Book Review: "Dragon Rider" by Cornelia Funke

SPOIL-FREE SUMMARY

When Humans threaten the existence of the dragons, Firedrake goes off to find the hiding place of the dragons: "the Rim of Heaven". Along with him comes the brownie Sorrel, and the human boy, Ben. They gain new friends and allies, but have to contend with Nettlebrand, the golden one whose one desire is to kill all dragons.

OUR CAST OF CHARACTERS

Firedrake is the youngest of his clan of dragons. He alone decides to go off and find the rim of heaven. He seems less biased against humans than the other dragons, as he quickly goes to Ben's aide. He is rather brave and stubborn.

Ben is a young boy who lives on the streets. He is rather guarded about this aspect of his life. He is adventurous, eagerly wanting to go alone with Firedrake and Sorrel. He quickly wants to help his new friends, distracting some workers from where the dragon is hidden.

Sorrel is the brownie that comes along with Firedrake. She is grumbly and sarcastic, always complaining but willing to do anything to help, none the less. Often times her sarcastic lines provide humor in the story.

Twigleg is the homunculus who is sent to spy on Ben and his friends. Having been constantly abused by his master, Twigleg is unused to being treated so kindly by Ben. He quickly develops a softness for Ben, even though he tries not to.

Nettlebrand is the villain of the story. He is not an actual dragon, but instead a golden machine. He was created with the intent purpose of tracking down and killing the dragons. He is foreshadowed at the “golden one”. He can travel and communicate throw bodies of water.

Professor Bloomberg has an interest and knowledge of mystical creatures and because of that he is not taken seriously by his peers. He is willing to put himself in danger for his new friends and eager to learn about the dragons.

PACING

The pacing is decent. From the first two chapters, we learn of the threat and Firedrake goes off to the city and by chapter four we have met Ben. And by seven, Ben is leaving with them and they have acquired a map, really getting the adventure started.

EVERYONE HAS A ROLE- SPOILERS

An aspect I liked was how most every characters had a key role in the story. Right off the bat, Ben saves Firedrake, distracting some men so Sorrel can go warn him. It also turns out that only a human can ask a djinn a question, which means Ben is the only option.

Twigleg manages to free a caged Sorrel by picking her lock and sends Nettlebrand on a wild goose chase.

Greenbloom saves Firedrake from a basilisk with his knowledge and using a mirror.

Lola the rat uses her plane to reveal if Nettlebrand is in hiding, waiting for them.

You would think being a dragon, Firedrake would be overpowering, but even he has to be saved a time or two.

Even a seemingly unimportant dwarf plays a crucial part.

A WONDERFUL WORLD

One of my favorite aspects of the book is the variety of magical beings we get to meet. From elves and basilisks to sandmen and dwarves. We even see a Roc. And all of them have unique attributes, like the dwarves being helpless if you steal their hats and the elves running off if you insult them...alphabetically. This kind of originality sets Funke apart from many other writers.

DRAGONS AND THE MOON

It's set up in the story that dragon's get their strength from the moon. This later plays an important role in the story. Not only does this help us end the story and fix the problem, but it also reveals the folly of the missing dragons.

ROTTEN HUMANS

It is presented in the first chapter that humans are a threat to magical creatures and are despised. This could have easily been sprinkled throughout the whole book and preached. I have read quite a few books where the reader is lectured about how evil humans are and that they destroy the planet. It get's obnoxious, especially since the magical races can often live in ways humans cannot or have technology we have not yet attained. But luckily, it isn't overblown. So we get the idea, and move on. Although it would have been nice for Ben to stand up for humanity, and maybe have them admit that they might have been wrong about some of the humans.

FIREDRAKE

One thing I wasn't sure about, was Firedrake's personality. He is the youngest of his pack, but he doesn't seem naive or ignorant. He isn't biased against Ben, but never explains why nor points out to Sorrel why she is wrong about humans. Basically all of the dragons despise them. So why such a large shift from Firedrake? He didn't seem to disagree with his family at the beginning of the book. I wish he had been skeptical of Ben, and then surprised at his behavior. But there isn't much of an expression of doubt or shock. I felt like throughout most of the book, his personality was expressed by the affection of him nuzzling Sorrel and Ben. It's all over the book.

And we never discuss why he alone must go on this quest. There is no anger or argument in the beginning, it just seems the Firedrake doesn't put much thought into this quest. Only Sorrel comprehends the danger, which is fine. But the motivation is never really clear. Has he thought of this before? Is he restless? Does he get along with his pack? I just felt he was lacking.

BEN'S PAST

One critique I have is Ben's past...it's never expanded on. Multiple times in the book, by different characters, he is asked about his family. He says he never had one. So was he an orphan? What happened to his parents? Did he have a foster family or live in an orphanage. How did he end up on the streets? How long had he been there? I just wanted a shred of a story. But I never got it. I felt I could have felt closer to his character if I learned more about him.

