auroraskyes's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
hopeful
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
tense
fast-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? Yes
3.0
zenancyne's review against another edition
3.0
Okay, I'm not going to lie, in my eyes the past few books were huge disappointments and expected this book to be something like Nevermore from MR series.
To say I was pleasantly surprised would have been an understatement.
Granted, it wasn't as good as it could have been, it was a bit too sappy for my liking and Byron wasn't in it enough, I actually found myself getting into the book.
To say I was pleasantly surprised would have been an understatement.
Granted, it wasn't as good as it could have been, it was a bit too sappy for my liking and Byron wasn't in it enough, I actually found myself getting into the book.
jokerliss13's review against another edition
4.0
I was surprised to find this book as exciting and action packed as the rest in the series. After how things ended in the third book, I was pretty sure the next two books would struggle to keep the momentum that has been consistent in the series as a whole. I should know not to doubt James Patterson by now.
Enter the newest drama.... Children getting kidnapped. The Mountain King is sending his people down to kidnap the children and bring them back up the mountain. Here they are "brainwashed" into running and doing the Mountain King's bidding. The have been "cleaned."
The Magicians are blamed by General Bloom, an adult that slowly becomes the new dictator, residing over the Counsel as the only one who can read the Book of Truths. He twists the situation to suit his own wants and desires, eventually creating a special adults only counsel to handle the more adult situations of the town. He turns everyone against Whit, Wisty, and all Magicians. Eventually he relocates all Magicians to the edge of the dessert, forcing them into a small area that restricts their magic. Here they are packed like sardines and await for Bloom to carry out his plan of using them as the frontline of defense in the war to come against the Mountain King.
Wisty falls in love with a stranger named Heath. He is someone that seems both good and chaotic. He is a Wizard, though he keeps his powers hidden when Bloom calls for a Magician registry. Byron and Whit both distrust Heath and try to warn Wisty. This causes a divide to grow between Wisty and Whit. It seems that Byron and Wisty are not, in fact, a couple. I had thought that she had finally given him a chance given how they acted at the end of the last book. But she still struggles with whether he is to be trusted or not, and feels that he is a friend at this point. Byron seems to be willing to always continue to show his affection for Wisty, never seeming to give up and move on. (As soon as Heath appeared, I didn't trust him. There is just something off and I definitely had a theory about him. But I won't say what it was.) :-D
Wisty and Heath begin to use their powers together. Their joining is uncontrollable and powerful. It is intoxicating and both Wisty and Heath seem to crave being together, fusing, loving. They are deeply in love and form a bond that allows them to fell each other over distances. They are inseparable and begin to spend all of their time together.
Eventually, Bloom declares war on the Mountain King, blaming both the kidnappings and the stoppage of the water that the City depends on to survive. The Mountain King as forsaken the treaty that has been upheld in the past. But Whit wants to avoid war at all costs, since they are still trying to recover from The One Who Is The One. Whit decides that he will go up the mountain to negotiate with the Mountain King.
As he prepares to leave, he runs in to Mama May. Pearl Marie has gone missing, kidnapped by the mountain people but never reported. This strengthens Whit's resolve to head up the mountain, now to save Pearl as well as negotiate. Janine, Sasha and Ross decide to join him on his journey. Wisty, however, decides that she will stay behind in the city. She claims that she is staying behind to help the Magicians and protect their parents, but Whit believes that she is choosing Heath over him. They are growing apart, but there is no time to work things out. His group sets out to climb the mountain.
While Whit is away, Wisty and Heath grow stronger together. They use their powers to help rescue the children of the city, finding that if they concentrate, they can see what has occurred in the past. This leads them to find where the kidnappings are occurring and they rush off to save the children scheduled to be abducted that night. Together they defeat the mountain men, but Heath freezes one of the men completely, killing them. Wisty begins to fear their power together and runs away.
While this occurs, Whit and his team are struggling in the mountains. They run into the mountain guards and struggle to escape. They are bombarded with arrows and Whit uses an immense about of M to stop the arrows and turn them back on the shooters. One arrow is missed, piercing Sasha in the chest. After fleeing and protecting them, Whit doesn't have enough M to save Sasha and he dies bravely in their arms. (I think Ross might have been in love with Sasha, possibly they were in a relationship, because he definitely feels the loss the hardest.) They bury Sasha and continue on their journey, eventually finding a camp where some of the kidnapped children are running a track and beating themselves for being failures. They plan on scouting out the camp the next day, but never get the chance when they are captured and brought to the Mountain Castle.
