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Pendragon: Book 1: The Merchant of Death

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Overview

Bobby Pendragon is a seemingly normal fourteen-year-old boy. He has a family, a home, and even Marley, his beloved dog. But there is something very special about Bobby.

He is going to save the world.

And not just Earth as we know it. Bobby is slowly starting to realize that life in the cosmos isn't quite what he thought it was. And before he can object, he is swept off to an alternate dimension known as Denduron, a territory inhabited by strange beings, ruled by a magical tyrant, and plagued by dangerous revolution.

If Bobby wants to see his family again, he's going to have to accept his role as savior, and accept it wholeheartedly. Because, as he is about to discover, Denduron is only the beginning....

Editorial Reviews

Gr 5-8-In this hefty first episode of a projected quartet, suburban jock Bobby Pendragon discovers parallel universes and gets hero training while helping to resolve a civil war. Shooting Bobby through an inter-dimensional "flume" from an abandoned South Bronx subway station to three-sunned Denduron, MacHale (creator of Nickelodeon's "Are You Afraid of the Dark" series) proceeds to build his tale from prefabricated elements. Wise mentors utter a few obscure warnings before being whisked away; an evil shape changer works behind the scenes to grab ultimate power; two beautiful, well-muscled young women do Bobby's fighting; and there's even the hackneyed "fighting monsters in an arena" scene. Cryptic, arbitrary "rules," typecast characters with clear-cut roles, and frequent set-piece fights give Bobby's passage from scared, confused teen to scared, confused, and determined teen the distinct air of a computer game. Though Bobby does crack an occasional joke, and his lack of martial skills forces him to rely on wits to get out of various pickles, even veteran readers of doorstopper fantasy aren't likely to regard three more equally predictable, drawn-out episodes with much anticipation.-John Peters, New York Public Library Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information. -- PUBLISHERS WEEKLY.

Author Information

Bio of D. J. MacHale

D. J. MacHale is a writer, director, executive producer, and creator of several popular television series and movies which include: Are You Afraid of the Dark ; Chris Cross; Encyclopedia Brown, Boy Detective; Tower of Terror; Ghostwriter; multiple Afterschool Specials; and the new series The Strange Legacy of Cameron Cruz. In print D. J. has cowritten the book The Tale of the Nightly Neighbors, based on his own teleplay, and written a poetic adaptation of the classic folk tale East of the Sun and West of the Moon. Visit him on the Web at www.thependragonadventure.com.

Customer Reviews

  • 5 stars out of 5 firts book in the best series ever

    Posted January 02, 2009 by Temple A. Corson IV, Gulfport

    this book had an amazing plot and gave the most filling read. i could never read another book without knowing that pendragon is way better

  • 5 stars out of 5AWESOMEST BOOKS EVER!!!!!!!!!!

    Posted January 16, 2009 by Waffle, Waffle City

    I think that these books are great. They talk about a young boy whose Uncle takes him on the adventure of a lifetime. They go through a kind of wormhole called a "flume". It takes them to the territory of Denduron, were Bobby begins his adventure as a traveler, meaning that he can travel in between dimensions.
    The poor guy soon finds himself thrust into an epic battle against an evil demon named Saint
    Dane. I know that when I put it that way, it sounds kind of lame, but trust me, you will laugh, cry, and bite your nails down to the flesh in suspense. (and awesomeness)

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Additional Info

Imprint

Aladdin

Filesize

606.75 KB

Number of Pages

384

eBook ISBN

9780743470155

Awards

  • Nevada Young Reader's Award
  • Wyoming Indian Paintbrush Book Award

Excerpt from: Pendragon: Book 1: The Merchant of Death by D. J. MacHale

Journal #1
Denduron

I hope you're reading this, Mark.

Heck, I hope anybody's reading this because the only thing that's keeping me from going totally off my nut right now is getting this all down on paper so that someday, when it's all over, it'll help prove that I'm not a total whack job. You see, two things happened yesterday that changed my life forever.

The first was that I finally kissed Courtney Chetwynde. Yes, the Courtney Chetwynde of the bites-her-lower-lip-when-she's-thinking, stares-right-into-your-heart-with-her-deep-gray-eyes, looks-unbelievable-in-her-volleyball-uniform, and always-smells-a-little-like-roses fame. Yeah, I kissed her. It was a long time coming and it finally happened. Woo-hoo!

The second thing was that I was launched through a wormhole called a "flume" and got jacked across the universe to a medieval planet called "Denduron" that's in the middle of a violent civil war.

But back to Courtney.

This wasn't your average "nice to see you" peck on the cheek. Oh no. This was a full-on, eyes closed, starting with tight lips but eventually morphing into a mutual open-mouth probe thing that lasted for a good thirty-second lifetime. And we were close, too. Like real close. I was holding her so tight I could feel her heart beating against my chest. Or maybe it was my heart. Or maybe our hearts were bouncing off each other. I have no idea. All I know is that it was pretty cool. I hope I get the chance to do it again, but right now it's not looking so good.

I guess it's kind of dumb to be fixating on the glorious Courtney Chetwynde when the real problem is that I'm afraid I'm going to die. Maybe that's why I can't get her out of my head. The memory of that kiss is the only thing that feels real to me right now. I'm afraid that if I lose that memory I'm going to lose everything, and if that happens then... well, I don't know what will happen then because I don't understand anything that's been happening to me. Maybe by writing it all down, it'll start to make some sense.

Let me try to piece together the events that led to my writing this. Up until yesterday I was living large. At least as large as any normal fourteen-year-old guy can live. School came pretty easy; I kicked ass in sports; my parents were way cool; I didn't hate my little sister, Shannon, usually. I had excellent friends, with you sitting right on top of the list, Mark. I lived in this major house where I had my own private space to play music or whatever and nobody bugged me. My dog, Marley, was the coolest golden retriever there ever was; and I had recently macked with Courtney Chetwynde. (Did I mention that?) How much more goin' on can you get?

The thing is, I also had an Uncle Press.