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3.83 AVERAGE
3.83 AVERAGE
I started reading this series in 6th grade and I just finished it at 27 cuddled up next to my three year old. While much of what once made it magical to me is largely lost, I still got misty eyed closing the final page. At certain points, this series meant so much to me. Along with Bone and Percy Jackson, this series taught me to love books and comics and inspired much of my artistic ambitions. I’m grateful to Kazu and the Bolt City team.
Okay, now that I’ve got the sentimental stuff out of the way, here’s some of my curmudgeon adult thoughts on the final installment of this children’s series.
My greatest frustration over the years with Amulet has been the incessant character additions. Without verifying, I’m fairly positive every installment introduced new characters. This is a shame because some of the early characters were strong and even new ones had potential, but the sheer amount of them drowned out the possibility of any of them developing. For example, as a kid who reread book 2 (maybe the best?) over and over again, I was obsessed with Leon the fox-man warrior. He was badass and mysterious. But by the fourth book he was pretty much relegated to the sidelines along with so many others.
That problem is likely symptomatic of this larger problem: the books just kept increasing scale, but in a somewhat unfocused, haphazard way. For instance, it was often unclear who the antagonist was and that lessened the stakes. I think that was an intentional choice. My theory is it stems from the pacifist instincts of similar stories like Avatar (The Last Airbender) or Raya and the Last Dragon. Those series were always careful to show that evil was a force beyond human beings and that violence against other humans is not the answer, even if called for sometimes. Avatar almost always finds a way to do this very well with spirit world enemies, corrupt governments or companies, environmental disasters, etc. Even if that Avatar gangs often ended up battling, it’s never because they believed that was the answer (well, except for Toph). Anyway, this series starts out with a very similar set up to Avatar (mixed with like, Narnia?) where there’s a wicked king who is the cause behind all the world’s evil. Obviously, our protagonist must defeat him. But wait, is he controlled by a malevolent force? Is that force controlled by another force? Oh, time out, we’ve got an anti-hero introduction! Nevermind, he gone, and hold up, is that king corrupted by an original malevolent force that’s controlled by another force that’s controlled by another force, actually controlled by — wait for it — YET another force?? By this final installment the big bad had shifted at least four or five times, with each shift being less meaningful. Anyway, epics like LOTR or Bone are partly amazing because of their scale, but also because they commit to their plot and stick the landing. Giant scale for its own sake can end up as narrative chaos.
SPOILERS AHEAD
Another theme from Avatar and many other Children’s series that shows up is: “the kids are alright.” Adults step out of the way, have faith in the next generation. For the most part, I think that’s great, but it contributes to some of the biggest problems in this book, namely that 4 brand new, kid characters are introduced and pretty much become more important than any current existing character other than Emily. All our existing characters step out of the way for these undeveloped new ones to take the reins. Thematically that’s cool, but narratively, especially in the finale, it’s so not.
I felt lukewarm about most of this book, but I’ll admit, the twist that Ikol was created on Earth felt effectively shocking and the final confrontation between Emily and Ikol was emotional. And yet, both those moments have issues. The fact that now, in the final book we realize the real problem all along was AI and environmental disaster on Earth is a little odd. Surely, Kazu wasn’t planning for this series to link to the Singularity from the beginning? This isn’t an issue, I suppose, just an interesting side effect of a series being released over so many years. But Ikol was created by humans (cyborgs?) to find help from beings on other planets? Okay, again without having read all the previous books in awhile, why didn’t he just say that from the start??? Why wait for nine books to get to the point? It just feels like a major plot hole and another indication that Kazu was making this up as he went along.
Which also points back to a fascinating phenomenon in the production of this series. Kazu had a medical emergency somewhere around book 4 and nearly died. From what I understand, he underwent a significant loss of memory after awaking (from a coma?) I’m not sure if he ever outright said this, but it felt heavily implied that when he awoke, he didn’t remember where he had planned for the plot to go. I think I remember him saying something about letting the story tell itself from that point on. All of that is just very interesting regardless of the outcome. But at the point, he still had so many books left and it felt that the original plot arc had been lost and it was never recovered. Now that said, there are hints that some things may have been planned all along. The fact that the Shadows would end up being one of the main villains seems foreshadowed (see what I’d did there?) from book one.
Maybe I just didn’t notice this much as a kid, but at least in these later books, it felt like the plot (or lack thereof) was a just a means to the delivery of these motivational phrases, sermons, and or proverbs. Some are good and feel like hard won insights, but many feel cheap and cheesy. But I respect it, Kazu is trying to deliver healthy messages to kids and for the most part, he does so well. They just felt contrived and frustrating to me this time around.
Anyway, like I said, there are two or three high points in this final installment that work even if the rest falls flat of a long anticipated finale. In the end, the meandering nature of this series is a shame.
But! It meant so much to me as a kid, a teenager, and even at times as an adult. And most importantly, it probably still has that effect for many kids today. Despite the top reviews here on GR being as curmudgeon as mine, there are a lot of five-star, enthusiastic reviews. That’s a sign that the intended audience is still enjoying it and I’m happy for them. And, as much as I do believe sticking the landing is important, I’m also an advocate for not writing off the quality of all that came before even if you were disappointed by the ending. At least one of those top reviews is guilty of that and that feels disrespectfully dismissive.
Even if it’s not perfect, I look forward to sharing it with my kids someday soon.
Farewell Amulet
Okay, now that I’ve got the sentimental stuff out of the way, here’s some of my curmudgeon adult thoughts on the final installment of this children’s series.