It turns out the Mountain King's grandson is dying, and his parents are willing to ask Whit to help save him. At the castle, Whit finds the boy on a bed of ice, apparently the Mountain King's idea of how to cleanse the boy and save his life. Whit knows that the cold will only kill the boy. He also knows that he can't allow him to just die. So he heals the boy and everyone around rejoices. That is until the Mountain King barges into the room with his solders. He is furious that Whit is still alive and that he saved the boy and proceeds to almost kill the boy. Right at the end he releases him and throws Whit into a prison that is connected to a snow leopard den. He and his friends are going to be the leopards morning meal. Pearl Marie is in the castle and Whit tries to convince her to free them. But Pearl Marie is no longer herself, calling herself Rat and doing the Mountain King's bidding. She has all the prisoners strip down to their underwear, so that the snow leopards will have their scents.
The following morning finds the glass wall that separates the prisoners from their awaited fate slowly rising inch by inch. Right before the leopards are able to squeeze through, Whit and company are saved by none other than the Mountain King's grandson. He fells that he owes his life to Whit and couldn't allow them to die. He directs them to the Mountain Witch, who brought the group there in the first place, and stays behind to stand watch. The Mountain Witch provides them with some furs, since they are still basically naked, and helps them escape. She warns that they will be chased and need to stay on the road and move quickly. They run out and hurry to get home, until Whit realizes that he is unable to leave behind the captured children. He tells Janine and Ross to keep going, since they have already risked enough and he doesn't even know if he will make it back alive. Ross turns to leave but finds that Janine has decided that she will stay with Whit. Near freezing and turning blue, the group separates and Whit and Janine head back into the forest. But they are unable to find the camp again and waste all the time searching before they are found by the trackers. All seems lost as the trackers circle in on them, snow leopards included.
Wisty and Heath are back in the city, and Byron finds them to show them something. He brings Wisty and Heath to the desert. There they see the camp that is in the process of being built. It looks like the training grounds for the N.O. military, but Byron informs them that it is where the Magicians are to be transferred to "for their own safety." Wisty walks up to the fence that surrounds the encampment and touches it. She flies backwards, electrocuted by the fence and confused that Byron is holding the fence and feels nothing. It is a special fence that will only harm Magicians. Wisty realizes that she needs her brother to help fight this new threat and save half of the city. Heath says that her brother isn't needed, that he is there for her, but she insists. Finally, Heath admits that her brother is most-likely already dead. He is from the mountain and knows that the Mountain King wants to kill both of them. Wisty is furious that he didn't tell her this when Whit was leaving and finds that she can no longer trust him. She vows that she will go up the mountain and save Whit, with or without his help. He surrenders and states that the fastest way up the mountain would be for them to use their magic. They combine powers and after a try or two are able to transport themselves up the mountain to Whit, finding him surrounded by trackers and about to die.
Wisty calls to Whit, and this distraction could cost him is life. A snow leopard pounces down from an overhead rock, but Janine pushes Whit out of the way and is attacked instead. She is tossed around in the leopards mouth like a rag doll, and it seems unlikely that she will survive. But the snow leopards are still there, surrounding Whit and Janine. Whit knows that he has to remove the threat of the leopards before he can heal Janine, but time is precious. He fights off the leopards with his bare hands, going crazy at the thought of losing Janine. Wisty sprints towards her brother as he tries to heal Janine, but Heath stops her. He tells her that she needs him to help, and together they basically burn down the forest and cause the trackers to run away. Surrounded by flames and smoke, Whit pushes himself and manages to heal Janine.
The Mountain Witch arrives on the scene and knowledge is dropped on Wisty. Heath is apparently the grandson of the Mountain King. He is also the son of The One Who Is The One. Wisty feels betrayed and can't believe what she is hearing. She pulls further from Heath, no longer even being able to stand his touch. The Mountain Witch takes Heath and they disappear back up the mountain. Whit and Wisty carry Janine back down the mountain. Upon reaching the bottom, Byron meets them and tells them that all of the Magicians, their parents included, have been rounded up and transported to the camp. Whit and Wisty are wanted once again. Byron takes Janine to safety and the siblings head to the camp. They make it to the camp with no issues and see their parents. All in the camp are packed in like sardines, roasting in the hot desert sun. The buildings were never finished and have no roofs, so there is no escape from the heat. Whit and Wisty decide they need to head to the counsel and set everything right.
