Reviews

Shadowland by Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni

tulscip's review

4.0

Shadowland was a great sequel to the Mirror of Fire and Dreaming. It was not boring and kept me reading the whole time.

readwithpassion's review

3.0

This is book three in a series, but you don't need any backstory to pick this one up. It is a beautifully written fantasy about a 15-year-old boy that weaves both culture and fantasy. I would recommend this to both middle or high schoolers. I'd give it 3.5 stars--there were times when I found it to be a bit predictable, but I definitely enjoyed it. I am not an avid fantasy reader, but if you enjoy fantasy, you will like this one!

kountrythyme's review

4.0

Good book. Well written. I'd like to read the first in the series. The book makes a good part of a whole, but stands on its own quite well too. You don't have to read the first ones in the series to understand this one.

dandelionfluff's review

2.0

Wasn't as fond of this one as the previous installments. The dystopian science fiction wasn't fleshed out enough to feel like a believable world, and yet the situation itself is common enough to delve into. The world has been ruined by greed and conflict, scientists are the respected elite, magicians are suspect, etc. I think that part irked me a bit-- that of course scientists are the ones to mistrust, as they've been manipulated and led astray by their own pursuits. There's a great deal of political and social commentary going on here, that's for sure, which I wouldn't have minded if it felt like it belonged in the series. The previous two books were so full of what felt like organic magic. This one more feels like it tried to be two things at once, not really achieving either.

The messages of preservation of the environment, maintaining love for friends, being merciful-- all are good ideas to hang on to. Maybe, if the series continues, we'll get back to the feel of the first two books.