Kraken the blue octopus was just wonderful!There was also a serious message here, about what we're doing to our oceans, our responsibility to them and a scathing criticism of capitalist methods of fixing things for those prepared and able to pay.I loved the way this book combined both magic and technology, to create something really interesting and unique.Alex Neptune, Dragon Thief is a fun and exciting mystery with a fantastic cast of human and animal characters.

There's a lot of truth in the story, about what we are doing to the ocean; but the plot of the story itself offers a glimmer of hope, that we can all make a positive difference, in healing the sea itself.

Bought this to read to my 8 year old at bedtime, normally myself and my husband take it in turns, but I have done stories every night lately so I didn't miss any of this book, both myself and my son were excited to find out what would happen next, and read 2 or 3 chapters a night. A great book with a good balance of normal childhood life and a mythical story, a pacy plot, a humble hero, goodies and baddies, everything an 8 year old loves - and his mum too!

I loved this book, it was so much fun. David Owen had a great skill for creating rounded realistic young characters in his YA fiction, a talent that has continued in this, his first book for children. Alex and his friends are a great team, a real joy to follow, the story itself is a real rollicking adventure full of fun & invention, there are great exciting set pieces, real page turning stuff.It’s a book that has it all, great comedy (even the chapter headings, ‘How To Attain Your Dragon’), great characters (young & old, human & animal), fantastic action, spectacle & invention, and a plot that touches on important subjects (the environment & our effect on it). I could feel all sorts of influences in it, from Ghibli & Pixar to Jules Verne & The Muppets, combined with a lot of originality & energy from Owen. This is the start of a great series, can’t wait for book two… and three!

Loved this book. Great read with a real message wrapped up in a bit of fantasy. A must read for all.