mayflowerkat's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.25
jenbsbooks's review against another edition
4.0
I really feel like I should be reading(listening) to this series continually, back to back. It's fine, I remember the characters and storyline, and it's easy to get back into this world, but still ... should probably be read together :) Next book is on hold ...
Listening to audio - this had a different narrator, and I realized it right away. He was still good, for the most part, but a couple of the accents were HORRIBLE. The Scandian leader, oh my heavens, I'm trying to think of how to explain what he did there, it was just the lift/accent on the second syllable/word, kindof like an exaggerated, stereotypical Swedish accent. I seriously almost gave up on the book (revert to reading) right there. Luckily that character wasn't around too long. He did actually "sing" when the character sang (I know not all narrators are singers, but I can't stand when they simply read when the character is supposed to be singing). Looking forward, looks like we get John Keating back ... which will be appreciated!
As this started off, I was left a little wanting, as it was just Will. None of the other characters, for quite a few chapters. Then we have a few old favorites come in. Like several of the other stories, a cliffhanger ...
Listening to audio - this had a different narrator, and I realized it right away. He was still good, for the most part, but a couple of the accents were HORRIBLE. The Scandian leader, oh my heavens, I'm trying to think of how to explain what he did there, it was just the lift/accent on the second syllable/word, kindof like an exaggerated, stereotypical Swedish accent. I seriously almost gave up on the book (revert to reading) right there. Luckily that character wasn't around too long. He did actually "sing" when the character sang (I know not all narrators are singers, but I can't stand when they simply read when the character is supposed to be singing). Looking forward, looks like we get John Keating back ... which will be appreciated!
As this started off, I was left a little wanting, as it was just Will. None of the other characters, for quite a few chapters. Then we have a few old favorites come in. Like several of the other stories, a cliffhanger ...
ikuo1000's review against another edition
4.0
This book - which brings us to the small coastal fief of Seacliff, and then to the remote northern fief of Norgate - is exactly what I had wanted to read earlier in the series, when Will and Evanlyn being whisked off to Skandia derailed my enjoyment of being immersed in Araluen lore. I almost gave this book 5 stars for its pure entertainment value, but then I ended up downgrading it to 4 stars because there wasn't quite as much humor, or anything particularly remarkable, as in other books. A solid adventure and a good story, but maybe lacking that "something extra".
I don't want to give anything away, but maybe what I found most memorable about this book is the brief lesson of compassion that pops up towards the end. It was a quick glimpse, and I'm hoping we'll see more of that part of the story in the next book. This one ends on a complete cliffhanger with nothing resolved, so I'm assuming Book 6 is more like "Part 2" to this book.
Oh, and for parents previewing books for children - this book has multiple mild occurrences of "damn" or "dammit", and it also includes the word "bitch" once, but it is actually used to refer to a female dog.
I don't want to give anything away, but maybe what I found most memorable about this book is the brief lesson of compassion that pops up towards the end. It was a quick glimpse, and I'm hoping we'll see more of that part of the story in the next book. This one ends on a complete cliffhanger with nothing resolved, so I'm assuming Book 6 is more like "Part 2" to this book.
Oh, and for parents previewing books for children - this book has multiple mild occurrences of "damn" or "dammit", and it also includes the word "bitch" once, but it is actually used to refer to a female dog.
squishies's review against another edition
3.0
I think without the Skandians this book would have been rather... drawn out and not as fun to read.