PROPHECY OF THE DRAGON RIDER

It turns out there is an old prophecy of a dragon rider who once lived, and will come back as a boy. It turns out that boy might be Ben. I thought the history was kind of interesting, but another part of me feels like the whole “chosen one” and “prophecy” has been done to death. But it doesn't take up a huge part of the story and Ben does not dwell on it too much.

A NEW FAMILY - SPOILERS

Professor Greenbloom eventually asks Ben if he want's to be apart of the family, with his daughter Guinevere, and his wife, Vita. I thought this was sweet, as Ben couldn't live with the dragons. But I felt I would have understood Ben's desire for a family more if I had known more of his hardships of living in the streets and how long he had been doing so.

CLIMAX

The end of the story is not a knock-down, drag out fight. Instead it involves information we gained early, combined with new information. We learn about Nettlebrand's weakness and scheme to exploit it. I liked this because felt that everything came together decently in the end.

CONCLUSION

Funke creates an original world with magical creatures that have unique attributes found nowhere else. The large variety of creatures met really makes the story stand out. Sorrel and Twigleg have strong personalities, but Ben and Firedrake are lacking slightly. Ben because of his lack of a history, and Firedrake because of a lack of personality and motivation. I give “Dragon Rider” three and a half stars.

Book Review: "Journey to the River Sea" by Eva Ibbotson

SPOIL-FREE SUMMARY

After her parents died, Maia spent all year long at a boarding school in England. But when some relatives are found and willing to take her in, she must travel all the way to Brazil to live with them. Eventually she learns about a boy in hiding named Finn, and another who is a young actor named Clovis. The three work together to keep Finn from the “crows": men sent to find him and drag him home.

OUR CAST OF CHARACTERS

Maia, is a young girl who loves animals, reading, and exploring. Even with her parents' death, she is very positive and thankful for everything. She could have easily been given a victim complex, but instead she is kind, caring and gracious. She tries to get the twins to like her, and when that fails, she rarely expresses hatred, not even in her thoughts. Not that she is a saint. She very much wishes to leave.

Finn is the young boy that ran away from his home in England when his father died. His whole family is nothing like him, rather uptight. He is much more like his father, adventurous and curious.

Clovis is a young actor who has no parents. Instead he lives with a group of actors who owe a large amount of money and treat him rather badly. He is rather timid and gets his feelings hurt easily. He ends up looking up to Maia.

Miss Minton is the governess assigned to travel with Maia. She is rather blunt, but not intentionally rude. She just always says what she is thinking. She and Maia share a love of books and eventually become very close.

The twins are obnoxious and bratty, but in a believable way. They are selfish and rude, being rather spoiled by their parents. Instead of screaming, hitting, and basically behaving like monsters, they simply manage to say cruel things with little effort. Anytime Maia disagrees with them or shares an opinion contrary to them they act as though she is immoral.

CARTOONY?

The story could easily have come off as cartoony. After all, the home that Finn comes from sounds like Cinderella's. And the twins themselves resemble the evil stepsisters, being not too bright, completely selfish and not exactly attractive. But the story is grounded by Maia, Finn and Minty, who never overreact, or claim to be victims. Instead, they take things in stride. Because of that, the twins and their mother come off as comical characters that we don't take too seriously. But since they are not the main danger, (that's the crows) it doesn't hurt the story.

IBBOTSON'S CHARM

Ibbotson has a rare gift: she is actually funny. She doesn't try to make everything a joke, or overload her story with sarcasm, as so many do. That completely exhausts me, and eventually I don't even care about the story. Instead, she uses her characters, and her own clever musings to make the reader smile and laugh.

STRUCUTURE-SPOILERS

One might expect the climax to lead to Finn being free from the crows, and Clovis being given a new home. But instead this happens only slightly more than halfway through. Eventually Maia ends up with Finn and Minty, and they leave together with Finn's relatives. I wouldn't necessarily call this a bad thing, though.

THE PERFECT TRIBE

I understand how living in society may sometimes be hard...if this book takes place in history. But the story never lets you now exactly what time period this is. There is no mention of cell phones, computers, or other modern conveniences. They take a train and a ship, but there is no mention of planes. And when Maia wants to learn about the amazon, she reads books, while a modern girl would use the internet.

Living in the wilderness with the tribes is portrayed like paradise. I think it could be fun, for a few days, but eventually Maia might miss bug spray, or sun tan lotion, or fans. Or running water. Maybe not having to kill her own food. It would have been more realistic to portray the characters as missing some modern conveniences or having some disgust at an aspect of tribe life, as anyone raised in the west would. At least some adjustments being made.

CONCLUSION

Ibbotson creates an original story with the charm and innocence reminiscent of Frances Hodgeson Burnett “The Little Princess”. All the characters are distinct and likable. The villains are not dark, but still come off as real, selfish narcissists. I give “Journey to the River Sea” four stars.

