I'm Afraid You've Got Dragons

by Peter S. Beagle

Overview

Notes From Your Bookseller

With a fun twist on dragons and all the ambition and magic a fantasy can offer, I'm Afraid You've Got Dragons is great for fans of TJ Klune, featuring the perfect mix of tension and whimsy.

A USA TODAY bestseller

From the New York Times bestselling author of The Last Unicorn comes a new novel with equal amounts of power and whimsy in which a loveable cast of characters trapped within their roles of dragon hunter, princess, and more must come together to take their fates into their own hands.

Dragons are common in the backwater kingdom of Bellemontagne, coming in sizes from mouse-like vermin all the way up to castle-smashing monsters. Gaius Aurelius Constantine Heliogabalus Thrax (who would much rather people call him Robert) has recently inherited his deceased dad’s job as a dragon catcher/exterminator, a career he detests with all his heart in part because he likes dragons, feeling a kinship with them, but mainly because his dream has always been the impossible one of transcending his humble origin to someday become a prince’s valet. Needless to say, fate has something rather different in mind...

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781668025277
Publisher:	S&S/Saga Press
Publication date:	05/14/2024
Pages:	288
Sales rank:	7,630
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 8.70(h) x 1.30(d)

About the Author

Peter Beagle, noted author and screenwriter, is a recipient of the prestigious Hugo, Nebula, Locus, and Mythopoeic Awards, and a World Fantasy and Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America 2018 Damon Knight Memorial Grand Master, among other literary achievements. He has given generations of readers the magic of unicorns, haunted cemeteries, lascivious trees, and disgruntled gods. A beloved author, his best-known work is The Last Unicorn.

Read an Excerpt

Chapter One

ONE
Robert dreamed...

It was The Dream—the one that visited him so often that it had long since lost any terrifying aspect and become as drearily predictable as the ones in which he was being driven out of town by a jeering, laughing mob, or found himself suddenly naked and pink as a shrimp while kneeling to court Violette-Elisabeth, the baker’s daughter. Even so, The Dream left him feeling strangely thrilled—in a shivery sort of way—when he woke to his mother’s call from downstairs: “Gaius Aurelius! Gaius Aurelius Constantine!”

“Not now, not now,” he muttered into his pillow, turning over in forlorn pursuit of a few last fragments of sleep. But Adelise was on the bed already, pulling the coverlet back with her tiny fangs and tickling his ear with her forked tongue. He could hear clumsy Fernand scrabbling for purchase on the shaky bedstead, which meant that Lux would be next, and then Reynald—poor little Reynald, always last in everything.

The call came again. “Gaius Aurelius Constantine Heliogabalus!”

He tried to shout, “I’m awake!” but only managed a croak this time, as he forced himself to sit up. What was in that new batch at Jarold’s last night? “Get away, Adelise, I’m awake, I’m awake.... Oh dear God, I’m dead but I’m awake.” Reynald’s long scarlet head appeared above the edge of the bed, accompanied by a piercing cry for attention. “Reynald, keep it down, I’m not well.”

“Gaius Aurelius Constantine Heliogabalus Thrax, it’s chestnut pancakes—and if you’re not here in the kitchen in two minutes, it’ll be hog slop!” The three pigs rooting disconsolately in the small pasture out back could no more have passed as hogs than Robert could have, but Odelette Thrax was an optimist in all things. “And there’s a job waiting, Gaius Aurelius—”

“Don’t call me that!” It was enough of a bellow to send all four of the dragons scurrying as he lurched out of bed and began stiffly fumbling his way into his heavy working clothes. Robert’s mother alternated between being his best friend and a headache to dwarf the one he already had—sometimes she filled both positions simultaneously—but at all times he was extremely fond of her cooking.

Adelise leaped to his shoulder as he clumped down the stair, her claws skidding on the dragonskin vest that he always wore to a job, and whose origins she and the others never seemed to sense. He hated the vest and all the rest of the armor of his trade as he had never hated any item of clothing—all right, except for the silly green forester’s cap that his mother had made him wear as a boy—but his customers took confidence in his appearance, as some kind of emblem of his expertise, and it did have practical benefits in a day’s work, for all its uncomfortable stiffness. He reached up awkwardly to pet the carefully balanced dragonlet, feeling the feather softness of her deep green scales, which would not turn tough, almost impermeable, for another year yet. The women like them just like this at Dragon Market. The men want the yearlings.

The thought of Dragon Market roiled his empty stomach as he sat down at his mother’s table. She was at the stove with her back to him, cooking what amounted to her third breakfast of the morning. Robert’s younger brothers, Caralos and Hector, were of course already out and at work behind a neighboring farmer’s oxen, having left at dawn. Now Patience and Rosamonde were racing through their own meal, late for lessons as usual, too hurried even to greet him.

Robert loved his younger sisters, but he also envied them painfully. He had always thought it unjust that village girls got to be properly educated, while boys must apprentice early, and were lucky if they were taught to read and write at home, as he had been. He often peered over his sisters’ shoulders while they were studying, until they complained and their mother shooed him away.

By the time Patience and Rosamonde had left for the schola, trailing promises of good behavior they would keep only if absolutely necessary, Robert had revised his opinion of the day. Chestnut pancakes, browned perfectly at the edges... pomegranate syrup... fresh milk... there might be something said for living after all. Wolfing down his third cake, he asked, with his mouth full, “Who’s the engagé?” He never referred to the people who hired him as customers, that being a term favored by those in trade, the people who sold things, rather than renting out their skills. In all honesty, he didn’t actually care, but it mattered a great deal to his mother. She was intensely aware that her late husband’s work, now Robert’s work by inheritance, assigned them to the lowest rung of a steep and unforgiving social ladder.

