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The Pygmy Dragon (Shapeshifter Dragon Legends Book 1) Kindle Edition

by Marc Secchia (Author), Joshua Smolders (Illustrator) Format: Kindle Edition
4.6 4.6 out of 5 stars 1,118 ratings
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Liberated from Her Cage by a Dragon

Stolen from her jungle home and sold to a zookeeper, Pip knows only a world behind bars, a world in which a Pygmy warrior and her giant ape friends are a zoo attraction. She dreams of being Human. She dreams of escaping to the world outside her cage.

Then, the Dragon Zardon kidnaps her into a new life. Pip rides Dragonback across the Island-World to her new school - a school inside a volcano. A school where Humans learn to be Dragon Riders. But this is only a foretaste of her magical destiny, for the Dragon Assassins are coming. They have floated an Island across the Rift and their aim is nothing less than the massacre of all Dragons.

>>Her courage will be tested to its limits, for Pip is the Pygmy Dragon, and this is her tale


Series Note

The Pygmy Dragon is the first book in a companion series to Aranya and Shadow Dragon, the bestselling Shapeshifter Dragon series. Featuring stunning aerial battles and romance, Aranya is a fresh, gripping coming of age tale set in the same world 150 years on, when the Sylakian Empire rules the Island-World from the Rift to the frozen Islands of the north, and Dragons are fast becoming a fireside legend. But one Dragon lives - let evil beware.

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  1. Book 1 of 2
    Shapeshifter Dragon Legends
  2. Print length
    361 pages
  3. Language
    English
  4. Sticky notes
    On Kindle Scribe
  5. Publication date
    August 8, 2014
  6. File size
    5008 KB
  7. Page Flip
    Enabled
  8. Word Wise
    Enabled
  9. Enhanced typesetting
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  10. See all details
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Editorial Reviews

Review

"Fun, wildly imaginative narrative" - Susannah St Clair, Amazon Vine Voice
"This is Secchia at his best, spinning a paranormal narrative that is beautiful and moving ... it's his ability to create evocatively imagined worlds that make his books so endearing ... an exceptional read" - Stephan J Myers, author of The Prayer
"Epic dragon-battles against beautifully described landscapes; ancient magic and mysterious lore; the warmth of genuine relationship and the wretched loneliness of being different; the bitter sting of betrayal; the power of forgiveness; the wonder of finding that we are loved." - Allie Cresswell, author of Tiger in a Cage

Product details

  • ASIN ‏ : ‎ B00MJWNS74
  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ (August 8, 2014)
  • Publication date ‏ : ‎ August 8, 2014
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • File size ‏ : ‎ 5008 KB
  • Simultaneous device usage ‏ : ‎ Unlimited
  • Text-to-Speech ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Screen Reader ‏ : ‎ Supported
  • Enhanced typesetting ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • X-Ray ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Word Wise ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Sticky notes ‏ : ‎ On Kindle Scribe
  • Print length ‏ : ‎ 361 pages
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.6 4.6 out of 5 stars 1,118 ratings

About the author

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Marc Secchia

Marc Secchia

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Marc is a South African-born dragon masquerading as an author, who loves writing about dragons and Africa, preferably both at the same time. He's the author of over 40 fantasy books in 5 languages including 10 rip-roaring dragon fantasy bestsellers.

His latest releases are Khyrial and the King, an absorbing Fantasy Romance and the hilarious epic fantasy Call me Dragon which won gold in the 2021 IPPY Book Awards for best Fantasy novel.

Catch up with Marc at:

Twitter: @marcauthor

Facebook: www.facebook.com/authormarc

Website: www.marcsecchia.com

When he's not writing about Africa or dragons Marc can be found travelling to remote locations. He thinks there's nothing better than standing on a mountaintop wondering what lies over the next horizon.

