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rosiesnow's review
adventurous
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.75
shrimpy's review
adventurous
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25
ettuladyblue's review
2.0
I liked it until the ending...a little too gimmicky for me, and turned it into a weird fanfic. But there's a lot of good before that point.
It definitely had the old school adventure feel of those English fantasy novels we all grew up with, complete with seafaring adventures and derring do. Also appreciated many callbacks and allusions to Narnia and LOTR/
I would note that this is definitely a boy's club--there are 4 female characters (3 of which only appear in one chapter) and an off screen, unnamed wife...So four and a half? Perhaps that's remedied in future installments? I think this book would be awesome for a younger reader in late elementary or early middle school, but I still enjoyed it.
It definitely had the old school adventure feel of those English fantasy novels we all grew up with, complete with seafaring adventures and derring do. Also appreciated many callbacks and allusions to Narnia and LOTR/
I would note that this is definitely a boy's club--there are 4 female characters (3 of which only appear in one chapter) and an off screen, unnamed wife...So four and a half? Perhaps that's remedied in future installments? I think this book would be awesome for a younger reader in late elementary or early middle school, but I still enjoyed it.
orsuros's review
2.0
The book had a lot of good ideas but those will only get you so far. I felt the characters needed work because I never really connected with them. Too much of the book also seemed to be spent on conceptual conversations between the characters which made the action seem too thin throughout most the book. I wanted to like it for the good ideas but those alone weren't enough to immerse me in the story.
tatibri's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
4.0
theevilcactus1's review
adventurous
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
The plot was interesting enough, but there was so much information and worldbuilding all the time that I had a hard time processing all of it. I also didn’t really care about any of the characters. I finished this one, but won’t be reading the sequel(s).
aggressive_nostalgia's review
Rereading this for the third time and still loving it. I wish it was my idea. I was completely drawn in by all the mixings of fantasies, history, and legends (and i have to say that i really liked the revelation at the very end - a cool concept). I think it had well-developed characters and a very cool universe, though the plot was at times a little swift-paced. The scattering of jokes (especially on Charles' part) were funny. I also enjoyed the illustrations (which were done by the author). This book wasn't absolutely brilliant, but definitely worth a read...and maybe another...