DRAGON MAGIC

Four boys find a magic jigsaw puzzle in a deserted house, and as each completes one of the four pictured dragons he is propelled into a mythological fantasy neatly tailored to his cultural background and personal hangups. Sig Dortmund finds himself transmogrified into Sig Clawhand, a witness to the killing of Fafnir; Ras becomes a Nubian slave who helps Daniel kill the dragon Sirrush-Lau and then escapes from Babylonian captivity; Artie is changed into a loyal retainer who is present at the death of Artos Pendragon; and Kim Stevens sees how the Chinese general known as the Slumbering Dragon became great by accepting responsibility for his failures. The legends (particularly the Arthurian material) are cleverly reworked, but the strict parallels of the plot admit little suspense and restrict the fantasies' appeal by making them patly didactic. As always, however, Andre Norton can be relied upon to convert her magic formulas into adroit entertainment.