You need to sign in or sign up before continuing.
Take a photo of a barcode or cover
3.79 AVERAGE
3.79 AVERAGE
I was super hyped for this but ended up not finishing
it :( I couldn’t get past the beginning, but I did get to some parts of action maybe 45% of the way through. Anyways, I just wasn’t clicking with the story.
Happy reading!
it :( I couldn’t get past the beginning, but I did get to some parts of action maybe 45% of the way through. Anyways, I just wasn’t clicking with the story.
Happy reading!
Pros: If you love the Percy Jackson series, you will love this book! It's cool to read about a character who is disabled, but that disability doesn't hinder his abilities, it actually sometimes helps (you'll see in the book.) I enjoy the fun characters and learning about Mayan mythology.
Cons: It's a bit too similar to the Lightning Theif. The teen boy lives with a single mom, the boy has a disability, the boy is protected by someone he's known his whole life who turns out to be magical, the boy discovers magical abilities and learns he is related to a god, etc etc etc. I wish it had a bit more originality in that sense.
Overall, if you are nostalgic for the lightning thief but want to shake it up, I recommend this book.
Cons: It's a bit too similar to the Lightning Theif. The teen boy lives with a single mom, the boy has a disability, the boy is protected by someone he's known his whole life who turns out to be magical, the boy discovers magical abilities and learns he is related to a god, etc etc etc. I wish it had a bit more originality in that sense.
Overall, if you are nostalgic for the lightning thief but want to shake it up, I recommend this book.
adventurous
funny
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Great book for fans of Riordan and a great look at mythology I was not aware of.
2 stars
Before I get started, let me just say that no one is more disappointed in this book than I. I had such high hopes for this one. Mayan mythology is so interesting and I was so excited to see how the author was going to explore it in this book, but unfortunately, everything about it just fell really flat for me. The only reason this isn't a one star is because I did genuinely enjoy the Mayan mythology aspect of the novel.
That said, though, the bad parts very much outweigh the good for me with this one. The characters felt really underdeveloped, especially when it came to the side characters. All of them had one personality trait at most, which made it very hard to connect with or care about them at all. I also thought that the main character was just... bland? He really didn't bring anything new to the table. And I really couldn't get past his internalized ableism (see ownvoices reviews for more details on this one). It really rubbed me the wrong way that this, as far as I can tell, able-bodied author, chose to write a disabled MC who hates himself for his disability. And I mean, it's constant. It's there on almost every page and it just made me incredibly uncomfortable to read about. I cannot imagine recommending this to a disabled (latinx) kid because I think this representation is more harmful than it is uplifting.
But the representation, although it is the most harmful, isn't the only thing that I found poorly handed with this novel. The plot moved at an abysmally slow pace and I had to push myself to get through just ten pages of this novel, when normally I fly through middle grade. Everything happened at such as a slow rate, but then the climax was resolved incredibly quickly and we weren't really given any information that explained how or why things got resolved the way they did.
The slowness of the plot also wasn't helped by the writing style. I found that the author tended to go on and on with descriptions for way too long which just left me feeling lost and also having to take twice as long as normal to read this book because I kept tuning out at the descriptions and then having to reread entire pages of information I had missed.
One last thing that really bothered me that I do think is important is the way the main character talks about women in this novel. He makes so many off-handed comments throughout his narration that felt incredibly misogynistic to me and generally just rubbed me the wrong way. Definitely wasn't a huge fan of that.
Overall, I'm really disappointed with this one and I don't think I would recommend it to folks just because I feel like the representation in this one is really harmful and I don't want it to end up hurting readers. That said, though, my review is one of many, and I'm sure there are plenty of people who have enjoyed this book, so feel free to seek those reviews out instead!
Before I get started, let me just say that no one is more disappointed in this book than I. I had such high hopes for this one. Mayan mythology is so interesting and I was so excited to see how the author was going to explore it in this book, but unfortunately, everything about it just fell really flat for me. The only reason this isn't a one star is because I did genuinely enjoy the Mayan mythology aspect of the novel.
That said, though, the bad parts very much outweigh the good for me with this one. The characters felt really underdeveloped, especially when it came to the side characters. All of them had one personality trait at most, which made it very hard to connect with or care about them at all. I also thought that the main character was just... bland? He really didn't bring anything new to the table. And I really couldn't get past his internalized ableism (see ownvoices reviews for more details on this one). It really rubbed me the wrong way that this, as far as I can tell, able-bodied author, chose to write a disabled MC who hates himself for his disability. And I mean, it's constant. It's there on almost every page and it just made me incredibly uncomfortable to read about. I cannot imagine recommending this to a disabled (latinx) kid because I think this representation is more harmful than it is uplifting.
