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3.34 AVERAGE
3.34 AVERAGE
This was in Junior Fiction but I couldn't help but picking it up. The cover was amazing! Although it was a little easy for me, it was fast paced and action packed. I couldn't connect with the characters as easily because they were only 11 years old... However, I really enjoyed it and would recommend it if you wanted a good, fast paced, short read.
This was a good fantasy book. I liked the characters, though they were foolish at times, and I liked the plot.
This was a fantastic fantasy book. Real action packed adventure from start to finish (very literally) and many twists and turns and close scrapes in the story to continually make you want to read more. Can't wait to get into the next part of the story (no spoilers) because the story is really hotting up. However one thing that caught my attention was on page 156, line 4, there had been a name mistake implying that Elspeth had in fact been in two places at once, I think A.J. Lake meant Edward, not Elspeth. Once read you'll understand.
This is the book that is seriously making me question my library's age scheme, because this was in the adult section and I don't know why. It stared two kids, and all the darker themes were handled very light and innocently. It was what I'd expect of a children's book.
That's not to say it was bad. It was very good, and I was pleased to discover that it's historical fantasy instead of just straight up fantasy. That always makes things better. But the time period wasn't played off to well, and had so little detail that it seemed more like a fantasy world than early medieval England.
Basically, it was a decent start to a series, but it could definitely have been done better. There were many creative aspects, and I wish everything had just been more developed. But I still enjoyed it.
That's not to say it was bad. It was very good, and I was pleased to discover that it's historical fantasy instead of just straight up fantasy. That always makes things better. But the time period wasn't played off to well, and had so little detail that it seemed more like a fantasy world than early medieval England.
Basically, it was a decent start to a series, but it could definitely have been done better. There were many creative aspects, and I wish everything had just been more developed. But I still enjoyed it.
adventurous
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
I read this book for fun. It was gifted to me a couple years ago and I just got around to it now. Overall I’d say it’s a good book. This books biggest success is how the character’s actions have consequences and those consequences have actual impact on the story. Even little things like minor cuts and bruises affect the characters. How things affect characters stays pretty consistent too, the character that doesn’t know how to ride a horse is still learning and struggling at the end of the book. The character that’s good at sneaking around stays good at sneaking around. Unfortunately though the characters don’t see a whole lot of development, this is probably because this is designed as a series. That being said I probably won’t read the second book unless I come across it coincidentally at a used book store or it is given to me because of this book’s biggest problem. The author practices a whole lot of telling and not showing. I can’t provide a quote because I don’t have the book infront of me but if you flip to any page you can probably find two or three instances of the author telling you what happened instead of describing it. This is just a writing style that I don’t really enjoy, but the plot itself was really entertaining and for a book geared towards 9-13 year olds I’d say it’s pretty unique.
I had some serious issues with this book. For about half the book it seemed as if there was no plot whatsoever, if felt as if I had to search for it before it was truly revealed. The two point of view were very similar to were it got confusing on who was speaking. Even though at the beginning of the book we were thrown right into the action, which typically I like, it felt to rushed and out of place. I sat there wondering what in the world was going on! While I don't like to say that a book is boring, I found this one to be incredibly boring and dragged on.
Sadly this book was a miss for me and I wont be continuing on.
Sadly this book was a miss for me and I wont be continuing on.
I read this so long ago, and recently acquired a copy of it at a used book store. I will update upon my re-read but I adored this book way back when so I'm excited.
3.5 stars. Not because it was awful...I just didn't get sucked in.
I jumped into this book enamored with the claim that it mixes Norse customs, early Christianity, and Celtic beliefs into one story (because oh how that time period tries to pull me out of 2017!) and I was not disappointed...on most counts. The Coming of Dragons is historically accurate, full of period details, but of religion and mythology? We see fairly little. We know that Europe, like every other culture at pretty much any time, was steeped in lore and myth -- and yet, this book lacks it. Not totally, but mostly. That's my major issue. I wish Lake had written in more of the times.
I may be alone in my opinion.
This is a good story about good vs. evil and the strength of the unlikely, much similar to Narnia . It's a fairly easy read and would be appropriate for pre-teens up. There is some violence, a brief torture scene, and intense moments, but like I said above, nothing extreme.
I jumped into this book enamored with the claim that it mixes Norse customs, early Christianity, and Celtic beliefs into one story (because oh how that time period tries to pull me out of 2017!) and I was not disappointed...on most counts. The Coming of Dragons is historically accurate, full of period details, but of religion and mythology? We see fairly little. We know that Europe, like every other culture at pretty much any time, was steeped in lore and myth -- and yet, this book lacks it. Not totally, but mostly. That's my major issue. I wish Lake had written in more of the times.
I may be alone in my opinion.
This is a good story about good vs. evil and the strength of the unlikely, much similar to Narnia . It's a fairly easy read and would be appropriate for pre-teens up. There is some violence, a brief torture scene, and intense moments, but like I said above, nothing extreme.
Edmund, a king’s son in disguise, and Elspeth, a sea captain’s tomboy daughter, are the only two survivors of a terrible shipwreck. They just want to go home, but fate has other plans as they are drawn into the fight against an evil warlord.