Book Review: "The Crimson Thread" by Suzanne Weyn

SPOIL-FREE SUMMARY

When Bridget, an Irish immigrant, comes to America with her family, she is determined to help make end's meat. But she learns that there is a bias against Irish people. But soon Bridget O'malley is Bertie Miller and she has a new job, after being fired from her last. She is a seamstress for the wealthy Wellington family. But when she is promoted to help create new dresses, she finds she cannot do it without the help of a new friend. And then there is the charming Son of the Wellingtons, James, to complicate things.

OUR CAST OF CHARACTERS

Margaret “Bertie” Miller is the main character. She is a recent immigrant from Ireland come to America with her family. Since Bertie lost her mother, she often takes on the role of the mother, looking after her baby sister Eileen, and her younger brother.

Ray Stalls is the mysterious young man who always seems to show up when Bertie needs him. He is a tailor, and like Bertie, he will do anything to succeed in America.

James Wellington is the young son of J.P. Wellington. He is handsome and charming, but doesn't seem to be able to live up to his father's expectations.

Paddy aka “Rick Miller” is Bertie's father. He is good spirited, and grateful to have made it to America. He loves his children but can get into trouble because of his impetuous nature. Also, he gets Bertie into trouble too, by bragging about her. But in the end, he pushes her to be her best.

PACING

We start right off in America, and we meet Ray by the second chapter. We have some troubles with the police, and by chapter five Bertie gets her job with the Wellingtons. I understand the chapters before this were too establish the troubles that Irish immigrants had to go through. But perhaps it would have been better to spread this throughout the book, instead of at the beginning. Then maybe Bertie could have met James sooner and had a deeper relationship.

JAMES WELLINGTON-SPOILERS

The romance between James and Bertie is one of my main criticisms. She has only a few interactions with James before he proposes to her. I just found it rather unbelievable that this would happen, let alone that Bertie would be so naive as to jump at the chance. Things felt too rushed.

I wish they had inserted James into the story more, making him seem rather deceptive, but with a few cracks that the reader could spot. Yes, we note how he doesn't do good in school and we see him drunk. But these scenes of moral failings are just as short and shallow as the ones where he flirts with her. I would have preferred acts of great kindness and more than just little flirtations. There would have had to be a deception in order to be tricked. How many girls have been fooled into believing a man was kind and caring only to realize he was hiding behind a mask? But James has no mask. Bertie is just too dumb to see the truth.

RAY & BERTIE

Unlike James, Ray and Bertie have plenty of conversations where we get the feeling of romantic tension between them. It's quite obvious that Ray is fond of her, so when Bertie expresses surprise to her friend, I was actually annoyed. He flirted with her often, and yet she had no clue why he was helping her out? She just looked dumb. And she seems set on James for no other reason in that he is charming and cute. It's just too shallow for the reader to understand Bertie's confusion. Ray has gone out of his way, even saving her little sisters life by paying for a doctor. But James is cute and rich so...he would make a better husband?

RUMPILSTILTSKIN

I was curious how the fable of “Rumpelstiltskin” would be adapted into a modern story. After all, the story didn't seem to make much sense to modern audiences. Why did he constantly ask for the first born child of his victims? Although Ray Stalls is a tailor, and a skilled one who Bertie turns to in times of need, the “first born child” reference is just thrown in as offhandedly. Ray Jokes he wants her first born child. I suppose it would be near impossible to make this modern. But I would have liked to try, like, perhaps he constantly teased her about this, and in the end, demanded it, saying she simply had to marry him, or something. Nothing too serious.

BERTIE- SPOILERS

Bertie is likable enough. She loves her family and will do anything to provide for them. And it's clear that she loves America and the promises it makes. In a scene where her and Ray talk about their new country, she passionately defends it, endearing her to the reader. But the main problem comes with her naivete. Not just with Ray and James (noted above) but the climax (noted below). And by the time we get to Bertie forgiving James after he goes on a drunken rant about how he never loved her and she forgives him the next day, I gave up. Yes, she realizes how wrong she is soon after, but by then I was just waiting around, knowing what would happen.

CLIMAX-SPOILERS

When Bertie ends up back at the factory that the Wellingtons' own, there is a strike that the cops bust. People go crazy and stampede off, and Bertie gets separated from her sister and jailed. The idea of Eileen going missing wasn't a bad one. After all, Ray was at the strike and it would make sense to reunite them. But Bertie assuming that Ray has come to collect on the “first born child” (even though she is her sister, and not her daughter) was rather awkward. I was rather in disbelief that she would think this, and that Ray would think it was his job to take Eileen.

CONCLUSION

Bertie, Ray, and Paddy are all charming characters that I wish I could have learned more about, as Bertie is really the only character we get much information on. And the relationship between Ray and Bertie is sweet and charming. But the shallowness of James and his romance with Bertie hurts the story, as well as the awkward climax. And the naivete of Bertie is too much. I give “The Crimson Thread” three stars.

Book Review: "The Blue Roan Child" by Jamieson Findlay

SPOIL-FREE SUMMARY

An orphan raised at a stable, Syeira bonds with a mare named Arwin who has her two foals taken away. Together, the two set off to rescue them and for the first time she leaves home. Along the way she meets many interesting people and faces much danger.

