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roshk99's review against another edition
3.0
Very classic beginning to fantasy story, characteristic by a severe lack of information. Characters very cliche, but it is still interesting to see where Ward will take the series.
nimrodiel's review against another edition
4.0
Read & Reviewed for http://www.Armchairinterviews.com
Coriko and his partner Pippa are slaves to the Spears. The children are Twosies, who have lived in the grasslands, and worked at finding the shards that the Spears want mined from the sands for many years. Coriko – who doesn’t remember a life outside of captivity relies on Pippa for friendship and support as they struggle through each day trying to meet the gather quotas and keep from angering the Spear guards and the punishment that comes afterwards.
However, they find their life changing slowly when two newcomers are captured and brought to the grasslands who speak the same language as Pippa and Coriko. They bring news of unrest in the outside world, and the possibility of war. When the Spears suddenly start changing their gathering totals for the day, and are attacked by enemy archers inside the grasslands, the four friends team together with two other slave children to try and survive. The violence towards the Spears increases and the children find themselves looking for ways to free the other slaves, escape from the cave complex that they are kept in, and get past both the Spears and the attacking soldiers.
Escape the mask is the first book in The Grasslands Trilogy. The story explores the idea of freedom. Coriko and his friends find themselves free from the torture and cruelty of their captors, and faced with freedom from the slavery that was the life they were accustomed to. After they find freedom, each child has the opportunity to discover more about themselves, and who they are. They grow from slaves with no identity to individuals with very distinct strengths and weaknesses. I found the story engaging. I enjoyed watching the six children grow as they found strength together to break free from imprisonment and discover who each person is.
This is a great introduction to a new series, and I am looking forward to reading the next book when it is published.
Coriko and his partner Pippa are slaves to the Spears. The children are Twosies, who have lived in the grasslands, and worked at finding the shards that the Spears want mined from the sands for many years. Coriko – who doesn’t remember a life outside of captivity relies on Pippa for friendship and support as they struggle through each day trying to meet the gather quotas and keep from angering the Spear guards and the punishment that comes afterwards.
However, they find their life changing slowly when two newcomers are captured and brought to the grasslands who speak the same language as Pippa and Coriko. They bring news of unrest in the outside world, and the possibility of war. When the Spears suddenly start changing their gathering totals for the day, and are attacked by enemy archers inside the grasslands, the four friends team together with two other slave children to try and survive. The violence towards the Spears increases and the children find themselves looking for ways to free the other slaves, escape from the cave complex that they are kept in, and get past both the Spears and the attacking soldiers.
Escape the mask is the first book in The Grasslands Trilogy. The story explores the idea of freedom. Coriko and his friends find themselves free from the torture and cruelty of their captors, and faced with freedom from the slavery that was the life they were accustomed to. After they find freedom, each child has the opportunity to discover more about themselves, and who they are. They grow from slaves with no identity to individuals with very distinct strengths and weaknesses. I found the story engaging. I enjoyed watching the six children grow as they found strength together to break free from imprisonment and discover who each person is.
This is a great introduction to a new series, and I am looking forward to reading the next book when it is published.
thatlibrarynerd's review against another edition
3.0
The plot focuses on Corki and his friends escaping captivity, but it's a bit unsatisfying because this happens coincidentally and rather easily. They don't hatch a plot or take many risks; rather, they escape when their captors, Spears, are attacked by... someone.
That's another weakness of the book, the amount of things that are not explained. This is unfortunately true of much of the vernacular, the meaning of which is left to the reader to assume.
That said, the writing is clear and very readable, and the story is engaging enough that I finished reading it. I wouldn't recommend this book strongly, but it's not bad. It's like a draft more than anything else.
That's another weakness of the book, the amount of things that are not explained. This is unfortunately true of much of the vernacular, the meaning of which is left to the reader to assume.
That said, the writing is clear and very readable, and the story is engaging enough that I finished reading it. I wouldn't recommend this book strongly, but it's not bad. It's like a draft more than anything else.
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