Reviews

Ring of Solomon by Aden Polydoros

Only show reviews with written explanations

daenknight's review against another edition

Go to review page

adventurous lighthearted mysterious medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes

5.0

cimorene1558's review

Go to review page

4.0

I enjoyed a lot of things about this, maybe especially that the protagonist is gay, but he’s just a gay kid, it’s not what the story is about. It’s definitely got a Percy-Jackson kind of vibe, but with Jewish folklore, which we still don’t see a lot of. This is one of those books that I am really glad exists, but I’m definitely not the target audience, and although I didn’t personally enjoy it that much, it’s still a fine book of its kind.

kelleemoye's review against another edition

Go to review page

4.0

Zach’s discovery of the Ring of Solomon turns his boring town into one of life-or-death situations as the King of Demons is summoned by the ring. But his appearance is just the beginning of what seems to Zach as an end of the world apocalypse! The book is filled with action, almost from day one, quiet moments where you get to know the characters, flashbacks to get background on the mythology, and humor which makes the book so much fun to read.

Fans of Percy Jackson and other mythology-focused action/adventure books are going to want to grab this one!

Full review with teaching tools: https://www.unleashingreaders.com/26114

justforqueerbooks's review

Go to review page

4.0

queer PJO fans: READ THIS!!!! rtc :)

saracat's review against another edition

Go to review page

4.0

I have yet to read a book by Polydoros that I don't love, though this is the first book I've read by him that is marked towards middle grade readers. I like how even though the main characters step up when needed, they also feel and show fear. And sometimes get it wrong, since they aren't practiced in defending the world.

I really liked one of the plot twists Polydoros through in; I definitely didn't see it coming. Though I do wonder if someone was more familiar with stories and myths from Jewish tradition might have picked up on things sooner. Because even though it's obvious that Polydoros is taking inspiration from Jewish myth and beliefs, I don't know enough about them to know if he also pulled from other inspiration, etc.

It looks like there will be at least one more book in these series set to come out next year, and I'm definitely excited to read it and see what happens next.

wanderinglynn's review

Go to review page

adventurous medium-paced

2.0

I'll preface my review by stating that I am clearly not the intended audience. That being said, my biggest issue was that the writing style just didn't work for me. The tone was humorous and the story overall is easy to read, but I felt the pacing didn't quite work, the character development was lacking, and I felt there were some holes in the story.

As for the pacing, I thought that given there were 3 monsters that this might be the first in a trilogy with some build-up. Instead, it went quickly between two monsters in this book without any development in between—this is why I felt the pacing didn't quite work. These 3 monsters are basically supposed to be the end of times, like Ragnorak, and yet, *snap* two were defeated by a pre-teen boy with a sword but no training.

The minimal character development is likely due to the pacing. The story does move fast and so there's little time for character development. This is a pre-teen boy struggling with identity, both sexual and cultural. I thought more care and time might have been devoted to these issues, especially considering this is targeted at middle graders who might have similar issues.

As for the plot holes, basically I felt there was minimal detail on the history of the ring and Ashmedai. Maybe that's because of the age bracket this book is intended. But the story only told the basics and I felt I was missing something. Maybe because I’m not Jewish and I know little Judaism and its stories.

Overall, an interesting concept but it might have been fleshed out a bit more.

I received this book from BookishFirst in exchange for an honest review.

rebekah27's review

Go to review page

4.0

Thank you NetGalley and inkyard press for the arc of this book. Im going to start with the things that i disliked first and end with the things that i did like about this book. Firstly, there was very little to no build up to the plot and the things that happened. Secondly, to go along with the first one, it was too short, now the final version does seem to be longer than the arc that I received so hopefully this and all my other critiques will be fixed. Thirdly the side characters weren’t as developed as i would’ve liked. And my last critique is i didn’t connect with it as much as I wanted to, however this is a middle grade book written for 12 year olds and as I am not a 12 year old I can’t really hold that against it. Moving on to the things that I did like about it, it had short chapters, it puts you right into the action, it made me laugh out loud, and I would love to see little kids read this and hopefully get to see themselves, and/or learn about Jewish mythology. Overall this was an amazing book and it deserves to be read by as many little kids as possible.