The Imaginarium Geographica

"What is it?" John asked.

The little man blinked and arched an eyebrow.

"It is the world, my boy," he said. "All the world, in ink and blood, vellum and parchment, leather and hide. It is the world, and it is yours to save or lose."

An unusual murder brings together three strangers, John, Jack, and Charles, on a rainy night in London during the first World War. An eccentric little man called Bert tells them that they are now the caretakers of the Imaginarium Geographica — an atlas of all the lands that have ever existed in myth and legend, fable and fairy tale. These lands, Bert claims, can be traveled to in his ship the Indigo Dragon, one of only seven vessels that is able to cross the Frontier between worlds into the Archipelago of Dreams.

Pursued by strange and terrifying creatures, the companions flee London aboard the Dragonship. Traveling to the very realm of the imagination itself, they must learn to overcome their fears and trust in one another if they are to defeat the dark forces that threaten the destiny of two worlds. And in the process, they will share a great adventure filled with clues that lead readers to the surprise revelation of the legendary storytellers these men will one day become.

An extraordinary journey of myth, magic, and mystery, Here, There Be Dragons introduces James A. Owen as a formidable new talent.

"Owen's (the Mythworld series) clever story construction — which essentially starts with a twist ending and works backwards — allows for a lively hodgepodge of myth, legend and adventure story. On March 15 ( la Julius Caesar), 1917, a London professor is killed with a Roman spear, 'of a make and composition that hasn't been forged in over a thousand years.' His dying effort is to dispatch an arcane book to John, his student. The book turns out to be the Imaginarium Geographica, containing 'all the lands that have ever existed in myth and legend, fable and fairy tale.' John and two companions, Jack and Charles, must flee from a group of cannibal beasts who will stop at nothing to obtain it, and end up aboard the 16th-century ship of the diminutive and mysterious Bert, who knew the professor and knows even more about the book. Their travels lead them through Arthurian legend, pre-Biblical flood tales, dragon lore and the works of Jules Verne — to name just a few — with hints of Narnia along the way. Their mission to defeat the Winter King is linked to the real-world events of the Great War. The conclusion — which may not come as much of a surprise to attentive readers — reveals the true identity of the three main characters, whose future books are populated with the things they've seen on their journey. Like some of M. Night Shyamalan's films, this book might be seen more as a parlor trick than as literature, but it certainly has its pleasures. Ages 12-up." Publishers Weekly (Copyright Reed Business Information, Inc.)

"This astonishing book is just what a literary pastiche ought to be, and one hopes there are more adventures to be chronicled in this universe." KLIATT

"This ambitious fantasy falls short of the mark....Unfortunately, the muddled mishmash leads to something rather less than the sum of its parts; there's no rhyme or reason to the interconnectivity of the stories." Kirkus Reviews

"Is there anyone who wouldn't enjoy reading Here, There Be Dragons? If there is such a person, I haven't met him, and I doubt that I would like him if I did. I am only disappointed that, because this book is so new, I'll have to wait too long to read the sequels." Orson Scott Card, author of Ender's Game

"Here, There Be Dragons begins in a WWI London that is both comfortable and familiar, but quickly moves into a fantastic world of myth and magic. There, talking animals drive steam-powered cars; the Green Knight watches over the remnants of a fallen kingdom; and a legendary mapmaker sits in a tower made of time itself....In James Owen's Archipelago of Dreams, living Dragonships take the heroes — and readers — into places so filled with wonder that you never want the dreams to end." Kai Meyer, author of The Water Mirror

James A. Owen is the creator of the critically acclaimed Starchild graphic novel series; the designer and editorial director of the award-winning publications International Studio and Argosy Quarterly; and the author of the Mythworld series of novels. He works at the Coppervale Studio in Silvertown, Arizona, where he lives with his family.