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kitsuneheart's review against another edition
2.0
Once again, Sara and Dak are here to spout out historical facts. Which are very, very wrong. And never properly addressed.
While the overarching plot of this book is about fixing history (in this case, the viking invasion of Paris in 885), it's only the big plot-important facts that get explained as inaccurate. I was left with the phrase "every modern-day European monarch is descended from Bill Helm the Vanquisher" in my head after reading this, and was pretty irritated at having to scrub it out.
Yes, educational books are good. But an educational book which BEGINS by telling the reader untruths is no help at all.
While the overarching plot of this book is about fixing history (in this case, the viking invasion of Paris in 885), it's only the big plot-important facts that get explained as inaccurate. I was left with the phrase "every modern-day European monarch is descended from Bill Helm the Vanquisher" in my head after reading this, and was pretty irritated at having to scrub it out.
Yes, educational books are good. But an educational book which BEGINS by telling the reader untruths is no help at all.
sahdays's review against another edition
adventurous
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
reason23's review against another edition
3.0
I love the idea of getting kids to read by rewarding them with an online game. But the games are no longer available. As a stand alone book, this is a fun time traveling adventure. But as book 2 in the series, it annoyed me that there are so many references to the game that took place between the books. The book still makes sense, the references aren't crucial to the plot. I would compare it to only watching odd number episodes of a TV series. You'll still understand everything going on, but you'll be irritated that you're missing things.
jscarpa14's review against another edition
4.0
So I gave this a four stars because I like Ryan's work and my biggest gripe about the book really doesn't have much to do with her writing and is more of a gripe with whoever at Scholastic decided to set up this series the way that they have. I've read the first book years before I ever listened to the audiobook, but set it aside when I came to end and it told me I had to go online to the website to learn what happened next. I was beyond angry and frustrated that without going online I was going to miss a piece of the story. When I came back to the series I decided I must have been wrong and continued on to book two because while the majority of homes do have internet, there are still plenty of readers that don't. There are also a lot of kids that may have internet in their homes but aren't allowed to use it for anything other than a school project because of the very real parental fear of internet predators. Why would a publisher whose business goal is to sell books practically force a child to go online in order to understand the book? That's just not logical. However when I went on to book two I learned that while I could continue on with the story, I was missing an entire section. If you want to know what happened in Paris during the revolution when they found Dak's parents wanted poster on the wall, you have to go to the website because Ryan's book picks up at the stop AFTER that one. So Dashner leaves this big open ending in revolutionary Paris but instead of having Ryan pick up there, they've instead decided to skip that and go on to a different stop. Seriously? I may like kids books but I've got no interest in going to a kids website to play a game in order to get a part of the story I'm reading. I just want to read and enjoy the book for the good story it provides. If I didn't like Ryan so much as a writer I'd have given this a lower rating because of the only on the internet gap between the two books. However Ryan is incredibly talented and provides a great story here and it's doubtful that leaving a huge gap was her decision so I'm not going to bring down her ratings for things outside of her control.
I liked this story so much more than the first because Ryan takes them time to dig into the emotional side of these characters and to put these kids in situations where they have to make hard choices and finally start to see the reality of this mission they've undertaken. Sera, Dak and Riq finally start to seem real in this work. Dak becomes a lot more flawed as he's controlled too often by his whims putting himself and the others in dangerous situations because of his follies. What redeems him as a character despite this is the things he learns while in the situations. Granted he doesn't learn not to make the same mistake twice, but he does learn a lot about the reality of war. He learns about the people fighting and how despite which side they're on the soldiers aren't all good or bad. Even though Dak believes the French are on the right side of the siege, it upsets him how they taunt the Viking warriors dying and even when he knows he's supposed to want the Vikings to lose he doesn't want to watch them die because war isn't a game. I loved watching him go through this. Seeing the character really understand the human side of war was just amazing. Sera and Riq finally start to connect in a way they hadn't quite done prior to this and I strongly feel their connection will lead to more headway in the relationship between Dak and Riq. Signs of this appear as the story progress and I hope the pattern continues in later novels in the series. I love how Riq finally starts to seem like more than a spoiled brat and starts to become more human and relatable as a character. There's so much that Sera goes through emotionally in this book that it's hard to really describe it all without handing over the entire plot, which is not the point in a review, but what I will say is I enjoyed following her emotional journey and character development in this book even more than I enjoyed watching the growth of the other two.
Beyond the character development, I loved that Ryan's book doesn't use obvious and well known history. Granted I'm not at all familiar with the time period she's written about here so I can't vouch for historical accuracy without having prior knowledge of the event or even knowing if the historical characters even exist. What I can say is that if it's accurate as most of the books in this type of series usually are it offers an insight into history that a kid might not get in a classroom, which is pretty awesome. Even if it's not, Ryan pulls out all the stops with plot twists and action galore in this riveting middle grade page turner.
