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just_one_more_paige 's review for:
Gork, the Teenage Dragon
by Gabe Hudson
This review originally appeared on the book review blog: Just One More Pa(i)ge.
At first glance, this seems like a children’s book. In fact, the first few times I saw it floating around the internet and read the description, I definitely “passed” on it, thinking it was a cute middle grade read, and that’s just not what I’m usually into. But then at the library a week or so ago it was on the “new books” shelf of the adult section. And I said to myself, possibly out loud in the middle of the library, “What?!” Awkward. Anyways, I grabbed it off the shelf and reread the inside cover blurb in a new light, and between that, the title, and the review calling it “the unholy child of The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, Harry Potter, and Sixteen Candles,” I knew I was going to have to read it.
“My name is Gork The Terrible, and I’m a dragon.
And here begins the story of how I went searching for my true love and then made her my Queen. And I should warn you that when it comes to dragon love stories, well mine is the most terrifying tale of them all. But also the most romantic. For inside my scaly green chest, there beats a grotesquely large and sensitive heart.”
Thus begins Gork’s story of his Crown Day quest to find the female dragon who would be his EggHarvest Queen. Both helped and hindered on his quest by a robot dragon named Fribby, a professor of the Underworld named Nog, a ferocious security dragon named Rexro, an animated spacedship with a secret agenda named ATHENOS II, and his very own grandfather, Dr.Terrible, Gork tells us his love story in his very own words. His very own, colorful, words. Because let me just be clear, this is most definitely not a children’s book. I mean it possibly could have been, plot-wise, but Hudson wrote this book with heavily adult innuendo and language. Which I loved. To this point, and as a personal confession, I swear quite a bit. So I was ok with the profanity. But if you are not really into swearing, undisguised descriptions of teenage hormones, or fairly gratuitous cartoon-y violence, then this book is definitely not for you. But if you are ok with those things, then this will be one of the most entertaining and, truthfully, good-naturedly humorous books you could read.
The snarky and real narration is spot on right from the start. And though I think some of the vernacular and grammatical structures were used a little too repetitively, it is also true to form of a teenager-narrated story. And Gork’s personality really shone throughout the novel – his consistency to character and tangibleness was definitely one of the high points of this reading experience. And that style of narration is perfect considering the heavily relied on use of the “hapless hero” trope that is used. And I won’t lie, it’s used heavily. But the imagination of the rest of the story, the Will to Power rankings, the poetry, the insane scientific possibilities, all balance that out in originality and in the end, it all plays well together.
There were some parts that I feel like were maybe a little too much. What I mean by this is: I think the fact that the entire world was so foreign and futuristic that essentially anything was possible made it too easy for the author to get away with some crazy things without any explanation. And most of the time that’s fine (truly, I am all for suspension of belief while reading – fantasy is my favorite genre), but there were a few places where I think it may have gone too far here. To be vague and spoiler-less, but also to try and provide examples, I was super confused by Dr. Terrible’s regenerative abilities, the occasional random use of telepathy, and where did the letter Gork gave the Dean from Dr. Terrible come from?? One other thing that was a little weird were the random literary references – I don’t know if those were supposed to be included as like, Easter eggs, and some were more obvious than others, but I just couldn’t figure out their purpose.
Regardless, this was such a pure story. Clearly written with exuberance, it’s a coming of age story that, despite being written about a dragon, is wonderfully human. There are themes that every person faces, young and old, about coming to terms with your true self, fighting for what and who you believe in, and working to choose to ignore and move past unnecessary cultural stereotypes. In fact, to that end, this book is a sneakily written satire that we could all learn a little something from. Gork’s story (unlike the satire I remember being forced to read in high school) was a joy to read.
Can Gork overcome his too small horns and too large heart to become the ferocious dragon he wants to be (that his grandfather wants him to be)? Will Gork find his Queen and conquer his Designated Foreign Planet (subjugating populaces and creating a colony of offspring to rule over it)? Or will he be denied, spend the rest of his life as a slave, or possibly not even survive to the end of the day? You’ll just have to read it and find out. If you are looking for something to keep you crazily entertained (and that truly delivers on the mix of The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, Harry Potter, and Sixteen Candles that is promised), then grab this book and get ready to take a wild interplanetary ride with Gork!
