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kbelcher1992's review against another edition
4.0
I thought the second book was slower than the first but this one came back I think probably the strongest of the series so far. I couldn't put the book down and overall really enjoyed it. There were several things that genuinely surprised me and I was impressed by them and overall really enjoyed the book. I would definitely suggest to a person interested in Y.A. fantasy.
onemanbookclub's review against another edition
4.0
Check out my blog, One Man Book Club
The Value of a Star: Ratings Explained
One thing's for sure: Brandon Mull knows how to write for kids.
Fablehaven. Beyonders. The Candyshop Wars.
All winners.
Five Kingdoms? Yep. It's a winner--at least, it is if you can get past the annoying to embrace the fun.
The Five Kingdoms is a five-book series:
Book 1: Sky Raiders
Book 2: The Rogue Knight
Book 3: Crystal Keepers
Book 4: Death Weavers
Book 5: Time Jumpers
Cole is 11 and perfectly normal--until he and his friends get kidnapped and taken through a portal into another world. (Sound a little similar to Beyonders? Ya, I thought so too.)
In the Outskirts, slavery is legal and slaves from Earth are a hot commodity due to their likelihood of manifesting the magical power that exists there. Cole manages to escape, make new friends, discover his power, and become the Outskirts only hope to avoid certain destruction. Bonus points if he's able to discover a way to get himself and all his friends home too.
Without dieing, of course.
The series is packed with cool stuff that the under 14 crowd will love. Castles floating on clouds. Magic swords. Evil kings. Lost princesses. Giant robot dragons. Sentient robots. Knights. Shape shifters. Ghosts. Magic powers. Time travel. High tech battle armor. Teleportation. Artificial Intelligences. Jokes. Heroes. Mysteries. Twists. Red herrings. Battles. Crushes. More, more and more. Fun overload, seriously.
It's also packed with annoying stuff that might drive grown-up readers slowly insane...
Lose ends. Too many characters. Over-simplified solutions. Easy answers. Awful decisions.
Repeating plot lines. Dead doesn't mean dead. Non-stop narration of everything that happens in Cole's brain.
Everything.
Non-stop.
For 2,357 pages.
Sigh...
These things made the first couple books hard to read. I knew the fun was there, so I kept going because a fun story will nearly always trump all in the end. And it did.
In the end fun won me over.
The Five Kingdoms will be a fun read for kids who love adventure. That should be all of them, shouldn't it? The main character is a boy, but there are strong girl characters as well. The kids in the story are 11 years old (and act like it), and are accessible to a broad age group. Adults who can embrace the fun and ignore the lame will enjoy these books too.
I'll be recommending them to my kids.
Happy Reading!
The Value of a Star: Ratings Explained
One thing's for sure: Brandon Mull knows how to write for kids.
Fablehaven. Beyonders. The Candyshop Wars.
All winners.
Five Kingdoms? Yep. It's a winner--at least, it is if you can get past the annoying to embrace the fun.
The Five Kingdoms is a five-book series:
Book 1: Sky Raiders
Book 2: The Rogue Knight
Book 3: Crystal Keepers
Book 4: Death Weavers
Book 5: Time Jumpers
Cole is 11 and perfectly normal--until he and his friends get kidnapped and taken through a portal into another world. (Sound a little similar to Beyonders? Ya, I thought so too.)
In the Outskirts, slavery is legal and slaves from Earth are a hot commodity due to their likelihood of manifesting the magical power that exists there. Cole manages to escape, make new friends, discover his power, and become the Outskirts only hope to avoid certain destruction. Bonus points if he's able to discover a way to get himself and all his friends home too.
Without dieing, of course.
The series is packed with cool stuff that the under 14 crowd will love. Castles floating on clouds. Magic swords. Evil kings. Lost princesses. Giant robot dragons. Sentient robots. Knights. Shape shifters. Ghosts. Magic powers. Time travel. High tech battle armor. Teleportation. Artificial Intelligences. Jokes. Heroes. Mysteries. Twists. Red herrings. Battles. Crushes. More, more and more. Fun overload, seriously.
It's also packed with annoying stuff that might drive grown-up readers slowly insane...
Lose ends. Too many characters. Over-simplified solutions. Easy answers. Awful decisions.
Repeating plot lines. Dead doesn't mean dead. Non-stop narration of everything that happens in Cole's brain.
Everything.
Non-stop.
For 2,357 pages.
Sigh...
These things made the first couple books hard to read. I knew the fun was there, so I kept going because a fun story will nearly always trump all in the end. And it did.
In the end fun won me over.
The Five Kingdoms will be a fun read for kids who love adventure. That should be all of them, shouldn't it? The main character is a boy, but there are strong girl characters as well. The kids in the story are 11 years old (and act like it), and are accessible to a broad age group. Adults who can embrace the fun and ignore the lame will enjoy these books too.
I'll be recommending them to my kids.
Happy Reading!
lizandlibrary's review against another edition
4.0
My kids LOVE this series. They can't wait to get to the next chapter each time we have to stop reading it. When the book ends they're begging for the next. As an adult they aren't terrible to read either like some YA and kids books can be. We are excited to start book 4.
breenakm's review against another edition
5.0
The genius of creating a fantasy world that I can follow and relate to and care about -amazing! The adventure continues...
tigerlinus's review against another edition
3.0
3.5. Best of the first three books in this series. The pace picked up, readers receive a few surprises, the plot and secondary storylines were gripping, and I was drawn to a few new characters. I was delighted that Crystal Keepers was better overall than the first two books of Five Kingdoms, and more along the lines of other works I've read by Mull.
ghumpherys's review against another edition
5.0
It's impressive the diversity that Brandon Mull has created with his five kingdoms in this series. Each kingdom has been so different from previous ones and focuses on a different aspect of the magical power. The kingdom in this 3rd book was all about technology and robots. And some great twists and surprises in the story too! Fabulous!
plumpmermaid's review against another edition
3.0
Probably my least favorite book in the series because of the tech, but still a fun read. Quick paced for sure!
wellington299's review against another edition
5.0
This is the third book in the series and it's the best one yet!
The first two books did feel really similar in story arc. This book lacks the big build up to the big bad at the end of the book. And the ending was really quick. It still has some fantastic new creative inventions by the author and one twist that I did not see coming.
The first two books did feel really similar in story arc. This book lacks the big build up to the big bad at the end of the book. And the ending was really quick. It still has some fantastic new creative inventions by the author and one twist that I did not see coming.
libraryjen's review against another edition
adventurous
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
4.0
THIS SERIES MUST BE READ IN ORDER.
Picking up where The Rogue Knight left off, in Crystal Keepers Cole, Dalton, Mira, Jace, & Joe are headed to Zeropolis, the most technologically advanced of the five kingdoms. They're searching for Constance, Mira's sister and being helped by the Unseen. The problem is, the Unseen are under heavier attack than ever before and the High King is desperate to get his daughters back. Bringing in new allies and new villains, this is a great continuation of the Five Kingdoms series and I highly recommend it!
Picking up where The Rogue Knight left off, in Crystal Keepers Cole, Dalton, Mira, Jace, & Joe are headed to Zeropolis, the most technologically advanced of the five kingdoms. They're searching for Constance, Mira's sister and being helped by the Unseen. The problem is, the Unseen are under heavier attack than ever before and the High King is desperate to get his daughters back. Bringing in new allies and new villains, this is a great continuation of the Five Kingdoms series and I highly recommend it!