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3.83 AVERAGE
3.83 AVERAGE
adventurous
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
adventurous
hopeful
sad
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
A disappointing combination of talk-no-jutsu and a rushed, vaguely nonsensical ending. I went in vaguely optimistic and was left dissatisfied. Truthfully, it's a bit hard to recall the details of the previous books in the series, but I know it wasn't... this.
So much of this is just absolutely new stuff packed into the final book with no answers whatsoever. The antagonists aren't actually who we thought they were, and they wereactually robots built by Silas and the stone is a computer program?? Am I dreaming?? This literally comes out of nowhere and makes no sense. Moreover, we're suddenly introduced to a bunch of new stonekeepers which also comes out of nowhere, and makes the protagonists somehow have a bunch of firepower that they got just to easily solve everything. And Vigo just...dies?? Like in one page? I'm so confused.
As for concluding this series... everything is literally so rushed. We jump from plot point to plot point in a matter of pages. This is especially caused by the fact that Emily has gained two new abilities: deadpan dialogue and talk-no-jutsu! Literally everything she says is so flat and to the point that it's nearly corny. Along with that, every conversation she has with antagonists goes along the lines of: "stop it. believe in yourself." And then they do! And they're saved! This happens for practically every antagonist she comes across. And she practicallydefeats Ikol with... the power of belief? That scene was utterly baffling. Of course, we finish the book with telling in huge bouts of expository dialogue, not showing, which makes it even worse.
Overall, I'm sad this is the ending to the series, because it was rather pathetic. I still love the world and the characters, and I LOVED the first half of this series, but it's been kind of ruined with these random reveals and horrible pacing. 2 stars, and that's because I didn't absolutely hate it. There were some nice moments. This was mostly just... a shame.
So much of this is just absolutely new stuff packed into the final book with no answers whatsoever. The antagonists aren't actually who we thought they were, and they were
As for concluding this series... everything is literally so rushed. We jump from plot point to plot point in a matter of pages. This is especially caused by the fact that Emily has gained two new abilities: deadpan dialogue and talk-no-jutsu! Literally everything she says is so flat and to the point that it's nearly corny. Along with that, every conversation she has with antagonists goes along the lines of: "stop it. believe in yourself." And then they do! And they're saved! This happens for practically every antagonist she comes across. And she practically
Overall, I'm sad this is the ending to the series, because it was rather pathetic. I still love the world and the characters, and I LOVED the first half of this series, but it's been kind of ruined with these random reveals and horrible pacing. 2 stars, and that's because I didn't absolutely hate it. There were some nice moments. This was mostly just... a shame.
Was ein enttäuschendes Finale.
Ich habe Bände 1-8 vor ein paar Wochen gelesen und man merkt, dass die letzten nicht mehr auf dem gleichen Niveau waren, die Handlungsstränge wirkte immer verworrener und inkonsistent.
Leider ist hier in dem Abschlussband auch einiges nicht aufgelöst oder nicht zufriedenstellend aufgelöst worden.
Eine tolle Reihe und ich werde sie weiterempfehlen, umso mehr ist es schade ums dieses Ende.
Ich habe Bände 1-8 vor ein paar Wochen gelesen und man merkt, dass die letzten nicht mehr auf dem gleichen Niveau waren, die Handlungsstränge wirkte immer verworrener und inkonsistent.
Leider ist hier in dem Abschlussband auch einiges nicht aufgelöst oder nicht zufriedenstellend aufgelöst worden.
Eine tolle Reihe und ich werde sie weiterempfehlen, umso mehr ist es schade ums dieses Ende.
medium-paced
Let me preface this by saying, when I first got into this series as an Indigo employee (seeing it recommended everywhere, seeing customers get excited to pick up the latest volume, etc) I was absolutely captured by the worldbuilding and gorgeous illustrations.
But in the 6 years between Amulet 8 (2018) and Amulet 9 (2024), I've read A LOT more middle grade and a lot more graphic novels. And I was honestly expecting more from the conclusion to this hyped series.
STRENGTHS:
- the ART!! As always, Kibushi's characters are adorable and stylized in a way that doesn't give me the uncanny valley heebie-jeebies
- the scenes of the fantasy world, the use of colour, is absolutely stunning! A feast for the eyes 100%
- the ending: no spoilers, but I like the conclusion to Emily's role in the story/grand scheme of things
WEAKNESSES:
- the pacing: parts of this felt too rushed, other parts it felt like we spent too much time with
- Emily hopped from thing to thing randomly based on *feelings* (like the feeling that following the golden dragonfly thing would bring her to her family... and it conveniently does)
- the dialogue: maybe the dialogue was always this bad and I've just read more middle grade graphic novels since 2018, but holy cow is the dialogue awkward and stunted
- the speech bubbles are often used to tell readers things that happen to quickly resolve a problem in ways that feel really unsatisfying
OPPORTUNITIES:
- another volume: it's too late for this, but it feels like there is plot for two books that probably for publishing deal reasons (or maybe creator fatigue given the 6 year gap btwn volumes 8 and 9?) was smashed into one volume
- there were a lot of moving pieces that needed to be wrapped up, and the solution seems to be (see above) telling readers how it concludes via dialogue instead of exploring a conclusion with characters doing things
Overall, I'm happy I finally finished the series after getting sucked into the hype. It's nice to see how Emily's story ends. But it was also hugely disappointing. I'm curious if folks who are reading the whole series in 2024 now that it's complete will find the ending as disappointing as I did or if not having to wait six years means their hopes weren't as high.
But in the 6 years between Amulet 8 (2018) and Amulet 9 (2024), I've read A LOT more middle grade and a lot more graphic novels. And I was honestly expecting more from the conclusion to this hyped series.
STRENGTHS:
- the ART!! As always, Kibushi's characters are adorable and stylized in a way that doesn't give me the uncanny valley heebie-jeebies
- the scenes of the fantasy world, the use of colour, is absolutely stunning! A feast for the eyes 100%
- the ending: no spoilers, but I like the conclusion to Emily's role in the story/grand scheme of things
WEAKNESSES:
- the pacing: parts of this felt too rushed, other parts it felt like we spent too much time with
- Emily hopped from thing to thing randomly based on *feelings* (like the feeling that following the golden dragonfly thing would bring her to her family... and it conveniently does)
- the dialogue: maybe the dialogue was always this bad and I've just read more middle grade graphic novels since 2018, but holy cow is the dialogue awkward and stunted
- the speech bubbles are often used to tell readers things that happen to quickly resolve a problem in ways that feel really unsatisfying
OPPORTUNITIES:
- another volume: it's too late for this, but it feels like there is plot for two books that probably for publishing deal reasons (or maybe creator fatigue given the 6 year gap btwn volumes 8 and 9?) was smashed into one volume
- there were a lot of moving pieces that needed to be wrapped up, and the solution seems to be (see above) telling readers how it concludes via dialogue instead of exploring a conclusion with characters doing things
Overall, I'm happy I finally finished the series after getting sucked into the hype. It's nice to see how Emily's story ends. But it was also hugely disappointing. I'm curious if folks who are reading the whole series in 2024 now that it's complete will find the ending as disappointing as I did or if not having to wait six years means their hopes weren't as high.
adventurous
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
adventurous
emotional
inspiring
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
medium-paced
It was a fun ending to the series, but just a wee bit too little, too late. I've been waiting for this book since 2020. However, I hope many children will discover it and read all the volumes back to back and love them.
adventurous
emotional
lighthearted
fast-paced
adventurous
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
mysterious
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