“Medwyn and Norvyn, behind the granary.” Odelette turned then, frowning as she saw Adelise on his shoulder. “Does she have to hear this?”

“Go help the others with the beds, Adelise,” Robert said gently. The dragonlet flicked out her tongue and spread her minuscule wings, their inner vanes flushed purple as thunderclouds, then glided to the floor and scuttled up the stairs to Robert’s bedroom. The four of them always did his bed first, no matter how often he tried to get them to alter their routine. Sometimes they even tried to make the bed with him still in it.

When he was sure the little dragon was out of earshot, Robert turned back to his mother. “Medwyn and Norvyn? That’s going to be nasty. Another caud of Serpens flamma vegrandis, I’ll lay odds—it’d serve them right, not letting me sweep for eggs the last time. Five, what, six seasons in a row, is it? You think they’d learn.”

“They didn’t like your father. They like you. Maybe you can convince them.”

“Not much chance of that so long as they both keep the books. They’re too busy cheating each other to know a bargain, once nothing’s blistering their ankles. Ah well,” he sighed as he slid his seat back, “more food on the table, and new scrolls for the twins. There are worse livings.”

But later, after he’d left the house to gather up Ostvald and the day’s tools, he had to confess to himself that he really couldn’t think of any.

Editorial Reviews

03/11/2024

Bestseller Beagle (The Last Unicorn) delivers a rip-roaring standalone fantasy that was first announced in 2007. The kingdom of Bellemontagne’s resident dragon exterminator, Gaius Aurelius Constantine Heliogabalus Thrax, who just goes by Robert and harbors a secret disdain for his profession, is summoned to the castle by King Antoine to clear the place of dragons in preparation for Prince Reginald Krije of Corvinia’s presentation at court. The prince wishes to ask Bellemontagne’s Princess Cerise for her hand in marriage, but first he must convince his father, King Krije, of his merits as successor: “For all that I am his only son, he will not rest satisfied that our humble realm can safely be left in my hands until I have accomplished something of valor and value.” To prove his worth, he hopes to slay a truly impressive dragon and enlists Robert’s assistance. Together, Robert, Cerise, and Reginald set out on an expedition to find a worthy beast, facing unexpected dangers and interpersonal conflict along the way. The trio has conflicting ambitions: Cerise wants to marry the prince; Reginald wants his father’s approval; and Robert simply wants to change careers. The resulting adventure offers surprises and humor aplenty alongside a hefty dose of classic dragon lore. Beagle’s fans will feel this was worth the wait. Agent: Howard Morhaim, Howard Morhaim Agency. (May)

Publishers Weekly

04/01/2024

Gaius Aurelius Constantine Heliogabalus Thrax (or just Robert for brevity's sake) inherited his father's job as a dragon exterminator for the small kingdom of Bellemontagne. It's a role that Robert performs exceedingly well, but there's just one problem: he likes dragons. He even keeps several as secret pets, an act of protest that only makes his career more unpleasant. However, change is in the air when the king calls upon Robert to rid the castle of the draconic vermin. There, Robert crosses paths with a princess and prince who, like him, feel trapped by the lives into which they were born. The three join forces in a bid to circumvent fate by confronting and defeating a long-forgotten evil force once thought dead. Beagle's cozy novel embraces over-the-top fantasy tropes, and the effect is a tale that's as hilarious as it is endearing. Evocative of Terry Pratchett, the writing grows beyond its charming aesthetic to deliver a deceptively serious narrative. VERDICT A high fantasy that's also cozy, the latest from Beagle (The Way Home; The Last Unicorn) is recommended for fans of Neil Gaiman's Stardust and Travis Baldree's Bookshops & Bonedust.—Andy Myers

Library Journal

Shaun Taylor-Corbett delivers this fantasy audiobook with multifaceted voices and consistent pacing. In Bellemontagne, dragons are a nuisance that call for extermination. Robert is exceedingly talented at the job, but his love for dragons makes him detest the task. His empathy for them is so visceral that listeners will feel his pangs of loss. Princess Cerise requires Robert's skills to clear her castle of dragons in order to impress Prince Reginald, whom she has deeply fallen in love with. Reginald, however, is so focused on proving his worth to his father that love is the last thing on his mind. In tones of wonder, Taylor-Corbett's performance enhances this heartwarming audiobook. A.K.R. © AudioFile 2024, Portland, Maine

AUGUST 2024 - AudioFile

Bringing to mind both Neil Gaiman’s Stardust and Patricia C. Wrede’s Enchanted Forest Chronicles,...a reluctant dragon hunter escorts a prince on a dragon-slaying hunt through the kingdom of Bellemontagne as the prelude to a betrothal between kingdoms.

LitHub

"Equal parts Monty Python and Dragonheart? The Smaug section of The Hobbit? Let’s just say Beagle’s I'm Afraid You've Got Dragons is its own creature entirely, much like every dragon I've ever met."

Parade

"Peter Beagle is an icon in the world of fantasy fiction ... charming characters and cozy high fantasy vibes are worth the wait."

Paste Magazine

"Peter S Beagle is, as ever, a master. Like the dragons and dreams therein - gorgeous and vibrant and wistfully fantastic - he never neglects the sharp teeth that confirm a tale as absolutely real."

Travis Baldree

"A moving tale from a fantasy master."

Reactor Mag