El Dragón Cyril

I’ll admit, I side-eyed the premise at first: *another* Arthurian retelling? But *El Dragón Cyril* disarmed me in the first five minutes when Cyril, mid-monologue about his ‘tragic’ capture, pauses to complain about the knights’ terrible prison snacks. That’s the tone here—epic pretensions undercut by petty grievances, delivered with such commitment by Alfonso and Laura Sales that you can’t help but lean in. Alfonso’s Cyril is a delightful mess: equal parts hammy villain and wounded softie, his voice dripping with sarcasm one second and genuine hurt the next. Laura, meanwhile, handles the ensemble of knights with pitch-perfect variety, from the smug Sir Bors to the increasingly frazzled squire who just wants to go home. The story’s pacing is its secret weapon. At under two hours, there’s no fat—just a series of escalating absurdities (a jousting match derailed by a debate about dragon rights, a ‘rescue’ that involves a lot of bribing with cheese) that never feel rushed. The production polish helps, too; the sound mixing ensures Cyril’s dramatic sighs and the clatter of armor are crisp without overpowering the dialogue. My two critiques? The ending, while clever, wraps up *just* a tad too neatly for a story that otherwise revels in chaos. And while the bilingual wordplay (like ‘dragonatrado’) is brilliant, non-Spanish speakers might miss a few jokes—though context clues cover most of it. Still, this is the rare audiobook that had me laughing out loud *and* pausing to rewind for lines I wanted to steal. If your kid loves fairy tales but groans at ‘once upon a time,’ or if you’re an adult who’s ever wanted to yell at Lancelot for being a tryhard, this is your jam.