Upon arriving, they find that they have been removed from the counsel. The counsel is now only made up of adults. Bloom uses surveillance to show that Whit, Wisty, and Heath are all traitors. They are arrested, and Pearce enters the room. Shocked Whit and Wisty are taken to a dungeon to wait for war to start. Whit is brought to the front lines and chained to other Magicians waiting to die. Wisty is caged and immobilized. She is carried to the middle of the battlefield, a present for the Mountain King offered by Bloom.
The Wizard King uses his powers and takes control of the field. Everyone suddenly wants to be cleansed, surrendering with no fight. The cage and bars fall away from Wisty and she makes a stand. Heath appears and helps Wisty to regain control of the crowd. They work towards removing the Mountain King's mental hold on everyone. Together they are strong enough to override the Mountain King. But Heath wants to take it further, using the people and controlling them into trying to kill the Mountain King. Wisty fights against Heath, eventually being able to pull away and remove her power from the equation. But the Mountain King is already on the ground. Heath walks up and kills the Mountain King... by melting his face off! Wisty knows of only one person who has this power. In front of her eyes Heath melts into Pearce. Wisty is disgusted, but Pearce is convinced that she will be able to love him anyway. He is consumed by their power. Whit joins Wisty and together they attack Pearce. They are on the verge of killing him, but the Mountain Witch intervenes. She begs for her son's life, stating that the treaty will be reinstated now that the Mountain King is dead and they will never have a problem with them again. Unable to deny her request, they allow her to take Pearce and leave.
Afterwards, Whit and Wisty work towards once again restoring the city. A new counsel if formed, made entirely of children all under 19. Each month new representatives will be elected. Adults can give input, but can't actually vote. Bloom is exiled to the desert, now the commander of a troop of monkeys. Janine is the currently elected leader of the Council. Every citizen has a copy of the Book of Truths. All seems like it is right with the world. Will the next book just be dedicated to them actually succeeding in restoring the City for once, or is there a new dictator waiting to destroy all hope again.
Spoiler
After having defeated Pearce and killing The One, Wisty and Whit are looking forward to the rebuilding of their city. A counsel is formed that consists of officials elected by the people, both children and adults. This counsel is to govern the people and restore hope and stability. It seems that everything is finally going to work out, but then how can there be two more books in the series. That would be just boring.Enter the newest drama.... Children getting kidnapped. The Mountain King is sending his people down to kidnap the children and bring them back up the mountain. Here they are "brainwashed" into running and doing the Mountain King's bidding. The have been "cleaned."
The Magicians are blamed by General Bloom, an adult that slowly becomes the new dictator, residing over the Counsel as the only one who can read the Book of Truths. He twists the situation to suit his own wants and desires, eventually creating a special adults only counsel to handle the more adult situations of the town. He turns everyone against Whit, Wisty, and all Magicians. Eventually he relocates all Magicians to the edge of the dessert, forcing them into a small area that restricts their magic. Here they are packed like sardines and await for Bloom to carry out his plan of using them as the frontline of defense in the war to come against the Mountain King.
Wisty falls in love with a stranger named Heath. He is someone that seems both good and chaotic. He is a Wizard, though he keeps his powers hidden when Bloom calls for a Magician registry. Byron and Whit both distrust Heath and try to warn Wisty. This causes a divide to grow between Wisty and Whit. It seems that Byron and Wisty are not, in fact, a couple. I had thought that she had finally given him a chance given how they acted at the end of the last book. But she still struggles with whether he is to be trusted or not, and feels that he is a friend at this point. Byron seems to be willing to always continue to show his affection for Wisty, never seeming to give up and move on. (As soon as Heath appeared, I didn't trust him. There is just something off and I definitely had a theory about him. But I won't say what it was.) :-D
Wisty and Heath begin to use their powers together. Their joining is uncontrollable and powerful. It is intoxicating and both Wisty and Heath seem to crave being together, fusing, loving. They are deeply in love and form a bond that allows them to fell each other over distances. They are inseparable and begin to spend all of their time together.
Eventually, Bloom declares war on the Mountain King, blaming both the kidnappings and the stoppage of the water that the City depends on to survive. The Mountain King as forsaken the treaty that has been upheld in the past. But Whit wants to avoid war at all costs, since they are still trying to recover from The One Who Is The One. Whit decides that he will go up the mountain to negotiate with the Mountain King.
As he prepares to leave, he runs in to Mama May. Pearl Marie has gone missing, kidnapped by the mountain people but never reported. This strengthens Whit's resolve to head up the mountain, now to save Pearl as well as negotiate. Janine, Sasha and Ross decide to join him on his journey. Wisty, however, decides that she will stay behind in the city. She claims that she is staying behind to help the Magicians and protect their parents, but Whit believes that she is choosing Heath over him. They are growing apart, but there is no time to work things out. His group sets out to climb the mountain.