rhganci's review against another edition
3.0
Alas, all good things come to an end, and Flanagan’s run of putting together stories that were successively better than the previous ones has come to an end. Book 5 just doesn’t hold up to the standard that was set by the previous one. The big problem: jumping ahead in the chronology. It just doesn’t work for me, as many of the unanswered questions—and the nature of the open ending of Book 4—seem to go ignored, forgotten, or passed over, and I feel rather unsatisfied, as the promise of answered questions Flanagan so superlatively executed throughout the first four volumes ends here; it seems like a new story, and it reads a lot like the first book did the first time I looked at it. To be sure, this could mean that the next installments will make this one better, but with Cassandra’s role in the story vanishing into nothingness, and with a lot of the good relational stuff that made the first four books so winning left to paragraph-long back story, the overall novel takes a hit. The story was good—it’ll be better when we get the rest of it—and the tidy, hyper-idealistic nature of the world Flanagan creates still remains. He only wants the things that he has prescribed to go wrong to, well, go wrong. Any other inconvenience is passed over, and this perhaps keeps the books to such a uniform length. August, hopefully, will bring the resurgence of the RA series, and perhaps a development or two that will connect what is going on to the salient events that have already occurred.
karen_k77's review against another edition
5.0
I really need to stop reviewing these books. My reviews are going to be all over this series, and none of said reviews are even coherent.
Basically, this continues the tradition of excellency that we've come to expect from John Flanagan. The writing is great, the plot is intricate without being too complex or unbelievable.
And, as always, the characters are amazing. Will is still my favorite, of course, and I'm glad he's still pretty central to the plot. Horace is a favorite of mine, too, and I'm glad Alyss finally got some face-time.
I also like how Flanagan transitioned into Adult Will's adventures with little to no awkwardness. Even when he flashes back to Will's apprenticeship in book 7, it isn't awkward. It's just fun.
There's nothing much to say about this book that I haven't already said about the other books. It was amazing. There's a reason I put these books on the i-can-die-happy shelf.
Basically, this continues the tradition of excellency that we've come to expect from John Flanagan. The writing is great, the plot is intricate without being too complex or unbelievable.
And, as always, the characters are amazing. Will is still my favorite, of course, and I'm glad he's still pretty central to the plot. Horace is a favorite of mine, too, and I'm glad Alyss finally got some face-time.
I also like how Flanagan transitioned into Adult Will's adventures with little to no awkwardness. Even when he flashes back to Will's apprenticeship in book 7, it isn't awkward. It's just fun.
There's nothing much to say about this book that I haven't already said about the other books. It was amazing. There's a reason I put these books on the i-can-die-happy shelf.
fbone's review against another edition
3.0
This one was not one of his best. There were a few too many plot holes lazily explained away. Probably ok for very young adults but this oldie needs better. It ends abruptly requiring readers to get the next one to see how it all ends.
stephwatt617's review against another edition
adventurous
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
bumblebusra's review against another edition
5.0
27/09/2020 - 08-10-2020
Halt: you're a good thinker, Horace
Horace: omg no way
Me: he's right and he should say it
01/04/2017 - 03/04/2017
Whenever you hear people speaking about a child's excitement for things they sound nostalgic, they miss that feeling. However, I truly believe anyone can have that feeling anytime in their lives, because it's the exact feeling I've felt whilst reading this. It may not have been the BEST book in the series (not nearly enough Halt for that title), but it was still very exciting, and at times, very funny. I'd like to bottle up however I feel about this series, especially whenever I read it, and take it out of the bottle whenever I don't feel particularly good. It may be a sort of childhood nostalgia that makes me love these books, but I also believe they're GOOD. For your own sake please read the first (or maybe first three) books and judge for yourself (and then talk to me about it, especially if you liked it!).
Halt: you're a good thinker, Horace
Horace: omg no way
Me: he's right and he should say it
01/04/2017 - 03/04/2017
Whenever you hear people speaking about a child's excitement for things they sound nostalgic, they miss that feeling. However, I truly believe anyone can have that feeling anytime in their lives, because it's the exact feeling I've felt whilst reading this. It may not have been the BEST book in the series (not nearly enough Halt for that title), but it was still very exciting, and at times, very funny. I'd like to bottle up however I feel about this series, especially whenever I read it, and take it out of the bottle whenever I don't feel particularly good. It may be a sort of childhood nostalgia that makes me love these books, but I also believe they're GOOD. For your own sake please read the first (or maybe first three) books and judge for yourself (and then talk to me about it, especially if you liked it!).