Dragon Sleeping

Book excerpt: With this epic tale of the imagination, the bestselling author of Batman and other acclaimed novels crosses the boundaries between reality and fantasy. The Dragon Circle is Craig Shaw Gardner’s biggest, most ambitious work to date, a spellbinding fantasy saga in the tradition of Tad Williams and Robert Jordan. 1967: Chestnut Circle is an average suburban community inhabited by ordinary people—teenagers, housewives, retirees. Seventeen-year-old Nick Blake’s only major worries are homework, high school, and how to date the pretty girl across the way. Then a fierce storm strikes the neighborhood and, overnight, all of Chestnut Circle is transported to an enchanted realm unlike anything its residents have ever known. The sky is suddenly a different color, an ancient forest surrounds their homes—and a sword-wielding army advances upon them. Summoned by awesome mystical forces for reasons unknown to them, Nick and his neighbors are thrust into the center of a dire sorcerous conflict between two warring wizards for control of an immortal, all-powerful dragon. Now, whether he likes it or not, Nick must choose sides—and perhaps become a hero.