OUR CAST OF CHARACTERS

Syeira isn't particularly brave or strong, but Arwin pushes her to leave home and eventually risk her life. Besides the loves of horses, the love of her late mother also gives her strength. She ends up being forced into an adventure she never intended. But this only serves to make her more realistic.

Blacklock Davy is the man who originally captured Arwin and her foals. And eventually he is the one who chases after Syeira when she gets the foals back.

Lord Ran of Stormsythe, rules the city of Swabban. He has forced all of its inhabitants from inventing amazing and wonderful things into building him fighting machines. He dreams only nightmares and this seems to have driven him mad.

Grulla, the Fighting Crone, is who Syiera is sent to stay with at the Thurkport stables when she reveals she has no place to stay. She and Syiera share a love of horses. Although she acts gruff and blunt, she is actually very fond of Syiera.

Marlow the spicetrader is a man whom Syiera meets in Thurkport. He helps her locate the stables.

PACING

The story does start rather fast. By the end of chapter one, Syeira has decided to help Arwin escape and and left home for good. But from there, the story is often more about meeting characters who can help her then moving fast. Which is fine, but if you are looking for an action packed story, this is not it. There are a few scenes where danger threatens and Syeria is running for her life, but these scenes are few enough for you to appreciate them.

JUST SYEIRA & ARWIN THE MARE

Throughout the story, Syeira meets many different characters, all of which contribute to her growth or help her in some way. Grulla and Marlow being the only two that end up being a bigger part. But they are much older than her. I would have liked her to have one character that she met along the way that was someone of her own age and stuck around. Although I think Marlow and Grulla became like foster parents, and its hinted that she will see them again in the end. And perhaps the author thought since Syeira was an orphan, this was the most important type of relationship to develop.

HISTORY OF CHARACTERS

I thought it was important to mention that both Marlow and Grulla are given a history to explain their characters. Marlow recalls that he never married and had children, so it's obvious he is alone in life, and probably used to it. But for some reason he feels called to help Syiera, and likes her, against his better judgment.

Grulla, on the other hand gets a long, extended history which she reveals to Syeira herself. Because of this, Grulla feels real, and I was generally interested in her story and how she got the way she was.

SIR GEMYIND-SPOILERS

Traveling through the woods, Syeira comes across an older man who cannot retain short-term memories, but remembers his childhood very well. It turns out he has taken a drug, a flower called “pale Madeleine” and this eventually caused short-term memory loss. But it allows you to return to your older memories and live them all over again. I found Gemynd's story original and interesting. Also, I got to see Syeira tempted to use the drugs, even after seeing the horrible side affects. It really made her relatable.

OUR VILLAIN-VAGUE SPOILERS

For the most of the story, finding the foals is our goal, and we have no villain. It's simply a race against time, as the foals will be taken beyond her reach. Eventually, Davy becomes our villain. And then Ran. I found Ran's story of an island of nightmares eerie and haunting. And that scene is one of the favorites. But a part of me wishes that Syiera had more interaction with him, as he is villain of the last portion of the book.

ONLY A DREAM

Syeira is lulled into a trap by a creepy, talking bird. He tells her its his job to hunt down dreams, like herself. This scene was creepy and fascinating, and we actually start to wonder if Syiera is real at all. Jamison has a gift for such eerie writing. The bird, the Strike, is written particularly well. All he does is talk, and yet he is so detached and disturbing that he becomes the most hated character in the story. Even more so then the insane Ran.

SCENT PICTURES

Arwin the Mare can communicate with Syeira. The mare blows out through her nose and Syeira can experience memories of the horse. This is one thing that helps them develop a special bond, as Arwin isn't too sure of her new rider.

ORIGINALITY

One aspect of the book I especially like was the originality. Scent pictures, a herb that can create synonyms in your mind, a mechanical city, an island of nightmares and a talking bird. It never feels like a basic fairy tale, even though there are fairy-tale elements. Perhaps because it follows no set pattern. There may be a talking bird, but no magical explanation is given. We don't know if Syeira believes the story that Ran gives her, about the island of nightmares. Or if she just thinks he is crazy. Anything seems plausible.

DAVY & SYEIRA-SPOILERS

Eventually, Davy is an ally and he hints that he knows more about Syeira then he lets on. He tells her that her name is a gypsy name. And although we don't hear him say it, in the next part of the story, Syeira says he said that he would tell her everything. Which means that apparently he knew all about her and her history. But then he dies and we learn no more.

Syeira is distraught when this occurs. And so was I. I suppose the point was for her to move one and realize she didn't need to know her past, because she had a future. But Davy's only use was to be her rescuer, and it was this that made him feel rather two-dimensional. He just wasn't in the story enough for me to get to know him. Which is sad, considering how deep Grulla's character was. A mystery was set off when Davy spared Syeira's life, so I was expecting some sort of big reveal. When he died, I felt robbed.

EXPLICIT CONTENT- SPOILERS

Punishment from the King is to have one's ears cut off. We are told that Davy had this happen to him.