Customer reviews

4.6 out of 5 stars
4.6 out of 5
1,118 global ratings

Top reviews from the United States

Jeannette A.
5.0 out of 5 stars The Pygmy Dragon (Shapeshifter Dragon Legends Book 1) by Marc Secchia
Reviewed in the United States on February 16, 2022
Verified Purchase
A wonderful story full of rich imagery that tickles the imagination and fantastic characters that sometimes endear one and often irritate. Pip must adjust to life in the zoo for seven years of her young life before she is transported by Zardon to and even stranger place, the Academy where she is bullied and belittled. A story full of wonder and magic and the enormous power of dragons where Pip, who only measures three feet eleven inches, finds a power in herself that is sought by dark powers. Lots of action and romance between dragons and their riders too. A great read that I became absorbed into from start to finish. Thanks Marc for such a pleasurable read and also to Joshua Smolders for great illustrations.
2 people found this helpful
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anonymous
4.0 out of 5 stars Humans, dragons, shapeshifters, magic good and evil, epic dragon and human battles.
Reviewed in the United States on April 14, 2019
Verified Purchase
In the fantasy Island World, from the bottom of the pecking order upward,
are pygmies, big people whom we recognize as most of us and who kill,
enslave, and otherwise mistreat pygmies, dragons tens of feet in size,
and human-to-dragon shapeshifters. Pip, a four foot high pygmy young
woman, is the central character. Her spunk and determination more than
make up for her small size. Big people riding dragonships burn Pip's
village and kill most of the inhabitants. Pip is taken to a zoo where
she lives for seven years with an oraial (giant ape) mother and child.
She learns the language of oraials and when the mother dies befriends her
child, Hunagu, as he grows to huge size. Already in the zoo there are
hints that Pip has unusual magical powers and that a powerful evil lurks
overhead. One night a dragon rips open her cage and carries Pip far away
to an academy where she will learn to be a dragon rider. Pip uses more
magical powers at the instant they are needed. After many adventures
involving both dragons and humans, Pip finds that she can shapeshift
into a pygmy dragon. In the second half of the book, Pip and a full
sized shapeshifter, in his dragon form called the Silver Dragon, are
enemies in battle but also romanticaly attracted to one another. Amidst
the tension of this conflict, war erupts between Pip's dragon and human
friends at the Academy and other dragons dominated by the monstrous evil
Pip had already sensed in the zoo cage. The monstrous evil is in the
form of a shadowy dragon called "The Marshal" and who has mind powers
to turn previously good dragons to his own evil bidding. Pip also shows
her mind powers as she fights to convert her comrades back to good, and
to resist The Marshal's attempt to control her own mind. Graphic scenes
of personal combat between dragons and of their consequent anatomical
injuries follow. At the end of the book the battle ends, but not all
issues raised in the story are resolved.

"The Pygmy Dragon" is well written and edited. I found no typographical
mistakes. Descriptions of scenes are very good. The personalities of the
principal characters are well developed, but I had some difficulty
distinguishing some of the secondary characters. Also, I needed to
reread some sections to keep track of individual dragons as they came
under and later escaped from The Marshal's mind control. I can highly
recommend "The Pygmy Dragon" to people who like dragon stories. Because
of some shortcomings of characterization and an unclear ending, I give
"The Pygmy Dragon" 4 out of 5 stars.
4 people found this helpful
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Amazon Customer
5.0 out of 5 stars Wonderful read
Reviewed in the United States on December 12, 2015
Verified Purchase
I'm picky about dragon books--I've read a lot of books where the dragons were written badly, or simply not there. The Temeraire books became my high water mark for dragon books, and this book has achieved that high ranking.

Of all the things which excited me about this story--islands above a poisonous sea of clouds, dragon ships, intriguing cultures unique to each island--was that the heroine is a Pygmy. Hard to get much more diverse than that! She even starts the book locked in a zoo with a couple of giant apes.

The writing is detailed and rich, on par with Robin Hobb. Any time I thought the book would get boring, it threw a new twist into the mix.

It ends on a good note, but with lots of things unresolved for book 2. I await it with excitement!
2 people found this helpful
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Sue
5.0 out of 5 stars Intense!!!
Reviewed in the United States on April 24, 2021
Verified Purchase
This story was intense! Like edge of your seat hating to put it down intense! Now to find the next one. Dying to read it. I read Aranya quite a while ago. To find out that is 150 years in the future after this book, to me is amazing. This author is great at creating other worlds and characters. Please enjoy.
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I. Khanani
5.0 out of 5 stars One of my Top Five favorite indie fantasy reads
Reviewed in the United States on February 18, 2015
Verified Purchase
I wasn't sure what I'd think of this book when I first picked it up, but the fact that I was sneaking time away from my toddler and preschooler to get in a few more pages (screens? How do you say that for a Kindle?) pretty much says it all. I almost never manage daytime reading. The Pygmy Dragon follows the story of Pip (she has an ultra-cool long warrior name, but that's what she goes by for short), a Pygmy girl who is enslaved and taken to... a zoo. Okay, I just want to send Marc Secchia a virtual high five right now. This book is about a person of color, a girl coming of age, someone whose humanity is routinely and disgustingly denied them, and she has to deal with short people jokes too. And you know what? Pip is awesome. She has her low moments, but she's resilient, intelligent, and full of heart. And you keep rooting for her, even more so when you see both her courage and her vulnerability.

