Entries Categorized as 'Adventure'
Posted by Sarah
Categories: Adventure, Fiction, Historical Fiction, Older Readers, Review
Tags:Emmuska Orczy, French Revolution
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Revolution has taken hold of France, and hundreds of nobility are sent to the guillotine every day. A band of Englishmen, and their mysterious and daring leader known only as the Scarlet Pimpernel, lend aid to aristocrats on the death list—smuggling them from the blood-spattered country into England. But an accredited agent of the revolutionary government is determined to catch this scoundrel band and forces Lady Blakeney, one of the most popular ladies in England, to help him determine the real identity of the Scarlet Pimpernel. Torn between a mess of circumstances, Lady Blakeney has little idea of the adventure yet to come.
A well-spun yarn, intriguing enough to keep me reading. I would have to say that the first half of the book is the best, since it reaches a slightly mushy scene for midpoint and then the rest of the story felt a little too drawn-out. There’s also a goodly smattering of language, used by the Englishmen at the time. Overall, though, a good and interesting story, with a somewhat mysterious twist.
Posted by Sarah
Categories: Adventure, All Ages, Fantasy, Fiction, Review
Tags:Carol Kendall, Minnipins
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Five years after the invasion of the Mushrooms, a new problem has arisen. The Watercress river, flowing through the valley of the Minnipins, has changed direction and begun flooding the towns. Five unlikely heroes, Glocken, Silky, Scumble, Gam Lutie, and Crustabread, are commissioned by the five old Heroes to journey outside the valley and find the source of the flooding. With them goes the ancient Whisper Stone, which has been passed down through Glocken’s family for generations, and contains the secret for finding the legendary Whisper of Glocken, a bell now known only in pretend-stories.
This was an interesting read, but I don’t like it as much as its prequel. Some important parts of it seemed a bit vague and confusing, and sometimes I’d get turned around and couldn’t figure out exactly where the main characters were. It’s also more strange than the first book, because the Minnipins spend most of their time outside the valley, where they meet strange creatures and plants, and even full-size humans. Overall, not as good as The Gammage Cup, but it might be worth reading just for the sake of reading it.
Posted by Sarah
Categories: Adventure, All Ages, Fiction, Review
Tags:Arthur Ransome, Swallows and Amazons
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While awaiting Commander Walker’s return in Harwich, John, Susan, Titty, and Roger make friends with the sailor of the Goblin. Mrs. Walker gives them permission to sail up and down the river for a few days until their father arrives. When the sailor disappears ashore, however, and the anchor drags, the Walker children find themselves being swept out to sea on a very real adventure.
Whereas most of the other books contain more imaginative, light-hearted adventures, the dangers in this story seemed more present and real. The children are, after all, at sea by themselves. It’s an exciting read, though sadly the Amazon pirates never show up. Nevertheless, it’s probably one of my favorite Swallows and Amazons books.
Posted by Jordan
Categories: Adventure, Fantasy, Fiction, Older Readers, Review
Tags:Christopher Hopper, elves, spiders, The Berinfell Prophecies, Wayne Thomas Batson
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Seven teens discover that they are the lost Elven lords from Allyra. They all have a special gift or ability. Now, with dangerous minions of the Spider King pursuing them at every turn, and mysterious Elf Sentinels trying to protect them, the teens must decide if they will stay on Earth or go home to Allyra.
Okay, right out of the gate, let me say that this is a good fantasy novel. Lots of exciting action, creepy bad guys, mysterious good guys and a parallel universe to boot. Unfortunately, Curse of the Spider King has no fewer than seven storylines running at a time, which makes for a very confusing time trying to keep track of everybody. Also, six of the storylines retread most of the same basic material six times. Now, I’m not saying you shouldn’t read this one. It’s really quite worthwhile. However, based on the ending of this one, I’m looking forward to book two, where the seven storylines will hopefully merge into a more manageable number.
Posted by Sarah
Categories: Adventure, Fantasy, Fiction, Older Readers, Review
Tags:Brian Jacques, Redwall
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Buckler, a blademaster hare from Salamandastron, is sent to Redwall Abbey to deliver new bell ropes to the Abbess and is caught up in the adventure of his life. Vilaya the Sable Quean, along with her captain Zwilt, plan to take over Redwall Abbey by kidnapping their Dibbuns and holding them hostage. But Buckler has a score of his own to settle with Zwilt and leads the inhabitants of Redwall to stop the evil vermin horde.
I’m afraid I wasn’t particularly impressed with this book. It’s pretty stereotypical Redwall, without enough new things to make it feel original. Two of the characters (including a warrior mole!) are introduced later on in the book and assume important roles, which felt a little last-minute to me. I would say that big Redwall fans might want to read this, but The Sable Quean is not a must-read.