This is essentially a portal fantasy adventure, where poor old Daniel finds himself plonked in the middle of a medieval-type world with two companions who apparently don’t regard him all that highly. Indeed, throughout the story they continue to have conversations about whether they ought to get rid of him – but then decide to keep him along, anyway. Mostly for the amusement that he provides, as they scoff constantly at his ignorance and knack for saying the wrong thing at the wrong time.

While I’m not too sure that Case’s claim about this not being your average epic fantasy adventure completely holds up – this tale is filled with elements that are as cosily familiar as a cup of late-night cocoa – there is one major difference. Case’s main protagonist is one of the most passive heroes I’ve encountered in an epic fantasy. And that is, indeed, a striking difference. I did like the premise that someone dumped in the middle of a world he doesn’t know would struggle every bit as badly as Daniel. However, my problem was that in a relatively short time I loathed Ganzl and the dratted snake. As I tend to skim blurbs, due to their habit of being far too chatty about the plot – I hadn’t appreciated that the arrogant wizard and his sniggering snake were all aspects of Daniel’s personality. I suppose if I had grasped that fact, some of the snark might have come across as more amusing and less unpleasantly bullying.

I thought Daniel’s initial struggles to come to terms with the sudden shifting of the world around him was very well done. Indeed, I really liked the character and his persona within the contemporary world that he’d lost and one of the reasons why I kept turning the pages, was that I was hoping he’d get his feet under him sufficiently to regain some of that original personality. It was brave decision to make the main protagonist quite so adrift – however, I don’t think Case succeeded in giving us a core character the reader could adequately identify with throughout the various adventures. It seemed the trio were on some kind of quest that Ganzl and Ffff were aware of, but Daniel was clueless about. However, as I hadn’t formed any kind of bond whatsoever with the snake and the wizard, when the snake became dangerously ill – I simply didn’t care.

What did keep me turning the pages was the driving pace, vivid worldbuilding and quirky adventures – and maybe the hope that the wizard would come to a sticky end… While I’m not tempted to read the next book in the series, there is a strong conclusion to this slice of the adventure and this quirky, if rather flawed offering, could certainly appeal to fans of epic fantasy who enjoy something a bit different and appreciate the humour, which rather missed me. While I obtained an arc of Almost a Dragon from the publishers via Netgalley, the opinions I have expressed are unbiased and my own.
7/10