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A review by albatrossonhalfpointe
The Brimstone Key by J.S. Lewis, Derek Benz
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.