''Dragonkeeper'' is a

fantasy Fantasy is a genre of speculative fiction that involves supernatural or Magic (supernatural), magical elements, often including Fictional universe, imaginary places and Legendary creature, creatures. The genre's roots lie in oral traditions, ...

novel written by Australian author

Carole Wilkinson Carole Wilkinson (born 1950) is an Australian writer, best known for '' Dragonkeeper'' (2003). Career Wilkinson was born in Derby, England. The family emigrated to Australia when she was 12 in 1963. She worked as a laboratory assistant until ...

. It is one of the first books from the Dragonkeeper series, which consists of six books (two trilogies) and a prequel. The second book is called Garden of the Purple Dragon and the third book is called Dragon Moon. In the second trilogy of the series, there is the 4th book which is called Blood Brothers, then Shadow Sister and finally Bronze Bird Tower. There is also a prequel to the original Dragonkeeper novel known as Dragon Dawn. The novel is set in ancient China. Ping, a slave girl for the evil master Lan, saves the life of an aging dragon and escapes her brutal master. Pursued by a ruthless dragon hunter, the girl and the dragon make an epic journey across China carrying a mysterious stone that must be protected. This is a story of a young slave girl who believes she is not worthy of a name but finds within herself the strength and courage to make this perilous journey, and do what must be done.

Plot introduction

In the far western mountains of the

Han Empire The Han dynasty was an Dynasties of China, imperial dynasty of China (202 BC9 AD, 25–220 AD) established by Liu Bang and ruled by the House of Liu. The dynasty was preceded by the short-lived Qin dynasty (221–206 BC ...

ancient China The history of China spans several millennia across a wide geographical area. Each region now considered part of the Chinese world has experienced periods of unity, fracture, prosperity, and strife. Chinese civilization first emerged in the Y ...

, a young slave girl is used, abused and neglected by the cruel Master Lan, whose job is to care for the two aged imperial dragons, Long Danzi and Lu Yu. Nameless and alone, the slave girl is without hope and her only friend is her pet rat, Hua. After Lu Yu suddenly dies, the slave girl feels guilty and responsible. When the girl discovers that the Emperor intends to sell the one remaining dragon, Danzi, to a dragon hunter to be butchered, she and the dragon escape from Huangling together. Long Danzi tells the girl her true name, Ping, and asks her to accompany him to the ocean. She must protect a mysterious stone that is vital to the dragon's legacy. Along the way, they meet Wang Cao, a herbalist previously acquainted with Danzi. The dragon hunter, Diao, catches up with them in a rural village, and though they manage to escape, Diao seizes the stone. Danzi and Ping travel via the

Yellow River The Yellow River, also known as Huanghe, is the second-longest river in China and the List of rivers by length, sixth-longest river system on Earth, with an estimated length of and a Drainage basin, watershed of . Beginning in the Bayan H ...

to Wucheng, a town of sorcerers, to recover the stone. They find the stone in the possession of a necromancer and reacquire it. Danzi teaches Ping how to use '' qi'' (psychic energy) and explains to Ping that she is the hereditary Dragon Keeper. However, before she can respond, their boat collides with an imperial yacht, and Ping and Danzi are taken into custody at the Emperor's hunting lodge. The Emperor, Liu Che, befriends Ping. Liu Che invites a group of lore masters to the lodge. Wang Cao is one of them. He drugs Ping, convinces Danzi that he is the true Dragon Keeper, and escapes with him and the dragon stone. Seeing Ping heartbroken, Liu Che invites her to climb Tai Shang Mountain with him. At the peak, Ping realizes that Wang Cao and Danzi are also on Tai Shang, with Diao attacking them. Diao kills Wang Cao, but Ping and Hua arrive. Ping uses ''qi'' to defeat Diao, though Hua is mortally wounded. Danzi reconciles with Ping, and the two fly the final leg of their journey to the coast. However, Ping drops the dragon stone while in flight, and it cracks on impact with the ground. It releases a baby dragon, and Ping realizes that the dragon stone was Lu Yu's last egg. Leaving his son in Ping's care, Danzi bids Ping farewell and flies across the ocean to the Isle Of The Blest, where he and Hua can be healed.

Film adaptation

In 2017, a CGI animated film based on the books was reported to be in development with

Sergio Pablos Sergio Pablos is a Spanish animator, director and screenwriter. While at the helm of his company (The SPA Studios), Pablos developed several concepts for animated feature films, most notably the original ideas upon which ''Despicable Me (film), ...

leading the early visual development from The SPA Studios. It is a Spain-chinese production with the animation by China Film Animation,

Base FX Base FX is a visual effects and animation company with production studios in Beijing, Kuala Lumpur, Wuxi and Xiamen, and an office in Los Angeles. The company was founded in 2006 and has completed more than 150 films. Base FX specializes in high- ...

, and

Ilion Animation Studios Skydance Animation Madrid (formerly known as Ilion Animation Studios) is a Spanish animation studio based in Madrid, Spain. It is a subsidiary of Skydance Media via Skydance Animation to create computer-animated films for theatrical release. Aft ...

. Produced by Manuel Cristobal, Larry Levene, Huang Jun, Gabriel Arias-Salgado, Axel Kuschevatzky, Mikel Lejarza and Mercedes Gamero, the film is directed by Ignacio Ferreras and co-directed by Zhang Bo with the screenplay written by Ferreras, Carole Wilkinson, Rosanna Cecchini, Pablo Castrillo and Xiamping Wang. The score is composed by Zhiyi Wang. The film opened the

27th Málaga Film Festival The 27th Málaga Film Festival ran in Málaga, Spain from 1 to 10 March 2024. Background In October 2023, festival director Juan Antonio Vigar stated that the organization was seeking to thin the non-competitive slate of the festival's officia ...

on March 4, 2024, was released internationally on April 18, was given a limited release in American theaters on May 3, and released for

Video on Demand Video on demand (VOD) is a media distribution system that allows users to access videos, television shows and films Digital distribution, digitally on request. These multimedia are accessed without a traditional video playback device and a typica ...

on July 9.

Awards

* 2003 Best Young Adult Book Aurealis Awards - winner. * 2004 Children's Book Council of Australia Book of the Year (Younger Readers) - winner. * 2004 Queensland Premier's Literary Best Children's Book Award - winner. * 2004 NSW Premier's Literary Awards - shortlist. * 2006 Kids Own Australian Literary Awards (KOALA) Older Readers - winner. * 2006

Kalbacher Klapperschlange Kalbacher Klapperschlange is a german children's literary prize. It was established by author Regina Rusch in 1988 and was Germany's first children's book prize. The jury is made up of children and the prize is awarded annually. Background Th ...

Award (Germany) - winner. * 2006 Canberra's Own Outstanding List (COOL) Award - shortlist.

References

External links

Official Dragonkeeper homepage

Publisher's microsite for the Dragonkeeper series

Publisher's Dragonkeeper page

{{Children's Book of the Year Award for Younger Readers Dragonkeeper books 2003 Australian novels 2003 children's books Australian children's books Children's fantasy novels Australian fantasy novels Novels set in ancient China Children's books set in China Aurealis Award–winning works CBCA Children's Book of the Year Award–winning works Children's books adapted into films