While Whit is away, Wisty and Heath grow stronger together. They use their powers to help rescue the children of the city, finding that if they concentrate, they can see what has occurred in the past. This leads them to find where the kidnappings are occurring and they rush off to save the children scheduled to be abducted that night. Together they defeat the mountain men, but Heath freezes one of the men completely, killing them. Wisty begins to fear their power together and runs away.
While this occurs, Whit and his team are struggling in the mountains. They run into the mountain guards and struggle to escape. They are bombarded with arrows and Whit uses an immense about of M to stop the arrows and turn them back on the shooters. One arrow is missed, piercing Sasha in the chest. After fleeing and protecting them, Whit doesn't have enough M to save Sasha and he dies bravely in their arms. (I think Ross might have been in love with Sasha, possibly they were in a relationship, because he definitely feels the loss the hardest.) They bury Sasha and continue on their journey, eventually finding a camp where some of the kidnapped children are running a track and beating themselves for being failures. They plan on scouting out the camp the next day, but never get the chance when they are captured and brought to the Mountain Castle.
It turns out the Mountain King's grandson is dying, and his parents are willing to ask Whit to help save him. At the castle, Whit finds the boy on a bed of ice, apparently the Mountain King's idea of how to cleanse the boy and save his life. Whit knows that the cold will only kill the boy. He also knows that he can't allow him to just die. So he heals the boy and everyone around rejoices. That is until the Mountain King barges into the room with his solders. He is furious that Whit is still alive and that he saved the boy and proceeds to almost kill the boy. Right at the end he releases him and throws Whit into a prison that is connected to a snow leopard den. He and his friends are going to be the leopards morning meal. Pearl Marie is in the castle and Whit tries to convince her to free them. But Pearl Marie is no longer herself, calling herself Rat and doing the Mountain King's bidding. She has all the prisoners strip down to their underwear, so that the snow leopards will have their scents.
The following morning finds the glass wall that separates the prisoners from their awaited fate slowly rising inch by inch. Right before the leopards are able to squeeze through, Whit and company are saved by none other than the Mountain King's grandson. He fells that he owes his life to Whit and couldn't allow them to die. He directs them to the Mountain Witch, who brought the group there in the first place, and stays behind to stand watch. The Mountain Witch provides them with some furs, since they are still basically naked, and helps them escape. She warns that they will be chased and need to stay on the road and move quickly. They run out and hurry to get home, until Whit realizes that he is unable to leave behind the captured children. He tells Janine and Ross to keep going, since they have already risked enough and he doesn't even know if he will make it back alive. Ross turns to leave but finds that Janine has decided that she will stay with Whit. Near freezing and turning blue, the group separates and Whit and Janine head back into the forest. But they are unable to find the camp again and waste all the time searching before they are found by the trackers. All seems lost as the trackers circle in on them, snow leopards included.
Wisty and Heath are back in the city, and Byron finds them to show them something. He brings Wisty and Heath to the desert. There they see the camp that is in the process of being built. It looks like the training grounds for the N.O. military, but Byron informs them that it is where the Magicians are to be transferred to "for their own safety." Wisty walks up to the fence that surrounds the encampment and touches it. She flies backwards, electrocuted by the fence and confused that Byron is holding the fence and feels nothing. It is a special fence that will only harm Magicians. Wisty realizes that she needs her brother to help fight this new threat and save half of the city. Heath says that her brother isn't needed, that he is there for her, but she insists. Finally, Heath admits that her brother is most-likely already dead. He is from the mountain and knows that the Mountain King wants to kill both of them. Wisty is furious that he didn't tell her this when Whit was leaving and finds that she can no longer trust him. She vows that she will go up the mountain and save Whit, with or without his help. He surrenders and states that the fastest way up the mountain would be for them to use their magic. They combine powers and after a try or two are able to transport themselves up the mountain to Whit, finding him surrounded by trackers and about to die.
Wisty calls to Whit, and this distraction could cost him is life. A snow leopard pounces down from an overhead rock, but Janine pushes Whit out of the way and is attacked instead. She is tossed around in the leopards mouth like a rag doll, and it seems unlikely that she will survive. But the snow leopards are still there, surrounding Whit and Janine. Whit knows that he has to remove the threat of the leopards before he can heal Janine, but time is precious. He fights off the leopards with his bare hands, going crazy at the thought of losing Janine. Wisty sprints towards her brother as he tries to heal Janine, but Heath stops her. He tells her that she needs him to help, and together they basically burn down the forest and cause the trackers to run away. Surrounded by flames and smoke, Whit pushes himself and manages to heal Janine.
