Michael LottiSt. George and the Dragon

My copy of this book is now covered in taco salad.This may not sound like a compliment, but believe me, it is. I’m not a particularly tidy eater, nor am I very good at eating and reading simultaneously, so when mealtimes roll around I often have to put my books away. But in the case of 'St. George and the Dragon,' I found that I was unable to do so. Hence the taco salad.A soldier in the Roman army, Marcellus thinks he has his life figured out. He’s climbing the ladder of success, one promotion at a time, and now he’s getting married to a girl he actually likes.But lately, Marcellus has been hearing talk of dragon-worshipers. His curiosity is piqued when his bride-to-be tells him that she herself is a dragon-worshiper, and urges him to go and meet the mysterious dragon. When Marcellus does so, he is enthralled by the dragon, but he also finds himself suspicious of its motives.Meanwhile, the Christian slaves who work for Marcellus’ father (whom Marcellus has always thought of as harmless, peaceful folk) have introduced him to their unique lifestyle, which he finds oddly intriguing. But the dragon asserts that these Christians are a danger to the Roman Empire, and that they ought to be eliminated.So what does Marcellus choose? A comfortable life serving the dragon and the Empire, or life as a Christian outlaw?Like you don’t already know.The story of St. George is fairly well-known, but it is significantly lacking in detail. Well, not anymore. In this book, the legend of St. George and the Dragon has been fleshed out and turned on its head for your reading pleasure. In a time when the words ‘YA literature’ mean sparkly vampires and shoddy writing, 'St. George and the Dragon' is a refreshing departure from the cultural norm, succeeding as a spiritually valuable piece of literature as well as an example of great storytelling.Engaging and well-written, my only problem with this story is that it was not long enough. Seriously. It could have been the length of ten pieces of Russian literature combined, and I still would have spilled taco salad all over it in my eagerness to finish it.One of my favorite parts was towards the end, when George/Marcellus is described killing the dragon in a way that directly mirrors the visual interpretation of the event in the original icon (which is featured on the cover of the book). The art and iconography nerd in me was immensely pleased.In case I didn’t already sell this enough, I recommend that you read this book. Now.

This is the possible backstory of a real man. Almost nothing is known about St. George beyond the fact that he killed a dragon. I guess this side of heaven we will never know how much of this story was inspired fact and how much was imagination of the author. But it is all certainly plausible from what we know about the historical era.

I had always half-imagined St George as the Christian knight, prancing in on his white horse to kill an evil dragon and probably leaving some swooning ladies in his wake. Not the most terribly interesting story. But this telling includes high drama, Roman history, a conversion, friendship and grief, told compellingly and with theological sophistication. In the dragon, Marcellus (who takes George as his baptismal name) encounters the true face of what he has worshiped and served — the Empire — and finds himself alternately seduced and repelled. Unable to make sense of or resist the dragon's pull on his old loyalties, he stumbles across a group of Christians worshipping on his father’s estate. Although initially shocked by their alien ways (men and women worshiping together! Slaves and freedmen embracing as brothers! Worship at a funeral and hope in death!) Marcellus finds them, and the hope they promise, strangely compelling. St George and the Dragon is nothing less than the story of a soul's death to life in Christ, the putting off the old man in a violently liberating way.The experience of the early Christians, and the radical upending of human empires and institutions (slavery, ancestor-worship, even marriage and friendship) that the gospel entails: it’s all here, in a story that will capture children’s imaginations as well as their parents’. This book would make a lovely family read-aloud, and offer excellent fodder for longer conversations with older children and teens. I heartily commend St George and the Dragon to you and hope you enjoy it as much as I have.

This book is clearly a children's story/for young teens. I know that Michael Lotti could write like Dostoevsky if he wanted to, but he chose to humble himself and - as Christ humbled His own self and took upon mortal flesh - write a basic, simple and clear story, written in a basic, clear, and simple manner, about a man who makes a a very fundamental and important decision. It is very lucid, and the imagery and metaphors could go as deep as the mind reading it can dig: the depth of content that the book itself presents to you, however, is not very deep in and of itself, natural consequence of the narrative style. That is a good thing, given the nature of the book's audience (or at least its audience as it seems to me). The way of life it paints is compelling and the morals are something we need our youth reading. The language is very blocked out and in short sentences that provide concrete storytelling, rather than romantic mythology (though it has its elements of that). Concrete storytelling is a very fundamentally important part of storytelling, which many books of this sort seem to lack. Similar comments about the artwork/illustrations.I would not recommend this for someone who is looking for Shakespearean technical perfection, somebody looking for the philosophy of Aristotle. Some people are at a stage where that is what they need. Others are not - I would indeed recommend this for someone who is of age. To conclude, I apply Kant's "Categorical Imperative" - if everyone in the world read this book, I think it would do the world a service. I don't think it would solve the world's problems. It was well written and a fun read. Such is my piece.