CONCLUSION

Jamieson creates a likable heroine, and a unique world. Small parts of the story will entrance you, and most of the time I was so interested I didn't mind the slower pacing. It was really only the ending that I found lacking, particularly the use of Blacklock Davy. I would also have liked another character that was near her age. I give “The Blue Roan Child” three and a half stars.

Book review: "The Five Fakirs of Faizabad" by P.B. Kerr

SPOIL-FREE SUMMARY

The twins have to take a test where they grant three wishes to someone. If they are judged worthy, they pass, if not, they lose their abilities for a year. So John sets of with Groanin and Phillipa goes off alone. But there is also the problem of the homeostasis, which Nimrod discovers is off and goes to investigate.

THE ANNOYANCE OF PHILLIPA

Phillipa still comes off rather unlikable. In one scene, she is horrified to discover a place where murderers and many other criminals are kept is...not very nice. She never seems to understand reality because she lives in a bubble. And in another, she asks if someone knows that “synthetic fur is the ethical choice”? Any normal person would say that making animals suffer and die when synthetic fur is affordable and widely available is immoral.

Whenever she tries to express herself in any way, it comes across so awkward. Like when she has to handle a tough situation: “...she felt entirely equal to the situation that presented itself. And she supposed that was all down to what Nimrod called 'experience'. The kind of experience that told it just might be a good idea to enter the room invisibly.”

Who thinks that way? I could maybe understand Nimrod phrasing something so oddly, but a fourteen year old girl? Any normal person would write: Having been through her share of adventures, Phillipa knew it would be a good idea to enter invisibly.

Also, when Phillipa turns some bad guys into animals, and they accidentally get killed, she is suddenly reminded of how her mom killed people in the book three. And she doesn't want to be like her. But at the time, and in every book after, Phillipa never cared at all. Does Kerr not think we remember the other books?

Also, after Phillipa is separated from the others on the flying carpet, she meets Nimrod. She completely breaks down, babbling and sobbing and becoming hysterical. We have had five books where people have almost died and she never once reacted this way. It feels like another character altogether. Don't get me wrong, I would love for this to be considered development but it can't. It's just inconsistent. Development would be gradual and over time. Not out of the blue.

NIMROD

Nimrod'a charm is completely dead, as it was murdered in the last book. He keeps feeling less and less realistic, as if he is some sort of god that lives outside of regular society and all of the stupid, little people. He hilariously asserts “how little he knows” when he has some sort of spiritual experience. This coming from the man who seems to think he knows everything.

RULES OF REALITY

I do feel the story has kind of lost any sense of logic or rules that we must play by. New things are thrown in to the point where I don't even try to make sense of it.

When Groanin almost dies, he is in purgatory. When Rakshasas dies, he is reincarnated. So basically whatever you believe is real and applied to you?

Does that mean murderers that believe they are good people get rewarded in the afterlife? What if one believes he will meet a loved one in the afterlife, and that loves one believes there is no afterlife? Do you get to meet a fake loved one? Doesn't that make everything false, even the afterlife?

And later it is asserted that God is real and there is proof of that. So God made it so every religion is true and whatever you want to believe is real? Everything is so contradictory and poorly explained its as if the author expects his readers to have no real sense of critical thinking.

LETS LEARN A LESSON

Stories benefit from characters learning to change and grow. It shows character growth and makes a character relatable. But in order to not seem preachy, an author must be delicate to show and not tell. Unfortunately, Kerr does not know how to do that.

Nimrod actually says that he has spoiled the twins. Which is odd, because throughout the series, the fact that they come from an affluent family is almost never mentioned which would be the real source of their spoiling.

He wants to teach them about “economic and social reality”. So he makes them stay at a crappy hotel for a day. And even though he makes it so the twins cannot use djinn power, it makes little to no difference on the rest of their lives. They will just use it whenever they want to after this event.

WHATEVER HAPPENED TO CONSEQUENCES?

The idea of using djinn power (as mentioned in the first book) and using up your own power has been completely discarded. There are never any negative consequences for the main characters (only Dybbuk or Zadie). There is a threat of the twins losing their powers, but it never gets brought up again. You would think two teenagers with god-like powers might cause some trouble. But apparently not. Not even tempted, it seems.

RACIST GROANIN?

In a weird part of the book, Nimrod straight out calls Groanin a racist. It wasn't funny, just weird. Groanin has been complaining about foreign cultures and lands for five books and been Nimrod's butler for a long time. If he was really such a horrible person, wouldn't this have been called out long ago? Wouldn't Nimrod have fired him?

No one really believes he is racist. He just hates traveling and the inconveniences it carries. He always stereotypes races and cultures but he doesn't actually believe himself to be better simply because of his race. We know because he never treats anyone badly nor says one race is better than another.

JERUSALEM-THE UNCOMFORTABLE CITY

One of my favorite parts of the series is the places that are traveled to. Every city, every culture explored and examined with a curious and appreciate eye. Venice? Beautiful. China? Amazing. India? Great. Jerusalem? It's an uncomfortable place.

