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book_concierge's review
2.0
I am clearly NOT the target audience for this sci-fi fantasy adventure knock-off of Harry Potter.
There are two main domains: The Magrus (i.e. the place of magic) and the Techrus (the “technological” world … i.e. reality). In between these two worlds is the Mesoshire. At least I think that’s right. I frankly lost interest in keeping everything straight.
Anyway, there’s a book – the Codex of Infinite Knowability – that been lost to the ages, but middle-schooler Max Spencer finds it under his bed. He doesn’t know he has magical abilities, but he is a direct descendant of the author so is the only one who can read any of the material in the Codex.
Princess the Destroyer is a magic unicorn who is a spoiled brat intent on wreaking havoc everywhere. She’s got a toady wizard who helps her (or kowtows to her to avoid being destroyed). She wants the Codex so she can move freely between worlds.
Max and his friends Sarah and Dirk, along with Dwight (a dwarf), and Glenn (a talking dagger) find themselves transported through time to a far future Techrus, where all humans are dead and the world is run by machines with rudimentary AI capabilities.
Anyway …. It took me two months to slog through this and I completed it only because of a challenge and I just refused to give up. There were a couple of things that redeemed it. I loved Sarah. She rises to the challenge every time. She’s strong, intelligent, a born leader and will never give up. Max also, eventually, rises to the challenge of being the leader.
I do admit that the last couple of chapters were pretty interesting with Max going up against Princess and her giant killing machines.
So, I can understand why some kids would find this entertaining, but I still thought it was pretty terrible. Clark spent way too much time trying to prove how clever he is rather than crafting a compelling and entertaining story.
Oh, and it ends in a cliffhanger because Clark cannot trust that his audience will want to read more so he has to try to force them to read another book.
There are two main domains: The Magrus (i.e. the place of magic) and the Techrus (the “technological” world … i.e. reality). In between these two worlds is the Mesoshire. At least I think that’s right. I frankly lost interest in keeping everything straight.
Anyway, there’s a book – the Codex of Infinite Knowability – that been lost to the ages, but middle-schooler Max Spencer finds it under his bed. He doesn’t know he has magical abilities, but he is a direct descendant of the author so is the only one who can read any of the material in the Codex.
Princess the Destroyer is a magic unicorn who is a spoiled brat intent on wreaking havoc everywhere. She’s got a toady wizard who helps her (or kowtows to her to avoid being destroyed). She wants the Codex so she can move freely between worlds.
Max and his friends Sarah and Dirk, along with Dwight (a dwarf), and Glenn (a talking dagger) find themselves transported through time to a far future Techrus, where all humans are dead and the world is run by machines with rudimentary AI capabilities.
Anyway …. It took me two months to slog through this and I completed it only because of a challenge and I just refused to give up. There were a couple of things that redeemed it. I loved Sarah. She rises to the challenge every time. She’s strong, intelligent, a born leader and will never give up. Max also, eventually, rises to the challenge of being the leader.
I do admit that the last couple of chapters were pretty interesting with Max going up against Princess and her giant killing machines.
So, I can understand why some kids would find this entertaining, but I still thought it was pretty terrible. Clark spent way too much time trying to prove how clever he is rather than crafting a compelling and entertaining story.
Oh, and it ends in a cliffhanger because Clark cannot trust that his audience will want to read more so he has to try to force them to read another book.
foofers1622's review
4.0
A perfect book for parents and their kids to read together. This book is peppered with passeges the child wouldn't understand but the parent would find very amusing.
aylea's review
2.0
This review originally found at The Children's Book and Media Review
Princess the Destroyer is a carnivorous unicorn that is determined to find Max Spencer so that she can be given free rein to eat all of the humans in Texas. Max Spencer is a seventh grader who might not be smart or popular, but he is the heir of a powerful sorcerer and so is the only person who can read the Codex of Infinite Knowability. Max accidentally transports himself and his friends to a future where the humans have all been eaten by Princess the Destroyer. After making friends with the frobbits, some of the last friendly survivors on earth, Max and his friends have to defeat Princess and her legions of robots to save their lives and the last of humankind.
While the idea behind the book is fun, many of the ideas are not executed well. The book is clever with its plays on fantasy tropes, but too many plot lines are forgotten in the favor of too many gags. There is enough humor to prompt a few chuckles, but many of the jokes are likely to go over the heads of the book’s target audience. The characters have little depth and are not very interesting, often using stereotypes to create character. The ending is highly dependent on waiting for the next book to explain things. The humor may keep some people entertained, but the overall impact of the book is not as high as it could have been.
Princess the Destroyer is a carnivorous unicorn that is determined to find Max Spencer so that she can be given free rein to eat all of the humans in Texas. Max Spencer is a seventh grader who might not be smart or popular, but he is the heir of a powerful sorcerer and so is the only person who can read the Codex of Infinite Knowability. Max accidentally transports himself and his friends to a future where the humans have all been eaten by Princess the Destroyer. After making friends with the frobbits, some of the last friendly survivors on earth, Max and his friends have to defeat Princess and her legions of robots to save their lives and the last of humankind.
While the idea behind the book is fun, many of the ideas are not executed well. The book is clever with its plays on fantasy tropes, but too many plot lines are forgotten in the favor of too many gags. There is enough humor to prompt a few chuckles, but many of the jokes are likely to go over the heads of the book’s target audience. The characters have little depth and are not very interesting, often using stereotypes to create character. The ending is highly dependent on waiting for the next book to explain things. The humor may keep some people entertained, but the overall impact of the book is not as high as it could have been.
nicolednk's review
4.0
3.5 stars...hilarious concept that got off to a great start. Part fantasy book, part video game, with some dystopian games thrown in. Somewhere along the way, the jumping back and forth between worlds and time lines became overwhelming. Glad I read it, not sure I'm ready to take on the sequels yet.
spencergl's review
5.0
This was a great reccomendation from a friend! An easy and enjoyable read! I loved the take off on fantasy storied. I can't wait to find out about the squirrels!
eadrianschmitz's review
adventurous
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
socr8sjohnson's review
3.0
Parts were really funny. It didn't grab me and make me not want to put it down. I will check out the next one
juliannealkire's review
4.0
Hilarious. I did get a bored a couple of times at about halfway through. Each episode of boredom didn't last long but was nevertheless unfortunate.