iceangel9's review
3.0
The first book in The Clockwork Chronicles series, which is a follow-up series to The Grey Griffins series. The Grey Griffins are now enrolled in Iron Bridge Academy, where "special" students learn to fight the forces of evil. Things, of course, are not as they seem and the Griffins must risk their lives to protect each other and the other students who are in danger from the dreaded Clockwork King. Fans of the first series will enjoy this one as well.
albatrossonhalfpointe's review
3.0
This was an ARC Don brought home, so I thought I'd give it a go before it comes out in June. This particular ARC was more unfinished and full of typos than some I've read, but hopefully they'll all get caught before the book actually prints. That said, there was one I found particularly amusing. On page 74, one teacher says, "However, Robert's schedule puts him under my car." Heh.
Anyway, the book itself wasn't bad. I have not read any of the original Grey Griffins series, so I'm sure there were certain things I would have understood better if I had, but despite that, I really didn't have any trouble following the action or figuring out who was who or anything like that.
Some people call this series a wannabe Harry Potter, and there definitely is that vibe, but it's a steampunk Harry Potter, so I'm OK with it - even despite some of the notable similarities: Max = Harry, the hero with extra power even though he's not a changeling, who's basically orphaned, with a family betrayal in his past. Natalia = Hermione, the slightly bossy, very bookish token girl. The other two bear certain similarities to some HP characters, but not enough to really count. Harley has a certain Ron quality, but it states explicitly that he never complains, so obviously he's not Ron's alter-ego, even though there's some clear foreshadowing to a potential future relationship with Natalia. And Ernie, the changeling, doesn't really have an HP equivalent, though at times, he reminds me a bit of Neville. I could probably take it farther, but really, I think it'd be reaching at that point.
The story was good; kept me interested enough that I read it in a day. True, it's not a challenging read, but still. The ending definitely left me interested in reading the subsequent books, although whether or not I actually do remains to be seen. It wasn't that good a cliffhanger.
There was one thing that seriously irritated me, and that was the spelling of "arithmetick." I kind of hate the K that sometimes gets added to things like "magic" and the like, but if you're going to do it, at least be consistent. This book spelled "magic" without the silly K, but randomly adds it to "arithmetic." WTF?
Ultimately, though, I enjoyed this book, and would certainly recommend it to kids. And it will be added to my list of books for boys, for sure.
Anyway, the book itself wasn't bad. I have not read any of the original Grey Griffins series, so I'm sure there were certain things I would have understood better if I had, but despite that, I really didn't have any trouble following the action or figuring out who was who or anything like that.
Some people call this series a wannabe Harry Potter, and there definitely is that vibe, but it's a steampunk Harry Potter, so I'm OK with it - even despite some of the notable similarities: Max = Harry, the hero with extra power even though he's not a changeling, who's basically orphaned, with a family betrayal in his past. Natalia = Hermione, the slightly bossy, very bookish token girl. The other two bear certain similarities to some HP characters, but not enough to really count. Harley has a certain Ron quality, but it states explicitly that he never complains, so obviously he's not Ron's alter-ego, even though there's some clear foreshadowing to a potential future relationship with Natalia. And Ernie, the changeling, doesn't really have an HP equivalent, though at times, he reminds me a bit of Neville. I could probably take it farther, but really, I think it'd be reaching at that point.
The story was good; kept me interested enough that I read it in a day. True, it's not a challenging read, but still. The ending definitely left me interested in reading the subsequent books, although whether or not I actually do remains to be seen. It wasn't that good a cliffhanger.
There was one thing that seriously irritated me, and that was the spelling of "arithmetick." I kind of hate the K that sometimes gets added to things like "magic" and the like, but if you're going to do it, at least be consistent. This book spelled "magic" without the silly K, but randomly adds it to "arithmetic." WTF?
Ultimately, though, I enjoyed this book, and would certainly recommend it to kids. And it will be added to my list of books for boys, for sure.
lawralthelibrarian's review
The Brimstone Key is a great start to what looks like it will be a promising new direction in the Grey Griffins stories. As someone who has never picked up a Grey Griffins book before, I found this story easy to understand and catch up with. I may go back and read other Grey Griffins books now, while I wait for the next book, but I won't be going back to read them because I felt I was missing something here. That said, I probably did miss some things that devoted Grey Griffin fans will squee about. There were a few characters that were clearly making cameo appearances in this book, I assume from the previous Grey Griffin escapades, but they weren't so central to this story that I minded not really knowing who they were. Of course, there also might be a bit too much information and back story in the beginning of this book for someone who has just devoured the previous Grey Griffins series. Just because I appreciated all of the explanation and introduction of characters doesn't mean that everyone else will. BUT if you are a Grey Griffins fan, or are providing readers' advisory for one, rest assured that there is a lot after those first few chapters that Max, Natalia, Ernie and Harley were surprised about, so I'm sure you (or your reader) will be too.