Yes, Nimrod actually says he feels uncomfortable there. This is a djinn who argued for the eating of dogs, mind you.

This was the most uncomfortable thing I have ever read in any book, let alone this series. I was completely taken aback. I was expecting something flowery and vague, about how it was the birthplace of the three of the worlds largest religions and full of history.

What I got was an awkward rambling about how there were seven religions there and they were all fighting. (What religions? Who knows? He doesn't' say.) And the hotel he was staying at had been hit by a terrorist attack (What kind of terrorist? I don't know. Just a terrorist.) Yes, there is a lot of turmoil in the middle east. But Kerr doesn't seem to know how to talk about this in any real sense. Words like “Islam” and “Judaism” are never used. Are the readers supposed to be too stupid to know or so smart he doesn't need to be specific about anything?

TIME TRAVEL-SPOILERS

Time travel is used to make it so the story never happened. I don't care that it's unoriginal, just that it doesn't make much sense. It's stated that since two characters who helped them on the adventure are staying at Shangri-la, then when they go back, this adventure will never have happened. In that case, how did they get there to stay in the first place? Just seemed trying to be clever but coming off as illogical.

CONCLUSION

It was inevitable that a story couldn't be carried forever by a unique world. The characters of John and Phillipa refuse to develop in any way at at all, while charming characters like Nimrod and Groanin have become arrogant and condescending. I can't help feeling that so many aspects of the book felt weird because politics were pushed awkwardly into the story. Kerr seems to forget every other book he has written in this series and hopes you do too. There just isn't any consistency. I give “The Five Fakirs of Faizabad” one and half stars.

Book Review: "The Eye of the Forest" by P.B. Kerr

SPOIL-FREE SUMMARY

The twins and Nimrod travel to South America to stop an unknown enemy from awakening an evil force. But they are faced with enemies and traps on all sides.

OUR CAST OF CHARACTERS

John unfortunately comes off as unlikable as Phillipa usually does. He instantly dislikes the new character Zadie and makes more than a few cruel comments. And although he misses Rakshasas, this doesn't make up for his annoying behavior. Also, he wants to leave a character to die, because he doesn't like her.

Phillipa is still the same. Making arrogant and ignorant comments. She still assumes she knows more than everyone around her.

Nimrod is losing his charm. He no longer comes off as witty and wise. Instead condescending and arrogant.

Groanin comes along and makes his usual blunt comments. Probably the most likable character in the book. Although he wants to leave a character for dead, so that doesn't say much about the caliber of characters in this story.

Dybbuk is only in a small portion of this book. He seems to have learned nothing from his past mistakes. There really isn't any time to hope for development. I am disappointed, because although he was rather predictable and selfish and the last book, I had high hopes that he would develop through realizing the horrible mistakes he made. He didn't.

NEW CHARACTERS-SPOILERS

Zadie starts as a friend if Phillipa, and I had hopes that she would help develop the mechanical twin. But this was soon lost. Apparently Zadie is obnoxious and no one likes her. This hatred becomes tiresome and makes our characters seem petty and childlike. Even Groanin. I think Kerr thought it would be funny if they hated her, but I think this is another mistake that I have previous talked about: making everything a joke.

I kept waiting to figure out why she was there. If not to help develop Phillipa or John, she had to have some purpose. When I found it, I wasn't impressed. (She is responsible for something bad.) If anything, I was annoyed. I could feel nothing, because the supposed backstory about her and another characters are told to us, and never shown. Not through flashbacks or anything. Also, she was just hypnotized, so who cares?

Sicky is a native who becomes a guide to the twins. His head is shrunken slightly from his body. He felt like a cartoon character with not much intelligence. Nothing about him seemed believable, not lack of desire for revenge or the desire to fix his disfigurement.

NEGLECTING DYBBUK

It seems Kerr could think of no way of incorporating Dybbuk into the main plot so he threw him into the end. It wasn't a terrible idea, after all Dybbuk could have easily been into denial about his past mistakes, and continued on the wrong path. But it just wasn't believable because the reader gets to only see the end of what should have been a full story.

WHO IS THE VILLAIN? SPOILERS

The villain who is in charge of the explorers who seek out the eye of the forest is a mystery. When it was finally discovered, I didn't feel much surprised or vindicated. I guess it had to be someone we already knew since it would be hard to add a new villain so late in the story. Oh, I'll just say it, it's Virgil Mcreeby.

PROPHECY

There is a prophecy mentioned early on about twins. I thought it was almost clever, the way it turned out to be not what we thought. Except that it's brought up, then never spoken of again by Nimrod. It felt like an oversight. If Nimrod thought the twins were part of a prophecy, wouldn't he have filled them in? Instead, we never speak of it, and when it is mentioned again, I was like, “Oh, yeah, I forgot about that thing.” It just never felt important.