My greatest frustration over the years with Amulet has been the incessant character additions. Without verifying, I’m fairly positive every installment introduced new characters. This is a shame because some of the early characters were strong and even new ones had potential, but the sheer amount of them drowned out the possibility of any of them developing. For example, as a kid who reread book 2 (maybe the best?) over and over again, I was obsessed with Leon the fox-man warrior. He was badass and mysterious. But by the fourth book he was pretty much relegated to the sidelines along with so many others.
That problem is likely symptomatic of this larger problem: the books just kept increasing scale, but in a somewhat unfocused, haphazard way. For instance, it was often unclear who the antagonist was and that lessened the stakes. I think that was an intentional choice. My theory is it stems from the pacifist instincts of similar stories like Avatar (The Last Airbender) or Raya and the Last Dragon. Those series were always careful to show that evil was a force beyond human beings and that violence against other humans is not the answer, even if called for sometimes. Avatar almost always finds a way to do this very well with spirit world enemies, corrupt governments or companies, environmental disasters, etc. Even if that Avatar gangs often ended up battling, it’s never because they believed that was the answer (well, except for Toph). Anyway, this series starts out with a very similar set up to Avatar (mixed with like, Narnia?) where there’s a wicked king who is the cause behind all the world’s evil. Obviously, our protagonist must defeat him. But wait, is he controlled by a malevolent force? Is that force controlled by another force? Oh, time out, we’ve got an anti-hero introduction! Nevermind, he gone, and hold up, is that king corrupted by an original malevolent force that’s controlled by another force that’s controlled by another force, actually controlled by — wait for it — YET another force?? By this final installment the big bad had shifted at least four or five times, with each shift being less meaningful. Anyway, epics like LOTR or Bone are partly amazing because of their scale, but also because they commit to their plot and stick the landing. Giant scale for its own sake can end up as narrative chaos.
SPOILERS AHEAD
Another theme from Avatar and many other Children’s series that shows up is: “the kids are alright.” Adults step out of the way, have faith in the next generation. For the most part, I think that’s great, but it contributes to some of the biggest problems in this book, namely that 4 brand new, kid characters are introduced and pretty much become more important than any current existing character other than Emily. All our existing characters step out of the way for these undeveloped new ones to take the reins. Thematically that’s cool, but narratively, especially in the finale, it’s so not.
I felt lukewarm about most of this book, but I’ll admit, the twist that Ikol was created on Earth felt effectively shocking and the final confrontation between Emily and Ikol was emotional. And yet, both those moments have issues. The fact that now, in the final book we realize the real problem all along was AI and environmental disaster on Earth is a little odd. Surely, Kazu wasn’t planning for this series to link to the Singularity from the beginning? This isn’t an issue, I suppose, just an interesting side effect of a series being released over so many years. But Ikol was created by humans (cyborgs?) to find help from beings on other planets? Okay, again without having read all the previous books in awhile, why didn’t he just say that from the start??? Why wait for nine books to get to the point? It just feels like a major plot hole and another indication that Kazu was making this up as he went along.
Which also points back to a fascinating phenomenon in the production of this series. Kazu had a medical emergency somewhere around book 4 and nearly died. From what I understand, he underwent a significant loss of memory after awaking (from a coma?) I’m not sure if he ever outright said this, but it felt heavily implied that when he awoke, he didn’t remember where he had planned for the plot to go. I think I remember him saying something about letting the story tell itself from that point on. All of that is just very interesting regardless of the outcome. But at the point, he still had so many books left and it felt that the original plot arc had been lost and it was never recovered. Now that said, there are hints that some things may have been planned all along. The fact that the Shadows would end up being one of the main villains seems foreshadowed (see what I’d did there?) from book one.
Maybe I just didn’t notice this much as a kid, but at least in these later books, it felt like the plot (or lack thereof) was a just a means to the delivery of these motivational phrases, sermons, and or proverbs. Some are good and feel like hard won insights, but many feel cheap and cheesy. But I respect it, Kazu is trying to deliver healthy messages to kids and for the most part, he does so well. They just felt contrived and frustrating to me this time around.
Anyway, like I said, there are two or three high points in this final installment that work even if the rest falls flat of a long anticipated finale. In the end, the meandering nature of this series is a shame.
But! It meant so much to me as a kid, a teenager, and even at times as an adult. And most importantly, it probably still has that effect for many kids today. Despite the top reviews here on GR being as curmudgeon as mine, there are a lot of five-star, enthusiastic reviews. That’s a sign that the intended audience is still enjoying it and I’m happy for them. And, as much as I do believe sticking the landing is important, I’m also an advocate for not writing off the quality of all that came before even if you were disappointed by the ending. At least one of those top reviews is guilty of that and that feels disrespectfully dismissive.
Even if it’s not perfect, I look forward to sharing it with my kids someday soon.
Farewell Amulet
adventurous
dark
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
adventurous
emotional
fast-paced
I have been waiting about 4 years for this book to come out. Great conclusion to a great series. Beautiful illustrations, and a great message about humanity and kindness.
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
medium-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
funny
hopeful
tense
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
This review is over 10 years in the making cause the last book FINALLY came out and I finally got around to re-reading the whole series. These were some of the first graphic novels I read and I’m so glad this series exists. Read all 9 yesterday afternoon while sitting in the sunshine.
adventurous
emotional
fast-paced
A great ending to a wonderful series. Thanks to Scholastic & Kazu Kibishi for gifting me with a signed copy at TLA 2024. My students are going to be so excited!
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No