At first glance, this seems like a children’s book. In fact, the first few times I saw it floating around the internet and read the description, I definitely “passed” on it, thinking it was a cute middle grade read, and that’s just not what I’m usually into. But then at the library a week or so ago it was on the “new books” shelf of the adult section. And I said to myself, possibly out loud in the middle of the library, “What?!” Awkward. Anyways, I grabbed it off the shelf and reread the inside cover blurb in a new light, and between that, the title, and the review calling it “the unholy child of The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, Harry Potter, and Sixteen Candles,” I knew I was going to have to read it.
“My name is Gork The Terrible, and I’m a dragon.
And here begins the story of how I went searching for my true love and then made her my Queen. And I should warn you that when it comes to dragon love stories, well mine is the most terrifying tale of them all. But also the most romantic. For inside my scaly green chest, there beats a grotesquely large and sensitive heart.”
Thus begins Gork’s story of his Crown Day quest to find the female dragon who would be his EggHarvest Queen. Both helped and hindered on his quest by a robot dragon named Fribby, a professor of the Underworld named Nog, a ferocious security dragon named Rexro, an animated spacedship with a secret agenda named ATHENOS II, and his very own grandfather, Dr.Terrible, Gork tells us his love story in his very own words. His very own, colorful, words. Because let me just be clear, this is most definitely not a children’s book. I mean it possibly could have been, plot-wise, but Hudson wrote this book with heavily adult innuendo and language. Which I loved. To this point, and as a personal confession, I swear quite a bit. So I was ok with the profanity. But if you are not really into swearing, undisguised descriptions of teenage hormones, or fairly gratuitous cartoon-y violence, then this book is definitely not for you. But if you are ok with those things, then this will be one of the most entertaining and, truthfully, good-naturedly humorous books you could read.
The snarky and real narration is spot on right from the start. And though I think some of the vernacular and grammatical structures were used a little too repetitively, it is also true to form of a teenager-narrated story. And Gork’s personality really shone throughout the novel – his consistency to character and tangibleness was definitely one of the high points of this reading experience. And that style of narration is perfect considering the heavily relied on use of the “hapless hero” trope that is used. And I won’t lie, it’s used heavily. But the imagination of the rest of the story, the Will to Power rankings, the poetry, the insane scientific possibilities, all balance that out in originality and in the end, it all plays well together.
There were some parts that I feel like were maybe a little too much. What I mean by this is: I think the fact that the entire world was so foreign and futuristic that essentially anything was possible made it too easy for the author to get away with some crazy things without any explanation. And most of the time that’s fine (truly, I am all for suspension of belief while reading – fantasy is my favorite genre), but there were a few places where I think it may have gone too far here. To be vague and spoiler-less, but also to try and provide examples, I was super confused by Dr. Terrible’s regenerative abilities, the occasional random use of telepathy, and where did the letter Gork gave the Dean from Dr. Terrible come from?? One other thing that was a little weird were the random literary references – I don’t know if those were supposed to be included as like, Easter eggs, and some were more obvious than others, but I just couldn’t figure out their purpose.
Regardless, this was such a pure story. Clearly written with exuberance, it’s a coming of age story that, despite being written about a dragon, is wonderfully human. There are themes that every person faces, young and old, about coming to terms with your true self, fighting for what and who you believe in, and working to choose to ignore and move past unnecessary cultural stereotypes. In fact, to that end, this book is a sneakily written satire that we could all learn a little something from. Gork’s story (unlike the satire I remember being forced to read in high school) was a joy to read.
Can Gork overcome his too small horns and too large heart to become the ferocious dragon he wants to be (that his grandfather wants him to be)? Will Gork find his Queen and conquer his Designated Foreign Planet (subjugating populaces and creating a colony of offspring to rule over it)? Or will he be denied, spend the rest of his life as a slave, or possibly not even survive to the end of the day? You’ll just have to read it and find out. If you are looking for something to keep you crazily entertained (and that truly delivers on the mix of The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, Harry Potter, and Sixteen Candles that is promised), then grab this book and get ready to take a wild interplanetary ride with Gork!