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brisingr's review against another edition
5.0
A murder brings three Oxford students together. Stuck in a select club during a rainy night, an unusual guest reveals some extraordinary things to them, and being suddenly followed and wanted by some blood-thirsty creatures, they escape by embarking on their guest's ship and reaching a territory of imagination.
This is literally the most unaccurate description of what this book is about, but I want everyone to be as pleasantly surprised as I was. This book is a portal to childhood and imaginary worlds and it gives us the chance to sit in front of (maybe) favorite characters and legends from all over the world. The places that our three heroes visit and explore are part of the cultural and imaginary heritage of the whole humanity, and while this is a middle-grade book, I recommend it to people who have some basic knowledge on popular stories and legends, so it'll be easier to follow all the characters and adventures presented in it. If not, it's not really such a bad thing, as most of the less-known names are explained.
To be honest, I did not expect to like this book as much as I did. It has quite a simple writing style (I guess it's expected, taking in consideration the target readers), and while at first it bothered me, I learnt to appreciate how raw the feelings inflicted on me were thanks to the simplicity of the sentences. The characters were all likeable from the very first start, and I liked how each had to face some fears and insecurities, and all learnt something and got chanced by this experience they shared.
As Owen said in the author's notes, he took the gaps in history and gave them some magical touches, borrowed them and fitted them into his stories perfectly. I adore the mix of legends and ideas this book is and the enthusiasm I had as a child for mythology came back now even stronger. I was smiling every time a character I could recognize appeared, and all the talks about a past influenced by this land made of dreams and imagination was very interesting.
I had a lot of fun reading it! It's easy to get sucked into the story, it's entertaining, and the illustration are such a nice addition to the story! I adored how this book ended, it's hopeful and intriguing and never in a thousand years would I imagine such a wonderful turn of events! The ending is actually the tie-breaker, and the one that made this book a 5/5 stars experience for me! I had to just stare at a wall, while hugging the book, because this is how much I loved it.
I would sincerely recommend it to anyone! If you're a young reader, in search of a breath-taking adventure, or an everything reader that needs some break from serious books, or if you're old and you're craving for the hurried heartbeats a nice book would give you.
This book is for those that dare imagine.
This is literally the most unaccurate description of what this book is about, but I want everyone to be as pleasantly surprised as I was. This book is a portal to childhood and imaginary worlds and it gives us the chance to sit in front of (maybe) favorite characters and legends from all over the world. The places that our three heroes visit and explore are part of the cultural and imaginary heritage of the whole humanity, and while this is a middle-grade book, I recommend it to people who have some basic knowledge on popular stories and legends, so it'll be easier to follow all the characters and adventures presented in it. If not, it's not really such a bad thing, as most of the less-known names are explained.
To be honest, I did not expect to like this book as much as I did. It has quite a simple writing style (I guess it's expected, taking in consideration the target readers), and while at first it bothered me, I learnt to appreciate how raw the feelings inflicted on me were thanks to the simplicity of the sentences. The characters were all likeable from the very first start, and I liked how each had to face some fears and insecurities, and all learnt something and got chanced by this experience they shared.
As Owen said in the author's notes, he took the gaps in history and gave them some magical touches, borrowed them and fitted them into his stories perfectly. I adore the mix of legends and ideas this book is and the enthusiasm I had as a child for mythology came back now even stronger. I was smiling every time a character I could recognize appeared, and all the talks about a past influenced by this land made of dreams and imagination was very interesting.
I had a lot of fun reading it! It's easy to get sucked into the story, it's entertaining, and the illustration are such a nice addition to the story! I adored how this book ended, it's hopeful and intriguing and never in a thousand years would I imagine such a wonderful turn of events! The ending is actually the tie-breaker, and the one that made this book a 5/5 stars experience for me! I had to just stare at a wall, while hugging the book, because this is how much I loved it.
I would sincerely recommend it to anyone! If you're a young reader, in search of a breath-taking adventure, or an everything reader that needs some break from serious books, or if you're old and you're craving for the hurried heartbeats a nice book would give you.
This book is for those that dare imagine.
rosiesnow's review against another edition
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 against another edition
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 against another edition
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 against another edition
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 against another edition
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 against another edition
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...