But the representation, although it is the most harmful, isn't the only thing that I found poorly handed with this novel. The plot moved at an abysmally slow pace and I had to push myself to get through just ten pages of this novel, when normally I fly through middle grade. Everything happened at such as a slow rate, but then the climax was resolved incredibly quickly and we weren't really given any information that explained how or why things got resolved the way they did.
Spoiler
The last fifty pages with the lightning and the storm runner reveal just felt way too rushed for me, especially compared to how slow the rest of the story was.The slowness of the plot also wasn't helped by the writing style. I found that the author tended to go on and on with descriptions for way too long which just left me feeling lost and also having to take twice as long as normal to read this book because I kept tuning out at the descriptions and then having to reread entire pages of information I had missed.
One last thing that really bothered me that I do think is important is the way the main character talks about women in this novel. He makes so many off-handed comments throughout his narration that felt incredibly misogynistic to me and generally just rubbed me the wrong way. Definitely wasn't a huge fan of that.
Overall, I'm really disappointed with this one and I don't think I would recommend it to folks just because I feel like the representation in this one is really harmful and I don't want it to end up hurting readers. That said, though, my review is one of many, and I'm sure there are plenty of people who have enjoyed this book, so feel free to seek those reviews out instead!
This story is about Mayan mythology. I wasn’t familiar with Mayan myths before this book. Many of the names were difficult to say, because they are not pronounced the way they are written. Zane explains how to say some words in his narrative, but there is also a glossary at the end which details the gods and how to pronounce their names.
This story followed the usual format of Rick Riordan books. Though he did not write this book, it is published by his imprint, Rick Riordan Presents. Zane lives with his mother and has never known his father. His father is a figure from Mayan mythology, and Zane learns his identity when he gains his own powers. The Percy Jackson series and the Magnus Chase series also begin like that, but they are about Greek mythology and Norse mythology. I liked the predictability of the story, and the ending was a surprise.
This narrative was unique because it is Zane’s account of events which he is writing down for the gods. He makes comments directly to the gods a few times. At the end of his narrative for the gods, he continues the story to tell how it really ends. This was a unique way to tell the story.
I’m excited to see where this story goes. This was a great start to the series.
I received a copy of this book from the publisher via NetGalley.
This story followed the usual format of Rick Riordan books. Though he did not write this book, it is published by his imprint, Rick Riordan Presents. Zane lives with his mother and has never known his father. His father is a figure from Mayan mythology, and Zane learns his identity when he gains his own powers. The Percy Jackson series and the Magnus Chase series also begin like that, but they are about Greek mythology and Norse mythology. I liked the predictability of the story, and the ending was a surprise.
This narrative was unique because it is Zane’s account of events which he is writing down for the gods. He makes comments directly to the gods a few times. At the end of his narrative for the gods, he continues the story to tell how it really ends. This was a unique way to tell the story.
I’m excited to see where this story goes. This was a great start to the series.
I received a copy of this book from the publisher via NetGalley.
The Storm Runner je dobrá knížka. Na to seznámení s mayskou mytologií je skvělá. Nadšená jsem byla i z faktu, že hlavní hrdina sice má zdravotní postižení (jednu nohu má kratší než tu druhou, a proto musí chodit s holí), ale to mu nezabrání v tom, aby se postavil partě démonů a dal jim co proto. Zkrátka bylo super, že autorka ukázala, že hrdinové mají mnoho podob.
První polovina knihy mě bavila hodně. Jenže s tou druhou jsem nějak začala ztrácet zájem a má pozornost klouzala pryč. Nebylo to proto, že by se tam nic nedělo, naopak to bylo dost napěchované akcí, ale možná mě to úplně nezajímalo? Myslím si, že problém byl v tom, že žádná další postava mimo Zanea si nezískala mou pozornost.
Prostě - když srovnám tohle a Aru Shah, tak mě Aru bavila víc. To ale neznamená, že bych vám nedoporučila zkusit i tohle. :)
První polovina knihy mě bavila hodně. Jenže s tou druhou jsem nějak začala ztrácet zájem a má pozornost klouzala pryč. Nebylo to proto, že by se tam nic nedělo, naopak to bylo dost napěchované akcí, ale možná mě to úplně nezajímalo? Myslím si, že problém byl v tom, že žádná další postava mimo Zanea si nezískala mou pozornost.
Prostě - když srovnám tohle a Aru Shah, tak mě Aru bavila víc. To ale neznamená, že bych vám nedoporučila zkusit i tohle. :)
Still really enjoyed this despite the fact that Brooks makes me think a lot of Annabeth, which is not a good thing.
It was a very good book! I loved reading it. It was very similar to the lightening thief in alot of ways.