Overall while the gap between the two books is really annoying I'd still recommend this one because of how much deeper Ryan takes readers into the story and it's characters. It's a well written and intriguing page turner.
I liked this story so much more than the first because Ryan takes them time to dig into the emotional side of these characters and to put these kids in situations where they have to make hard choices and finally start to see the reality of this mission they've undertaken. Sera, Dak and Riq finally start to seem real in this work. Dak becomes a lot more flawed as he's controlled too often by his whims putting himself and the others in dangerous situations because of his follies. What redeems him as a character despite this is the things he learns while in the situations. Granted he doesn't learn not to make the same mistake twice, but he does learn a lot about the reality of war. He learns about the people fighting and how despite which side they're on the soldiers aren't all good or bad. Even though Dak believes the French are on the right side of the siege, it upsets him how they taunt the Viking warriors dying and even when he knows he's supposed to want the Vikings to lose he doesn't want to watch them die because war isn't a game. I loved watching him go through this. Seeing the character really understand the human side of war was just amazing. Sera and Riq finally start to connect in a way they hadn't quite done prior to this and I strongly feel their connection will lead to more headway in the relationship between Dak and Riq. Signs of this appear as the story progress and I hope the pattern continues in later novels in the series. I love how Riq finally starts to seem like more than a spoiled brat and starts to become more human and relatable as a character. There's so much that Sera goes through emotionally in this book that it's hard to really describe it all without handing over the entire plot, which is not the point in a review, but what I will say is I enjoyed following her emotional journey and character development in this book even more than I enjoyed watching the growth of the other two.
Beyond the character development, I loved that Ryan's book doesn't use obvious and well known history. Granted I'm not at all familiar with the time period she's written about here so I can't vouch for historical accuracy without having prior knowledge of the event or even knowing if the historical characters even exist. What I can say is that if it's accurate as most of the books in this type of series usually are it offers an insight into history that a kid might not get in a classroom, which is pretty awesome. Even if it's not, Ryan pulls out all the stops with plot twists and action galore in this riveting middle grade page turner.
Overall while the gap between the two books is really annoying I'd still recommend this one because of how much deeper Ryan takes readers into the story and it's characters. It's a well written and intriguing page turner.
lestaslettering's review against another edition
2.0
Dak is pathetic. Sara is pathetic too, in her own way. Dak, for all the knowledge of it is actually the stupidest jeopardising everyone else's lives just for his impulsive fetish on being in the centre of the history throwing toddler tantrums all over, he is very annoying & can't even learn from his mistakes or not feel shame or regret knowing his friends risk their lives for him, all because he couldn't control his bloody impulses.
Sera, if she hadn't hesitated to go dammit, that guy wouldn't be shot, she's all about science & facts but she's just a pathetic hypocrite run over by emotions.
I wish James Dashner had written the entire series. That man knew a good book is not just about a good plot but also a great character development, which only plunged further than bottom in this book.
Severely disappointing. Get me back to the thirteenth reality if you please. Infinity Ring has been reduced to nothing but a meagre transport device. The very essence of time travel is lost under stupid miscalculations & unnecessary history.
If I wanted a mythology book, I would've looked elsewhere now, wouldn't I have? Astonishingly terrible ontoward negative infinity!
Sera, if she hadn't hesitated to go dammit, that guy wouldn't be shot, she's all about science & facts but she's just a pathetic hypocrite run over by emotions.
I wish James Dashner had written the entire series. That man knew a good book is not just about a good plot but also a great character development, which only plunged further than bottom in this book.
Severely disappointing. Get me back to the thirteenth reality if you please. Infinity Ring has been reduced to nothing but a meagre transport device. The very essence of time travel is lost under stupid miscalculations & unnecessary history.
If I wanted a mythology book, I would've looked elsewhere now, wouldn't I have? Astonishingly terrible ontoward negative infinity!
froydis's review against another edition
4.0
What a fun series this is turning out to be! This time, our heros are in the Viking era, trying to set things right. Carrie Ryan did a good job following up the first book. The next one looks like it will be just as good!
readingthestars's review against another edition
4.0
Another interesting book that I couldn't put down!
akayeh's review against another edition
4.0
I suggested, the Mexico-Audrain County Library bought! Look at the power of a single person!
It's another fast action adventure for those who enjoy them, with a splash of time travel and sci-fi (not sy-fy for those who know the difference ;p ).
It's another fast action adventure for those who enjoy them, with a splash of time travel and sci-fi (not sy-fy for those who know the difference ;p ).