Not to long ago I was browsing for new books which I suppose isn’t exactly something new to mention. However, every now and then there is a treasure trove among the massive stacks of digital titles littering the shelves of Amazon. I had a book by Vincent Trigili called The Null that I’d forgotten about. I recognized the name and had to check out The Storymaster and it was as though the book gods of Amazon smiled down on me. The entire first season of the Silverleaf Chronicles were available. Since I got these the books have been put into a single volume and don’t seem to be available as episodes.

The Storymaster is a prequel to the series that sets the stages rather nicely for the series. This book begins with what I would call the last great battle of the dragon masters. Much like the great heroes of our day they fade from view. They become just stories of an era gone by. Over time hero’s like David become legends told through the generations. In this novella we are introduced to Silverleaf as a child whom we will get to know through the rest of the series.

Even though this book is short we still see a well-developed story and interesting characters. As with many prequels the entire point is set up for a fuller storyline and fill in a critical point in the world’s history that is the often the foundation on what is to come after it. Trigili was able to do this well with an engaging legend that is in it’s very essence bringing one generation’s history and passing it on the next. In this case it is the building blocks for the character of Silverleaf and the chronicles to come.

Overall, this was a wonderfully written novella that anyone can get into regardless of age. I can greatly appreciate how simple this story was presented and yet you get the feeling that there is far more to this world than meets the eye. In all seriousness who doesn’t like a beautifully scripted aerial dragon fight? It reminded me of a fantastical take on a more modern idea of planes in an all out dogfight just with flames and claws instead of guns or missiles. Now for a bit of irony to cap off this post. While reading this book I was slaying dragons in the popular Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim. The vision that Trigili paints with his dragons put those of Skyrim to shame in just about every way. Still it was fun to finally get that illusive kill move as I drove my great sword through a dragon’s skull and ate it’s soul.