Category: Fantasy
The Secret War by Matt Myklusch
(Cover picture courtesy of Goodreads.)
Jack Blank is living the dream as a celebrity superhero-in-training in the Imagine Nation. Unfortunately, Jack’s dream has a nightmare lurking under the surface—a shocking connection to the enemy super-soldier Revile, and a deadly Rüstov plot he can’t tell anyone about…not even his closest friends.
When the heroes of the Imagine Nation discover that an attack by Rüstov sleeper agents is imminent, Jack is forced to trust his friends in a race against the clock to fight back mass hysteria, find the enemy spies, and thwart the Rüstov plans in time to prevent a devastating invasion.
Full disclosure: After reading my review of The Accidental Hero and seeing that I loved the first book, Matt Myklusch sent me The Secret War, the second book, to review as I saw fit.
With that cleared up, let me say that The Secret War was fascinating. Jack has grown more as a character over the year after the events of The Accidental Hero and it’s not all for the better. He finds it hard to trust people, even his friends, with his horrible secret about the Rüstov and Revile. This, in many authors’ hands, would make him completely unlikeable, but Matt Myklusch managed to pull things off by showing the reader just how much pressure Jack is under.
One of the best things about The Secret War is that we learn so much more about the Imagine Nation. Matt Myklusch takes readers on a journey outside the city itself, which was the only place we saw in the first book. This journey outside of Jack’s comfort zone was definitely interesting because it shows just how much effort was put into world-building.
With an unpredictable plot, incredible world-building and sympathetic, three dimensional characters, there’s really nothing more you can ask for in a YA novel. Well, there is one thing: it’s aimed at boys. Yes, the oft-neglected male demographic in YA can finally have a great new series to read! And the best part? Girls can enjoy this book too.
I give this book 5/5 stars.
Artemis Fowl: The Lost Colony by Eoin Colfer
(Cover picture courtesy of Reader Store.)
Thousands of years ago, fairies and humans fought a great battle for the magical island of Ireland. When it became clear that they could not win, all of the fairies moved belowground—all except for the 8th Family, the demons. Rather than surrender, they used a magical time spell to take their colony out of time and into Limbo. There they have lived for decades, planning their violent revenge on humans.
Now the time spell is unraveling, and demons are beginning to materialize without warning on Earth. If humans were to find out about them, all fairies would be exposed. To protect themselves, the fairies must predict when the next demon will materialize. But in order to do so, they will have to decipher temporal equations so complicated, even a great brain like Foaly can’t understand them. But he knows someone who can: Artemis Fowl.
So when a very confused demon imp appears in a Sicilian theater, Artemis is there to meet him. But he is not alone. Someone else has unlocked the secrets of the fairy world and managed to solve complex mathematical problems that only a genius could. And she is only twelve years old…
The Lost Colony is probably one of my favourite Artemis Fowl books, aside from The Eternity Code. I love how Artemis is finally given a run for his money by a twelve-year-old girl and how his plans turn out far from perfect for once. He makes mistakes and finally, in some respects, actually behaves like a normal teenage boy who’s going through that dreaded time in everyone’s life: puberty.
New characters like N°1 and Doodah Day are very colourful and add a lot of depth to Eoin Colfer’s fantastic world where fairies are real and dangerous. Of course, old favourites like Foaly, Holly, Butler and Juliet return and continue along their character arcs. Artemis himself changes quite a bit and gains sympathy for other people, which has been hinted at in earlier books, but really shows through in The Lost Colony. Of course he’s still manipulative when he needs to be, but the difference is that he feels guilt over it.
There were truly unexpected plot twists and Eoin Colfer used the demon island in Limbo to expand upon the history of the fairies, particularly why they went underground. I was up reading The Lost Colony until early in the morning and I have to say that I didn’t regret it one bit because it was well-written, entertaining and the characters were sympathetic.
I give this book 5/5 stars.
Magyk by Angie Sage
(Cover picture courtesy of My Escape From The Real World.)
Septimus Heap, the seventh son of the seventh son, disappears the night he is born, pronounced dead by the midwife. That same night, the baby’s father, Silas Heap, comes across an abandoned child in the snow—a newborn girl with violet eyes. The Heaps take her into their home, name her Jenna, and raise her as their own. But who is this mysterious baby girl, and what really happened to their beloved son Septimus?
Some people have been calling Angie Sage’s Septimus Heap series “the next Harry Potter.” Honestly, those words have been thrown around so carelessly that I don’t think they have meaning anymore. Magyk and the other six books in the series are good, but they’re certainly not on the level of Harry Potter.
