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mikemulligan's review against another edition
3.0
I've just read this with Maxim. Quests, knights and dragons, perfect for a 7 year old :-)
erinld2005's review against another edition
5.0
My 8 year old sons love everything they have read so far from this author.
matthiasg28's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
relaxing
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
lakesbecky's review against another edition
3.0
Bought for my 6 year old he is loving reading it out loud and I had to borrow it to read myself. A great adventure story for younger readers (7+ is aim) but also enjoyable for grow ups.
bookladykd's review against another edition
4.0
This is a fun fantasy adventure read. I look forward to introducing the series to my students.
goodbetterbetsy's review against another edition
3.0
I read through this quickly because I'd like to do a Beast Quest program at the library and haven't read any of the books. Considering the age level this series is for, it's not too bad. It's not the best fantasy book you're ever going to read, but I know kids here go nuts for them and that's all that matters to me. I may skim through a few more in the series just to see how it goes. They are only about 75 pages long and take about 30 minutes to read.
franklin_1105's review against another edition
adventurous
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
3.0
aftanith's review against another edition
2.0
If you, like I, were worried that Adam Blade's Beast Quest would be an extremely black-and-white adventure series about children pointlessly slaughtering Always Chaotic Evil "monsters", you can stop worrying. It's not quite that bad. Rather, it's a series in which two preteens, Tom and Elenna of Avantia, go on a quest to save the mythological Beasts--guardians of Avantia--from the brainwashing powers of Devimon's Black Gears. Wait, no--that's the Digimon Emperor's Control Spires. No! The Shikon no Tama shards? Chimera animas? Or--oh, whatever.
...my point is that there's absolutely nothing here that hasn't been done before. I've seen the "animals/monsters brainwashed by the nefarious McGuffin" plot plenty of times. I've seen the "two or three ten-year-olds who are for some reason the only people capable of or brave enough to completely this world-saving mission" plot more times than anyone can count. We've all seen the evil overlords and sorcerers, the good wizards, the brave children, the missing father, and all the other fantasy cliches of Ferno the Fire Dragon over and over and over again...
But I think the thing to keep in mind with Beast Quest is that the target audience might not have seen all this before. Beast Quest might be a good starting point for children to get involved in the fantasy genre. If they haven't seen all the stock characters and cliche plots before this, Beast Quest might be something they'll enjoy; it might even be something that they'll look back on with nostalgia when they're all grown up (and hopefully have moved on to fantasy works of far better quality).
If you're really trying to excite your children about the fantasy, Beast Quest isn't the series I would suggest. For the younger audience who aren't ready for books over 100 or 200 pages, I'd suggest starting with Emily Rodda's Deltora Quest. It's more interesting, the writing is better, and it has two sequel series and an anime adaptation. If your child's a little older than the target audience for the Deltora series, I'd suggest Harry Potter (MG/YA wizard-focused fantasy set in 1990's Britain, in case you somehow don't know), Percy Jackson (MG mythological fantasy set in modern America), or Song of the Lioness (YA feminist fantasy set in the fictional kingdom of Tortall).
However, if your child just wants something to read, Beast Quest isn't the worst thing you can pick up. It's a long series of short books, and if the rest of them are anything like the first, their plots are cliche and simplistic. But it should be entertaining enough to children just getting into chapter books, and it's certainly not the worst way to be introduced to the genre. If they like it, try Deltora Quest next; it's much better. If they hate it... well, there's always sci-fi.
...my point is that there's absolutely nothing here that hasn't been done before. I've seen the "animals/monsters brainwashed by the nefarious McGuffin" plot plenty of times. I've seen the "two or three ten-year-olds who are for some reason the only people capable of or brave enough to completely this world-saving mission" plot more times than anyone can count. We've all seen the evil overlords and sorcerers, the good wizards, the brave children, the missing father, and all the other fantasy cliches of Ferno the Fire Dragon over and over and over again...
But I think the thing to keep in mind with Beast Quest is that the target audience might not have seen all this before. Beast Quest might be a good starting point for children to get involved in the fantasy genre. If they haven't seen all the stock characters and cliche plots before this, Beast Quest might be something they'll enjoy; it might even be something that they'll look back on with nostalgia when they're all grown up (and hopefully have moved on to fantasy works of far better quality).
If you're really trying to excite your children about the fantasy, Beast Quest isn't the series I would suggest. For the younger audience who aren't ready for books over 100 or 200 pages, I'd suggest starting with Emily Rodda's Deltora Quest. It's more interesting, the writing is better, and it has two sequel series and an anime adaptation. If your child's a little older than the target audience for the Deltora series, I'd suggest Harry Potter (MG/YA wizard-focused fantasy set in 1990's Britain, in case you somehow don't know), Percy Jackson (MG mythological fantasy set in modern America), or Song of the Lioness (YA feminist fantasy set in the fictional kingdom of Tortall).
However, if your child just wants something to read, Beast Quest isn't the worst thing you can pick up. It's a long series of short books, and if the rest of them are anything like the first, their plots are cliche and simplistic. But it should be entertaining enough to children just getting into chapter books, and it's certainly not the worst way to be introduced to the genre. If they like it, try Deltora Quest next; it's much better. If they hate it... well, there's always sci-fi.
archimedesfudge's review against another edition
adventurous
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0