IT'S NOT MAGIC, IT'S GLOBAL WARMING

There is an odd moment early on in the book where it is discovered that they cannot travel by whirlwind. It's speculated that it is because of global warming. It was such an odd moment that took me right out of the book. I wanted to say, “hey, they changed it to climate change, although they may change it again in another decade.” To throw politics into a fairy tale just felt weird. I am generally not a fan of these kinds of things, because they date books too. And years from now kids who read this book won't have a clue what they are talking about.

THE PROBLEM OF CHARACTER DEVELOPMENT

When it comes to Phillipa, instead of showing, we get told that she is “too diplomatic” to express her anger at being abandoned by someone. And when she puts her life at risk, we have to be reminded how beloved she is, by Groanin, who says how much he loves her. It's like a neon sign by the author saying: “Phillipa is great! Smart and brave. Groanin says so.” Just stop.

Also, when it's pointed out that Lupuna trees are cut down and are important to the country, she shows extreme arrogance when she says they should stop. It's their livelihood. But she is too sheltered and privileged to know that, apparently. There is a perfect chance to make her struggle with power given to her, but instead she tells it to Nimrod after making the so-called hard decision to give it up.

As for Nimrod, he makes a few smarmy comments, one about how he doesn't want a to make a new religion, because there are far too many. Right. The stupid masses and their religion. That really made me wince.

Another time he says to John that American's can't understand words with more than three syllables. He is quickly becoming a jackass. Regarding the argument about how Christmas trees are cut down that he makes to Phillipa, he sounds like an idiot. Basically he says cutting down Christmas trees is the same as destroying the rain forest. No, really. When in reality those trees are planted to be sold, and then replaced. Unlike the Lupuna trees, which are just destroyed. But smart Phillipa can't see through this bad argument.

WHY, FINLEY? SPOILERS

John makes a note that he thought Finlay was helping out the villain of the story. Even though he makes no mention of this suspicion at all. There were also no hints about that. Didn't Finlay hate his dad the last time we checked? I wonder if Kerr remembers what he wrote.

JUST IGNORANT

When the group gets almost killed by Xuanaci, and they will most likely get killed by a wish gone awry, he points out they are ignorant. So it's okay that they tried to kill them all. Or something. This could have gone so much better if a different argument was made. As such, it just came across as stupid. He simply should have said that all lives are sacred, and maybe one day they could change and evolve, so they should try to save the Xuanaci.

SIDE STORY-SPOILERS

There is a side story about the twins' parents, Layla and Edward. I didn't quite get why Layla had to lose her body in the last book. Mrs. Trump going into a coma so she could have her body seemed macabre. So when she ended up going to South America, the same continent that the kids ended up going to later, I knew there had to be a reason. Except there wasn't. As djinnternal mail can be used at any distance, so it didn't matter that she was there. On the plus side, there is a random Marlon Brando reference that no one under thirty will understand.

Anyway, Layla uses her powers to control the governmental army to get a plane and put the lives of others in danger, because she can't use a whirlwind. It would be immoral you know, with global warming and all.

Now there is actually a point to this story, which is to resolve the relationship of Edward and his wife. He admits he is terrified of her, and how she can easily kill anyone she wants. So she agrees to swear off her powers again. The only problem? This came way too late. When Layla murdered the two intruders in her house, she was judge, jury and executioner. And the twins didn't even flinch. So it all feels all bottled up and put away for later, when Kerr suddenly remembers that murder might not be a good idea. Even if your a self-righteous djinn.

JOHN'S DREAMS-SPOILERS

John falls asleep next to a Lupuna tree and dreams an answer up crucial to the plot. Kerr tells us how dangerous they are, with people falling asleep next to them and waking up centuries later. But apparently Nimrod didn't think it was that important to tell John that, even though judging by his reaction, he knew all about it. This just doesn't make sense. Nimrod sees the trees and points them out, but doesn't share the crucial information he knows about them? If he didn't see them, that would make sense. But he points them out to John.

CLIMAX-SPOILERS

Near the end of the book, Phillipa ends up discovering the power of a gift she received in the previous book: her slippers. I couldn't help but feel this was thrown in at the last minute. I kept thinking, this wasn't planned when you wrote the ending of the last book, was it? I seriously doubt it. It felt cheap. I thought, well at least we will have a good conversation between her and Dybbuk. Wrong. Dybbuk is out cold, so she just tries to awaken him by telling him he's not bad. That doesn't work. Big surprise. So she leaves him to be evil.

CONCLUSION

John and Phillipa still don't develop, and it's getting more hopeless for them. Zadie could have been a female friend to Phillipa, but instead we get another annoying character. And although there is a mentioning of a prophecy to restore a djinn's power, Dybbuk still feels shoehorned into the story. There is plenty of adventure and monsters to meet, from giant mosquitoes to killer piranha. Unfortunately, the characters distract from this. Not to mention so much bad logic that you would think a teenager was writing this book. I give “The Eye of the Forest” two and a half stars.

Book review: "The Day of the Djinn Warriors" by P.B. Kerr

SPOIL-FREE SUMMARY

The twins have to save their mother from becoming the blue djinn of babylon. But to do that they need to get a replacement, which leads them on a quest to find her. Meanwhile, Dybbuk has become world famous by becoming a television illusionist. But his mentor may not be what he seems.