The story follows Pip's life at the zoo for a little while, enough so you get a sense of what it was like, how humiliation and de-humanizing a person can break them down, and the hope Pip experienced when a single person begins to interact with her as a human, and then... dragons. Yes! The book just takes off from there, so stick with the story. A whole new plot of dragon intrigue, shapeshifters, and shadowy danger unfolds once the dragons make an entry and whisk Pip away from the zoo...

Note that the prologue is written in first person, and the remainder in third person, which I think works much better. So go give this book a try!
3 people found this helpful
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Top reviews from other countries

Client Kindle
5.0 out of 5 stars A world imagined and so vivid. The characters are beautifully written and develope slowly
Reviewed in France on February 15, 2022
Verified Purchase
This book was a delight with a skilful blend of magic and mystery. The surprises keep on coming and invite us into the worls of the islands.
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Josh Middelkamp
5.0 out of 5 stars Another Epic novel
Reviewed in Canada on April 10, 2016
Verified Purchase
The opening installment of the "legends" series, introducing the fascinating pygmy dragon Pip and her involvement in pivotal events alluded to in the later Shapeshifter Dragon books. Serves as a great example of how cleverly these books manage to intermingle and add context to each other, enhancing their re-readability.

An impulsive young pygmy is captured and spends many years in a zoo exhibit. Strange incidents hint she may have unusual powers. When she finally gets a taste of freedom, her unexpected talents place her in the front lines of a battle that only seems to whittle away at her choices.

Another interesting take on the coming of age theme, and a worthy installment in the wide Island World that Secchia has created.
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AJ
5.0 out of 5 stars Depth of world, depth of story, depth of writing, depth of character.
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on January 14, 2016
Verified Purchase
I picked up this book after a word of mouth recommendation from a friend. I'm so glad I did, for now I have a new author to watch out for.

I have always read fantasy novels, especially those that incorporate dragons and magic. However, I have often suffered the lacklustre writing of much of this genre: unimaginative plots, weak prose, obvious characters, magic for magic sake rather than to enhance the story; all suffered so that I can drag myself off to the world of make believe. In Marc Secchia, I have found an author that gives me what I have so often found lacking: a world that is fantastic, yet makes sense, believable, even; a character in Pip, who has depth; prose that excites me, and draws me in, yet does not detract from the pace and drive of the tale. I've found an author I will look out for, one who I can recommend.

In this tale, I find a character, Pip, who's background and life story actually shapes the future tale rather than being just an adjunct. I find that her reactions to situations are built out of her history rather than just tools to move the story along. Magic and Dragons, in this story, enhance the tale of a person rather than a person telling the story of Magic and Dragons.
One person found this helpful
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Barbara Underwood
4.0 out of 5 stars A fun and entertaining escape!
Reviewed in Australia on March 13, 2015
Verified Purchase
This is the first book I read by this author, and also the first one featuring a pygmy with special hidden magic, which made this an intriguing read from the very beginning. The author has created a solid and vivid fantasy world of Islands that have several suns and moons, inhabited by dragons, humans, pygmies and shape-shifters. As the story unfolds, the reader quickly becomes fond of Pip the Pygmy because she strives to be human, and has the thoughts and feelings of a human being. The author’s style is easy and enjoyable to read, and he has struck the right balance between action, dialogue, humour and suspense about what will happen next. Although I thought I knew what would happen, I was always pleasantly surprised by how things turned out, and I commend the author on his imagination and skill with the written word. Descriptions and dialogue make the characters come to life and feel real to the reader, and those are surely the elements of well-written book which will inspire readers to read the sequel as well as related books about this world and some of its characters. For a pleasant escape from reality (lasting 345 pages on my Kindle), this book is highly recommended.
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S Benton-Tarry
4.0 out of 5 stars Sorry but Could not Get into This
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on February 1, 2020
Verified Purchase
Dragons are not really my 'thing', (unless it is Idris from Ivor the Engine!) but after being intrigued by one of Marc's other series I thought that I would give this a try.

I have no doubt that his writing ability as good as ever, but I am sorry to say that after several tries I have been unable to finish the book.

Just not 'me' for ant of a better way of putting it.
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