This book was pitched to me as a steampunk novel for middle grade readers, and I wondered just how the writers were going to pull that off with established characters from a series set in current times. They did it wonderfully and pretty realistically. Well, maybe realistically isn't the best word given that this is a fantasy novel, but the writers did not require any ridiculous suspensions of disbelief of me in order to fit the steampunk elements into the story. The Grey Griffins nemesis is a man who has spent the last century trapped in a Round Table card. When he somehow escapes, he restarts the experiments and projects that got him imprisoned in the first place. And voila! We have clockwork machines running amuck in the modern day (Templar cloaked) world. Fashions at Iron Bridge Academy also run on the steampunk-y style. At first, this was weird to me, but parts of it get explained away pretty understandably:
* The Academy is not actually in Avalon, but in Iron Bridge, a Templar community outside of the "regular" world that has maintained Victorian sensibilities.
* All the kids wear goggles because they can act out their Round Table tournaments with them.
* A lot of the changelings are depressed about their lot in life, and so bring in the sort-of goth element.
* All the grown-ups have weird weapons strapped all over them, especially when things start to get dangerous.
Put all of that together with a bunch of evil clockwork machines and a "subway" restored to its turn of the century glory and you have a good old steampunk costume party at school every day, and because the Grey Griffins are woefully dorky, fashion-wise, all of this gets explained in great detail. And while I'm a fan of the steampunk elements throughout (clearly), I don't think they are overwhelming to the story. Readers who are just looking for a fantasy or just looking for another Grey Griffins book shouldn't be put off by them.
I really enjoyed getting to know all of the Grey Griffins (and a few yet to be named sidekicks, to avoid being spoiler-y). I'm sure that fans of the previous series will enjoy heading off to school with Grey Griffins here, and new readers are sure to be sucked in as well. There is definitely a Harry Potter vibe going on with the addition of Iron Bridge Academy to these kids lives that will appeal to a lot of readers.
Book source: Review copy from publisher via the yalsa-bk listserv.
This book was pitched to me as a steampunk novel for middle grade readers, and I wondered just how the writers were going to pull that off with established characters from a series set in current times. They did it wonderfully and pretty realistically. Well, maybe realistically isn't the best word given that this is a fantasy novel, but the writers did not require any ridiculous suspensions of disbelief of me in order to fit the steampunk elements into the story. The Grey Griffins nemesis is a man who has spent the last century trapped in a Round Table card. When he somehow escapes, he restarts the experiments and projects that got him imprisoned in the first place. And voila! We have clockwork machines running amuck in the modern day (Templar cloaked) world. Fashions at Iron Bridge Academy also run on the steampunk-y style. At first, this was weird to me, but parts of it get explained away pretty understandably:
* The Academy is not actually in Avalon, but in Iron Bridge, a Templar community outside of the "regular" world that has maintained Victorian sensibilities.
* All the kids wear goggles because they can act out their Round Table tournaments with them.
* A lot of the changelings are depressed about their lot in life, and so bring in the sort-of goth element.
* All the grown-ups have weird weapons strapped all over them, especially when things start to get dangerous.
Put all of that together with a bunch of evil clockwork machines and a "subway" restored to its turn of the century glory and you have a good old steampunk costume party at school every day, and because the Grey Griffins are woefully dorky, fashion-wise, all of this gets explained in great detail. And while I'm a fan of the steampunk elements throughout (clearly), I don't think they are overwhelming to the story. Readers who are just looking for a fantasy or just looking for another Grey Griffins book shouldn't be put off by them.
I really enjoyed getting to know all of the Grey Griffins (and a few yet to be named sidekicks, to avoid being spoiler-y). I'm sure that fans of the previous series will enjoy heading off to school with Grey Griffins here, and new readers are sure to be sucked in as well. There is definitely a Harry Potter vibe going on with the addition of Iron Bridge Academy to these kids lives that will appeal to a lot of readers.
Book source: Review copy from publisher via the yalsa-bk listserv.
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