The Mountain Witch arrives on the scene and knowledge is dropped on Wisty. Heath is apparently the grandson of the Mountain King. He is also the son of The One Who Is The One. Wisty feels betrayed and can't believe what she is hearing. She pulls further from Heath, no longer even being able to stand his touch. The Mountain Witch takes Heath and they disappear back up the mountain. Whit and Wisty carry Janine back down the mountain. Upon reaching the bottom, Byron meets them and tells them that all of the Magicians, their parents included, have been rounded up and transported to the camp. Whit and Wisty are wanted once again. Byron takes Janine to safety and the siblings head to the camp. They make it to the camp with no issues and see their parents. All in the camp are packed in like sardines, roasting in the hot desert sun. The buildings were never finished and have no roofs, so there is no escape from the heat. Whit and Wisty decide they need to head to the counsel and set everything right.
Upon arriving, they find that they have been removed from the counsel. The counsel is now only made up of adults. Bloom uses surveillance to show that Whit, Wisty, and Heath are all traitors. They are arrested, and Pearce enters the room. Shocked Whit and Wisty are taken to a dungeon to wait for war to start. Whit is brought to the front lines and chained to other Magicians waiting to die. Wisty is caged and immobilized. She is carried to the middle of the battlefield, a present for the Mountain King offered by Bloom.
The Wizard King uses his powers and takes control of the field. Everyone suddenly wants to be cleansed, surrendering with no fight. The cage and bars fall away from Wisty and she makes a stand. Heath appears and helps Wisty to regain control of the crowd. They work towards removing the Mountain King's mental hold on everyone. Together they are strong enough to override the Mountain King. But Heath wants to take it further, using the people and controlling them into trying to kill the Mountain King. Wisty fights against Heath, eventually being able to pull away and remove her power from the equation. But the Mountain King is already on the ground. Heath walks up and kills the Mountain King... by melting his face off! Wisty knows of only one person who has this power. In front of her eyes Heath melts into Pearce. Wisty is disgusted, but Pearce is convinced that she will be able to love him anyway. He is consumed by their power. Whit joins Wisty and together they attack Pearce. They are on the verge of killing him, but the Mountain Witch intervenes. She begs for her son's life, stating that the treaty will be reinstated now that the Mountain King is dead and they will never have a problem with them again. Unable to deny her request, they allow her to take Pearce and leave.
Afterwards, Whit and Wisty work towards once again restoring the city. A new counsel if formed, made entirely of children all under 19. Each month new representatives will be elected. Adults can give input, but can't actually vote. Bloom is exiled to the desert, now the commander of a troop of monkeys. Janine is the currently elected leader of the Council. Every citizen has a copy of the Book of Truths. All seems like it is right with the world. Will the next book just be dedicated to them actually succeeding in restoring the City for once, or is there a new dictator waiting to destroy all hope again.
angie91's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
tabatha_shipley's review against another edition
5.0
I thought this series was finished and neatly wrapped up with the downfall of the evil dictator ruling this dystopian government. In typical not-what-you-expect-from-him fashion, Mr. Patterson proved me wrong. This book was an interesting way to go. What happens after the overthrow of an evil ruler? Will the new government be better than the last? What if the people fall into their old patterns?
Whit and Wisty grow apart a bit in this novel, as siblings inevitably do. Old characters make a comeback and some new ones add drama. We explore the idea that a witch and wizard set to save the world may have been a different set of kids than we thought.
For writing the dystopian conclusion that needed to be written, for taking his series one step further than anyone else is taking similar books to, for surprising me with the new installment, for all those reasons and more this one is highly recommended.
Whit and Wisty grow apart a bit in this novel, as siblings inevitably do. Old characters make a comeback and some new ones add drama. We explore the idea that a witch and wizard set to save the world may have been a different set of kids than we thought.
For writing the dystopian conclusion that needed to be written, for taking his series one step further than anyone else is taking similar books to, for surprising me with the new installment, for all those reasons and more this one is highly recommended.
zinni05's review against another edition
5.0
brilliant book. tense all the way through. the end seemed a bit rushed and confusing
nicoledant's review against another edition
4.0
I actually enjoyed the book very much. It was much easier to get through than the one before & I loved the whole “coming of age” feeling for wisty. Four books in, these kids are growing up and dealing with some major feelings and issues. And very excited to read the next one.
mariajones444's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
4.0
mcnugt's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0