Amazon Dragon Moon Press Category:  Young Adult/Teen Publisher: Dragon Moon Press ISBN-10:  1896944132 Type: Fiction Pages: 248 Copyright: Aug, 2003 Seventy-five-year-old Zac—who is young for a dragon—has endured taunts and pranks from the other dragons in his secluded village for years, and brought shame and disgrace to his family because he can’t seem to get the hang of breathing flames. He ventures out into the dangerous and exciting human world in search of his fire. With the help of Abraham (a clever moose with nerves of steel), Jo (a high-energy squirrel), Neft (a cantankerous old elf), and Tyralus (a wise and powerful sage), Zac discovers his “firelessness” is a precious gift that makes him one of the most powerful dragons on Earth. Book Description If you’ve ever felt like a ship without a rudder or a dog without a bone, just imagine how a dragon feels without his fire! Seventy-five-year-old Zac—who is young for a dragon—has endured taunts and pranks from the other dragons in his secluded village for years, and brought shame and disgrace to his family because he can’t seem to get the hang of breathing flames. But soon, he is going to say, "Enough!" and venture out into the dangerous and exciting human world in search of his fire. On his journey, Zac will make unforgettable friends: Abraham, a clever moose with nerves of steel and a heart of gold; Jo, a high-energy squirrel whose curiosity slightly outweighs her courage; Neft, a cantankerous old elf whose bark is worse than his bite; and Tyralus, a wise and powerful sage whom Zac has been looking for all his life. With the help of these friends, Zac will come to realize that his "firelessness" is actually a precious gift that makes him one of the most powerful dragons on Earth. A big downside to this gift, however, is that any wizard can tap into Zac’s power to achieve his own good or evil ends. Zac and his friends will do battle with Erret—a conniving monkey who had once been human with great magical powers. Thanks to Neft, Erret had been cast out of his home, the evil Valley of Enchantment, and stripped of his powers. Now, the evil monkey will stop at nothing to regain those powers and avenge himself against his foes as he strives to take over the world. Young people of all ages will be able to relate to Zac’s insecurities and his journey of self-discovery in a strange and often threatening environment. The interplay of his friends’ very different personalities provides great entertainment, and the struggle between good and evil is suspenseful and engrossing. In short, anyone with a weakness for magical, mystical adventure could not fail to embrace Zac as one of their beloved heroes!

Robert J. Sawyer - Nebula Award-winning author of HOMINIDS
“Michael Mennenga is a terrific young-adult writer. Everybody's been looking for the next J. K. Rowling; well, here he is.”

By: Midwest Book Review: Children’s Book Watch, Dec. 2002 Issue
Dragon's Fire & Wizard's Flame debuts a new "The Valley of the Dragons" series of young adult fantasy books by Michael R. Mennenga. Zac is a young dragon with an unusual disability -- he was born without the ability to blow fire. This makes him an outcast among the other dragons (not to mention causing him to suffer from a very low self-esteem), and compels him to set out on a personal quest to somehow over come his birth defect and find his fire. What Zac doesn't realize is that he possesses something far more valuable than fire, something that wizards and "darkpower" creatures are out to steal from him. Highly recommended for personal, school, and library collections, Dragon's Fire & Wizard's Flame is a deftly written and highly entertaining novel that will appeal to young fantasy fans everywhere.

By: Piers Anthony - Author
“Dragon’s Fire does seem like Fun!”