OUR CAST OF CHARACTERS-SPOILERS

John mainly resides inside Finlay in this story. Knowing everything about each other makes them uncomfortable, but only for a second. His personality is the same as the last books, not too distinct, but more so than Phillipa, and more likable than her too.

Phillipa still feels unrealistic. Oddly enough, when a character wants to end his life, she doesn't' argue, become anxious, and freak out like most of us would. She just leaves him and is described as crying. It felt so unemotional. And instead of being scarred after witnessing this, she soon forgets it and moves on. It isn't really brought back up again. Also, she stupidly reveals she is a djinn to a random stranger who saves her life and grants him three wishes. Isn't she supposed to be the smart one? He could wish for awful things, but she doesn't even stop to think. Felt uncharacteristic for her. And later we learn it was done to simply result in a plot point with her mother.

Dybbuk is too dimensionally selfish and stupid throughout this book. He starts with some desire to meet his father, and yet this never goes anywhere. Instead we seem his stay his course, without ever hesitating. Which makes it quite hard to feel any sympathy for him when he finally faces consequences.

NEW CHARACTERS

Faustina, Dybbuk's sister is confident and smart. Maybe to the point of being unrealistic. However, she is only in book for half of it, so she has no arc. She fell flat to me and I would have liked her to make another appearance. I thought she would be a love interest for John, but this goes nowhere.

Finlay, who you may remember as the boy who John turned into a bird from book two, is back and is now a friend of Johns. Since he had such a terrible relationship with his father, I expected him to be rather screwed up. But other than one scene where he gets revenge, he seems no different than John. He just never took on his own personality and was a poor replacement for Dybbuk.

IBLIS THE VILLAIN-SPOILERS

Iblis is still rather two-dimensional. I really wanted something between him and his son, but he was just too cartoonish to develop anything. Even villains care for their children. Instead he comes across as stupid and selfish, almost like a child.

RAKSHASAS' DRAMTIC EXIT-SPOILERS

There is a scene where Rakshasas gets absorbed by a djinn warrior. I didn't feel it was dramatic enough. Seeing how Kerr has previously portrayed John in traumatic moments in book two, I was surprised to find that the old djinn wasn't returning. I was like, oh, is that it?

FATHER & SON

I think the story would have been better if Dybbuk had met his father, learned to trust him, and then have been betrayed. As it was, it really had no impact, not that the reader gets to see. Kerr merely states that Dybbyk will discover what has happened to him much later. What should be a dramatic reveal isn't even shown. I wanted to see the shock and disbelief that Dybbyk felt. Maybe he even blamed himself? That would at least have shown some character development.

PACING

The story goes back and forth, giving Dybbyk a few chapters of his own. I have no problem with this format. Kerr was doing what he does best, working a piece of the story into the rest. Unfortunately Dybbuk doesn't develop a relationship with anyone that affects him. He basically just has his manager, who lets him do whatever he wants.

ANGELS WITH CHAUVINSTIC SOULS

Phillipa and Groanin meet an angel, and apparently he is a chauvinist. This just felt weird. I think Kerr was trying to be funny. But really, like the idea of a wrestling match with an angel wasn't goofy enough? We already went over how I felt about the angels being portrayed as less than wise but now they are sexist too. Just a small annoyance. This probably wont annoy most people though.

REVENGE

Finlay gets revenge on his dad for the abuse he has had to endure. But it's supposed to be comical and no seems to care. I expected at least Phillipa to protest, since Kerr is always stating how moral she is. This bothered me. These are the stories' heroes and it crosses no ones mind that revenge might not be a good thing? It certainly isn't closure for Finlay, if anything it may increase his hatred for his father.

MOTHER

There is a side story involving there mother after the leaves for home. I wasn't too interested but it wasn't that long. I assumed it would an important bearing on a future book since I didn't see the point of it in this book rather then a desire to further her character. She didn't really grow so, I don't know what was intended. Its claimed to be a result of Phillipa stupidly granting a wish, but no one ever knows it was her fault, so...there really isn't a point.

EXPLICIT CONTENT

A minor character ends his own life. Nothing graphic is shown.

CLIMAX

Kerr incorporates both John and Phillipa, allowing each to play their own crucial parts. But I felt that Iblis was too cartoony to take seriously and was seriously disappointed by a lack of a climactic scene between him and Dybbuk. Also, the fact that no one seems disturbed by his gruesome end made the twins feel two dimensional. Phillipa is supposed to be horrified, but we're merely told and not shown, by Kerr saying that “she wasn't made of as tough of stuff as John”. There should have been horror and shock on both their parts.

CONCLUSION

The new characters of Finlay and Faustina feel dull, but the story is still interesting and the world intricate. There are more than a few amusing moments and interesting places to see. Kerr takes each part of the story and works it all together in his usual fashion. I give “The Day of the Djinn Warriors” three and a half stars.