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A review by talon1010
Seeds of Rebellion by Brandon Mull
5.0
To say that Brandon Mull has "done it again" is to ignore the spot this book takes in his ouvre: it was early. This book came out in 2012, which, among other things, also produced my favorite movie, Chronicle; the first Avengers Film, and either the second or fifth Spider-Man movie, depending on how you count it; The Fault in Our Stars; and my own graduation from Middle school, and into high school. Yeah.
I probably would have been very well-served by this book at the time of its publishing, but at the time I was on something of an unfortunate break on reading for pleasure. I am quite glad I recovered some years after that, and then, after another break from reading since I thought I shouldn't be reading books that were "too young" for me to enjoy like I did, I came back to such books. I've said it before, and no doubt I'll say it again: I'm 24 and I really, really love well-written young fantasy. It's complex, but in a way that lets me see and appreciate every angle, as from above. It does not see to hide itself, but reveals all and still holds fascination.
Biography aside, this is a fantastic series. There is a lot of what I wanted to see, including much I didn't expect. I was very glad to see more weight on Rachel's actions. Galloran only gained facets as a character; I'm glad to see him buck the Hero's Journey slot of Brom and Obi-Wan before him. Indeed, this story is all the more interesting for that (Galloran's complexity, and the Hero's Journey thing): this is not a world without heroes, but not because of our protagonists' inclusion, not yet. They may yet be chosen ones, or something like it, but the prophesied hero that helped them along the way is not finished being a hero. His destiny is not over because he accepted help and played it straight, which I think is a lot of the point of the series.
For me, it's a perfect cut between Fablehaven and Eragon, an easy grey medium of high and low fantasy. The power and wonder of the world and its agents are fascinating and dazzling, but the drama and character choices put it beyond a book with perhaps higher stakes, like Harry Potter.
That's something I really, really like about Mull's brand of fantasy, actually; the omniverse, country, or Wizarding World doesn't need to be facing the threat of absolute extinction or spontaneous combustion, or whatever. The plot can be compelling without apocalyptic stakes. Mull follows genre lines plenty, but only so far as it serves him, and the story he seeks. He uses his characters' naivete-- and through them, the baseline of the genre-- to enhance his story, the stakes, and character development. What is it to be thrust into a magical world.... and not be the chosen one? What greater drama might come by leaving alone the threat of all things ending in trade for a potentially faithless friend? In my opinion, a great story with fascinating elements all the way down.
There is also a solid amount of unexpected inclusion of sign languages, which is pretty great. They were more of a sidenote, a means to an end and not an intent inclusion, which is just as well, but nice to say anyway. On details like (or exactly the same as) this, I call it preference, and seek to include it in my writing. There is plenty of minutia of great appeal, but if you like a fast and compelling read, with swords and god-magic and nontraditional fantasy races, do yourself a favor and check out this series, truly regardless of your age.
I probably would have been very well-served by this book at the time of its publishing, but at the time I was on something of an unfortunate break on reading for pleasure. I am quite glad I recovered some years after that, and then, after another break from reading since I thought I shouldn't be reading books that were "too young" for me to enjoy like I did, I came back to such books. I've said it before, and no doubt I'll say it again: I'm 24 and I really, really love well-written young fantasy. It's complex, but in a way that lets me see and appreciate every angle, as from above. It does not see to hide itself, but reveals all and still holds fascination.
Biography aside, this is a fantastic series. There is a lot of what I wanted to see, including much I didn't expect. I was very glad to see more weight on Rachel's actions. Galloran only gained facets as a character; I'm glad to see him buck the Hero's Journey slot of Brom and Obi-Wan before him. Indeed, this story is all the more interesting for that (Galloran's complexity, and the Hero's Journey thing): this is not a world without heroes, but not because of our protagonists' inclusion, not yet. They may yet be chosen ones, or something like it, but the prophesied hero that helped them along the way is not finished being a hero. His destiny is not over because he accepted help and played it straight, which I think is a lot of the point of the series.
For me, it's a perfect cut between Fablehaven and Eragon, an easy grey medium of high and low fantasy. The power and wonder of the world and its agents are fascinating and dazzling, but the drama and character choices put it beyond a book with perhaps higher stakes, like Harry Potter.
That's something I really, really like about Mull's brand of fantasy, actually; the omniverse, country, or Wizarding World doesn't need to be facing the threat of absolute extinction or spontaneous combustion, or whatever. The plot can be compelling without apocalyptic stakes. Mull follows genre lines plenty, but only so far as it serves him, and the story he seeks. He uses his characters' naivete-- and through them, the baseline of the genre-- to enhance his story, the stakes, and character development. What is it to be thrust into a magical world.... and not be the chosen one? What greater drama might come by leaving alone the threat of all things ending in trade for a potentially faithless friend? In my opinion, a great story with fascinating elements all the way down.
There is also a solid amount of unexpected inclusion of sign languages, which is pretty great. They were more of a sidenote, a means to an end and not an intent inclusion, which is just as well, but nice to say anyway. On details like (or exactly the same as) this, I call it preference, and seek to include it in my writing. There is plenty of minutia of great appeal, but if you like a fast and compelling read, with swords and god-magic and nontraditional fantasy races, do yourself a favor and check out this series, truly regardless of your age.