Andrew and the Firedrake

Andrew tore off another piece of bread and ate it slowly. “This is wonderful bread,” he said.
“It is indeed,” said Aelfric. “But when the dragon is speaking, it will seem to you then that is bread was made from sawdust. Our words to you will seem full of malice. The water in this pitcher will be remembered as foul. And when you enter that great darkness, do not doubt in the dark what you knew in the light.”

Andrew and the Firedrake by Douglas Wilson is a story you’ve heard before. A boy and a talking unicorn travel across the land to slay a dragon and rescue a maiden. And while the book itself admits its story is ancient, I think it’s still worth a read. I’ll explain why in this review.

Plot

Andrew can only remember two things—his name and his duty. His name, of course, is Andrew, and his duty is to protect the garden. The boy can’t recall who told him to protect the garden, or why, or where he was before he arrived at his assignment. However, he does know that under no circumstances can he fail to obey his orders.

In time, Andrew comes to understand his true purpose in this land. He is to travel to a ruined castle with his companion Kyru the unicorn, defeat the evil dragon known as Fafnir, and rescue the maiden named Maggie trapped inside. But while the quest may be simple, it is not without danger.

At every fork in the road, there is a decision. Will he follow the commands of his master, or veer onto a path of temptation? Only one path will lead to success.

This book reminded me, in a way, of The Pilgrim’s Progress. It is less concerned with a complex plot as it is communicating moral lessons. While there’s nothing wrong with the plot, there’s also nothing unique. The author himself admits this in conversations between characters.

In the first few chapters, the story moves slowly and appears to be highly allegorical. It does have elements of allegory, but once the main plot begins, it’s much more straightforward.

My only gripe is that no obstacle Andrew faces seems to challenge him much. At least, not the physical obstacles. The handful of fights in the book are over in a moment, even the final battle with the dragon. The threat to our adventuring boy seems to be hardly worth a glance.

This criticism might be unfair since Wilson had to keep things moving briskly if he wanted to achieve the book’s brevity. The Kindle edition is only 120 pages. But still, the resolution lasts longer than the climax, and I never felt that satisfaction of an impossible enemy being overcome.

Characters

The characters here are also little to be admired. I don’t see this as a lack of ability by the writer. Instead, the characters are flat because they’re meant to be flat. The low page count doesn’t leave room for personalities to develop.

That being said, the characters aren’t poorly written. They’re distinct enough to prevent confusion and are enjoyable to spend time with.

Theme & Content Warnings

Andrew and the Firedrake’s central theme is obedience to God. While the reader doesn’t find out until the end, a lack of obedience kicks off the entire story. Tests continually come to Andrew that tempt him with disobedience; yet, he stands strong. One quote sums the theme up well.

Andrew found himself wanting to obey the false Aelfric, in part because of the sheer imprudence of what he was doing, whoever it was. Andrew knew he was an impostor, and Andrew knew that the impostor knew that Andrew knew, and yet he kept up his appearance. It was the lure of sheer disobedience.

Christianity is a major factor in the theme too. Characters reference the Lord Christ, God, Adam and Eve, and some Biblical stories. Andrew asks a riddle that is meant to only be solved by those who worship the true God.

In addition, the story is full of insightful sayings and truths. The introductory quotation is one of them, and I’ll include a couple more here; it would take up much space for me to list all the remarks I found helpful.

“Who brought you to this place? The one who writes all stories,” Kyru said. “We don’t know how, or fully why, but we can always know who.”

“So you may not think you have the strength, or power, or wisdom to attack Fafnir [the dragon]. And this is all true. But you do have the authority.”

Just a few content warnings are worth nothing here. One character is said to make “a rude gesture,” but no further information is given. Andrew drinks wine at one point, and another character drinks ale. A word that is usually used as profanity is twice used properly here, referring to the souls of those condemned to hell.

Also, references to other media are made. I caught a hidden nod to Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings trilogy, and the English epic poem Beowulf is mentioned. While writing this review, I discovered that the dragon’s name, Fafnir, is from Norse mythology. There may be more allusions to materials I am not familiar with. But the book is free of any objectionable content the other stories may or may not contain.

Overall

All things considered, Andrew and the Firedrake is a quick, easy read that contains meaty truths. It seems to be aimed at a younger audience, considering the simplicity and shortness, but it’s not juvenile in prose or theme. It might work well as a family read-aloud where everyone can discuss and ponder all the ideas put forward.

Thanks for reading, and I’ll write you in the next one!