Posted by Sarah
Categories: Adventure, All Ages, Fantasy, Fiction, Review
Tags:Animals, Bill Myers, Funny, Insects, Long Read
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Denise finds a strange rock in her uncle’s attic and soon discovers, to her obvious shock, that it reflects moonlight and sends a signal to an alternate dimension. Three strange creatures arrive and whisk her and her friend Nathan off to Fayrah, where they begin to learn about kindness and the love of the creator, Imager. Over the four books, they continue to travel through dimensions, bringing along Nathan’s older brother Joshua, and eventually have the opportunity to be Re-breathed by Imager.
While this could not be ranked as a masterpiece of writing, per say, I still enjoy the story. Some of the characters, Denise in particular, are special to me. Whether or not this book is for you, I can’t say. It has its faults, but you may consider taking a look at least.
Posted by Jordan
Categories: Advanced Readers, Adventure, Fantasy, Fiction, Review
Tags:Animals, Bears, Binding of the Blade, Dragons, L. B. Graham, Long Read, Scary
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Whoa! Hold it! I have to warn you, before you read this review, that I have to give away the ending of the previous book, Bringer of Storms. If you haven’t read it yet, you probably want to go on to the next review.
With Valzaan gone, Benjiah must fulfill his role as Allfather’s prophet. But he’s uncertain and everybody seems to be dependent upon him. Meanwhile, Aljeron is in the northern reaches of Kirthanin on a hunch, trying to find Sulmindar, the missing father of dragons. In his place as commander, Caan takes over military movements as the army flees before Malek and his hoard. And with the Bringer of Storms still producing rain, flooding is setting in quickly, leaving them less and less place to run.
Excitement, adventure, and, uh, abrupt ending. Worth reading, but you might want to skip it until the series ends. Much too abrupt of an ending, though. Finally, we get to meet dragons for a lengthy amount of time. Wonderful!
Posted by Jordan
Categories: Advanced Readers, Adventure, Fantasy, Fiction, Review, Science Fiction
Tags:Long Read, Song of Albion, Stephen R. Lawhead
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The champion Llew has returned to Albion, and Tegid the bard has made him king. However, spurred on by the evil Siawn Hy, Prince Meldron plans to usurp the throne. Going by bardic law (no maimed man can be king), he separates Llew from his sword hand, and Tegid from his sight. Undaunted, Tegid and Llew begin building a new city, where refugees from Meldron’s destruction arrive every day. Someday, Tegid and Llew hope to engage Meldron in combat, but Llew is from another world, as is Siawn Hy, and the only true way to save Albion is for them to return to their own world.
The Song of Albion trilogy takes a dark turn and leaves you guessing. Lawhead’s knowledge of Celtic myths, rituals, and customs serves him well. The result is a page-turner, if only to see how Llew can be king without his hand. I have a feeling that this one was more of a transition to the last book, so there might be a bit of filler. Overall, not a bad story, though I wish Lawhead would be a bit less gory.
Posted by Jordan
Categories: Advanced Readers, Adventure, Fantasy, Fiction, Mysteries, Review, Science Fiction
Tags:Long Read, Song of Albion, Stephen R. Lawhead
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Lewis and his roommate Simon live at Oxford. One day, Simon sees an article in the newspaper about a spotting of an extinct type of ox. He and Lewis go to check it out and find that it was killed with an ancient Celtic spear. On further investigation, they find a cairn (a Celtic monument type thing). Simon goes in, and though Lewis waits for him, he never comes back out. Lewis returns to Oxford and tries to live his normal life, but strange animals start roaming the streets, and then he meets a professor who claims that the Celtic Otherworld is real – and dangerous. Professor Nettles is sure Simon somehow got into the Otherworld, and he and Lewis go back to the cairn to find him. Lewis goes in, and now he’s in a strange world, surrounded by warriors about to begin a battle…
Whew! That’s just enough to get you going. There’s about two thirds of the book left that I didn’t even mention! The Paradise War is one of the better Lawhead books I’ve read. If you like Celtic myths, this one’s for you. Some of the ancient customs are really weird.
Posted by Jordan
Categories: Adventure, Fiction, Older Readers, Review
Tags:Good Read Aloud, Long Read, Robert Louis Stevenson
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After the events in Kidnapped, David Balfour thinks his life will be easy. Far from it. Now he must go through all sorts of adventures and delays to testify at a trial that is important for the future of Scotland. And if that wasn’t bad enough, now he’s in love with a noble woman named Catriona who, through some mistakes, is left in a strange city with only David as guardian.
Stevenson is a master storyteller. His characters jump off the page, and his action is always exciting. I believe a lot of people could get a lot of nobility out of this book from David and Catriona (and a lot of advice about how not to run your courtship!). David Balfour was also published under the title of Catriona. Oh, and if you haven’t read Kidnapped and have to read David Balfour, don’t worry. Stevenson gives a rather lengthy summary of the previous book.
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