Neu gelesen: (als E-Book)

Jasper Fforde, The Last Dragonslayer

Ziemlich unsinnig, aber irgendwie hatte ich bis jetzt immer gezögert mit der Dragonslayer-Reihe anzufangen, weil sie mehr für Jugendliche geschrieben wurde. Aber schon die ersten Kapitel des ersten Bandes überzeugten auf Anhieb und ließen mich die weiteren Abenteuer von Jennifer Strange aus dem 'Ununited Kingdoms' schon fest einplanen, schon bevor ich über 50 % erreicht hatte. Wieder eine typische Fforde-Welt mit allen skurrilen und treffenden Details, überaus spannend dazu und mit einer wirklich überraschenden Wendung am Schluß. Wirklich perfekt.

The Kingdom of Hereford was unique in the Ununited Kingdoms for having driving tests based on maturity, not age, much to the chagrin of a lot of males, some of whom were still failing to make the grade at thirty-two.
.
'Well, counting in base ten is pretty wild, for a start,' he said after giving the subject a moment's thought. 'Base twelve is far superior. You also have extraordinary technical abilities, a terrific sense of humour, thumbs, being built inside out -'
'Wait! Being built inside out?'
'Of course. As far as the average lobster is concerned, mammals - with the possible exception of the armadillo - are built inside out. Any crab worth his claws will tell you the soft stuff should definitely be on the inside. Bones in the middle? Whoever designed you was having a serious off day.'
.
'But where does magic come from?' I asked. 'And where does it go?'
'Explaining magic is like explaining lightning or rainbows a thousand years ago; inexplicable and wonderful but seemingly impossible. Today they are little more than equations in a science textbook. Magic is the fifth fundamental force, and even more mysterious than gravity, which is really saying something. Magic is a power lurking in all of us, an emotional energy that can be used to move objects and manipulate matter. But it doesn't follow any physical laws that we can, as yet, understand; it exists only in our hearts and minds.'
.
(Jasper Fforde, The last Dragonslayer, 2010)