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Dragon Pearl
Hardcover art
AuthorYoon Ha Lee
Cover artistVivienne To
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
SeriesThousand Worlds series
Subjectinvestigation • epic journey • magic powers • space flight • interstellar travel • Korean mythos • sibling relationship • impersonation
GenreScience fiction, mythology
PublisherDisney-Hyperion
Publication date
January 15, 2019
Media type
  • Hardcover, e-book, and audiobook
  • Later released in paperback
Pages312
ISBN978-1368013352
OCLC1059522670
Followed byTiger Honor 

Dragon Pearl is a middle grade novel written by Yoon Ha Lee and published on January 15, 2019, by Disney Hyperion under their "Rick Riordan Presents" publishing imprint.[1] The book is a mix of Korean mythology and science fiction as the main character travels the galaxy.[2][3] A short story by Lee about the characters in the book was featured in the anthology book The Cursed Carnival and Other Calamities.[4]

Like its fellow "Rick Riordan Presents" books, the novel was praised for its diverse representation and plot and characterization. A sequel, Tiger Honor, was published in January 2022.

Plot

The main character Min, a teenage fox spirit (gumiho), runs away from her home, which is crowded with family members all staying in the same house, in order to figure out what happened to her lost brother, Jun, who was a cadet in the Space Forces before his disappearance.[2] After she leaves her home planet, Jinju, on a freighter ship, she begins uncovering more secrets. She finds the ship her brother was stationed on, leading her to pose as a recently deceased cadet on that ship so that she is enabled in her continued investigation. Meanwhile, she communicates with a dead cadet, Bae Jang, to whom she promises vengeance, in order to maintain her secret. When Min befriends two cadets on the ship, a dragon and a goblin disguised as humans, she learns that they are quickly approaching the Ghost Sector, in which the lost Dragon Pearl is said to have been laid to rest.[5]

Release

It was released in hardcover, audiobook, and e-book format on January 15, 2019. Rick Riordan Presents made a paperback edition available in English on January 7, 2020. The book has been translated and printed in other languages, including Polish, Indonesian, Ukrainian, and Italian.

Date Published Publisher Format Edition Language Pages ISBN
Jan 15, 2019 Rick Riordan Hardcover 1st ed English 312 ISBN 978-1368013352
Jan 15, 2019 Thorndike Press Hardcover Large print English 515 ISBN 978-1432860981
Jan 15, 2019 Rick Riordan ebook English 312 ISBN 978-1368015196
Jan 15, 2019 Disney Hyperion Kindle English 320 ASIN B07D9WRHNH
Jan 15, 2019 Random House Audiobook English N/A ISBN 978-1987156973
Jan 7, 2020 Rick Riordan Paperback English 320 ISBN 978-1368014748
2020 Noura Books Paperback Indonesian 412 ISBN 978-6023857708
Mar 13, 2019 Galeria Książki Paperback Polish 352 ISBN 978-8366173019
May 13, 2020 Giunti Editore Hardcover Italian 336 ISBN 978-8809879133
2021 Жорж Hardcover Ukrainian 372 ISBN 978-6177853205

Reception

The Laughing Place reviewed the main character, Min, as likeable and fun, and even said that Lee has "crafted such a finely tuned narrative that Dragon Pearl can stand alone as an excellent story or be the start of a lengthy space saga."[2] Colleen Mondor of Locus comparing the book to the Perils of Pauline serial in the early 1900s, stating that it "nailed what the younger action crowd craves. If the story gets a bit thin along the way, that's okay, as the plot barrels along at such a breakneck pace you hardly notice."[6] A review on Publishers Weekly said, "in this highly original novel ... Lee offers a perfect balance of space opera and Korean mythology with enough complexity to appeal to teens."[5]

Reviews on Common Sense Media were also complimentary, saying that the "combination of space opera and Korean folklore finds the right, enjoyable balance" and "the book ends on a perfect note of closure, but most readers would welcome Min's further adventures."[7] The Quiet Pond called the book a "delightful adventure" and provided five reasons why it should be read, including its diverse background of Korean mythology, the mix of genres including space opera, and its "awesome" protagonist."[8] Talking of Min's situation after she gets word of her brother's disappearance, Kirkus Reviews said "it's a Rick Riordan trademark to thrust mythological figures into new settings." The review site also called the book "A high-octane, science-fiction thriller painted with a Korean brush and a brilliant example of how different cultures can have unique but accessible cosmology and universal appeal."[9]

External links

References

  1. ^ Lee, Yoon Ha (2019). Dragon Pearl. Disney Electronic Content. ISBN 978-1-368-01519-6.
  2. ^ a b c Gowsell, Bill (15 January 2019). "Book Review: "Dragon Pearl" by Yoon Ha Lee". LaughingPlace.com.
  3. ^ "Yoon Ha Lee | Dragon Pearl". Retrieved 2020-12-31.
  4. ^ "The Latest from Athena House Jan 24, 2021 | Rick Riordan". 2021-01-24. Retrieved 2021-03-11.
  5. ^ a b "Publishers Weekly review of Dragon Pearl".
  6. ^ "Colleen Mondor Reviews Dragon Pearl by Yoon Ha Lee". Locus Online. 2019-05-13. Retrieved 2021-02-25.
  7. ^ "Dragon Pearl - Book Review". www.commonsensemedia.org. 2019-02-02. Retrieved 2021-02-25.
  8. ^ "Five Reasons To Read: Dragon Pearl by Yoon Ha Lee – A Fun and Delightful Korean-Inspired Space Opera/Fantasy". The Quiet Pond. 2019-06-21. Retrieved 2021-02-25.
  9. ^ DRAGON PEARL | Kirkus Reviews.
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