Magyk is for ages nine and up and I think kids around that age will really enjoy the series. Angie Sage has created a quas-Medieval world (with plenty of twists and diversity) populated with all kinds of characters that kids will love. Her plotting is decent enough and does throw some unexpected twists, but a lot of the ‘twists’ were predictable, even when I was in the target age group. Obviously, Septimus is still alive. I mean, it’s called the Septimus Heap series. Still, there were a few pleasant surprises and most kids won’t be able to see them coming.
Aunt Zelda, Jenna, Silas, Boy 412 and Marcia are all colourful characters. They may seem a bit shallow to older readers, but Angie Sage’s target age group will love them. As a bonus, this isn’t your typical children’s book where the adults have it all wrong: the adults help the main characters (who are children). Magyk also has great messages about believing in yourself and you can’t judge people by their appearances. The writing style is a bit more simplistic than other books aimed at the 9-12 age group, but the plot, world-building and characterization more than make up for it.
I give this book 3.5/5 stars.
Matilda by Roald Dahl
(Cover picture courtesy of Melville House Books.)
Who put superglue in Dad’s hat? Was it really a ghost that made Mom tear out of the house? Matilda is a genius with idiot parents—and she’s having a great time driving them crazy. But at school things are different. At school there’s Miss Trunchbull, two hundred menacing pounds of kid-hating headmistress. Get rid of the Trunchbull and Matilda would be a hero. But that would take a superhuman genius, wouldn’t it?
This is probably one of my favourite children’s books of all time and I still re-read it once a year or so. It was one of the books I read aloud to my little sister to get her interested in reading and will always hold a special place in my heart, like many of Roald Dahl’s books.
Matilda is the embodiment of everything children want to be and she does things they long to do: she stands up to adults, stands up for herself and proves that adults aren’t always in the right. At the same time, this isn’t an adult-bashing book because we have the lovely Miss Honey who is shown as a kind, caring woman who loves children.
Miss Trunchbull is her exact opposite and is the teacher (technically, headmistress or principal) out of every kid’s worst nightmare. This being a children’s book, her behavior is over-the-top, but in my experience, some of her behaviors are not far off what really terrible teachers do.
Matilda is a classic children’s novel, as it should be. It’s funny, teaches important life lessons and is incredibly entertaining. Parents, if you want to read aloud to your seven or eight year olds, this is the perfect book to choose. Both you and your children will enjoy this hilarious novel written by one of the greatest children’s writers ever. As a bonus, the movie is a great adaptation of the book if you want to see your favourite characters come to life.
I give this book 5/5 stars.
The Enchantress by Michael Scott
(Cover picture courtesy of Michael Scott’s website.)
The two that are one must become the one that is all. One to save the world, one to destroy it.
San Francisco:
Nicholas and Perenelle Flamel have one day left to live, and one job left to do. They must defend San Francisco. The monsters gathered on Alcatraz Island have been released and are heading toward the city. If they are not stopped, they will destroy everyone and everything in their path.But even with the help of two of the greatest warriors from history and myth, will the Sorceress and the legendary Alchemyst be able to defend the city? Or is it the beginning of the end of the human race?
Danu Talis:
Sophie and Josh Newman traveled ten thousand years into the past to Danu Talis when they followed Dr. John Dee and Virginia Dare. And it’s on this legendary island that the battle for the world begins and ends.Scathach, Prometheus, Palamedes, Shakespeare, Saint-Germain, and Joan of Arc are also on the island. And no one is sure what—or who—the twins will be fighting for.
Today the battle for Danu Talis will be won or lost.
But will the twins of legend stand together?
Or will they stand apart—
one to save the world and one to destroy it?
Some people hated the ending of The Enchantress, while others loved it. As usual, I fall somewhere in between, with my overall verdict amounting to the ever-eloquent “Meh, it was okay.” Michael Scott tied most of the plot lines together and what Josh and Sophie do at the end makes sense if you think about it. It was somewhat satisfying, but I have a few bones to pick.
The plot was incredibly fast-paced throughout all 500 pages of the novel, something that is very difficult for an author to maintain. I certainly respect Michael Scott’s ability to do that. what I really didn’t like was what he did in order to maintain such a fast pace: he indulged in head-hopping. “Head-hopping” is basically reviewer-speak for “this dude switched points of view so many times no one had any idea what was going on.” I’m okay with switching POVs occasionally, but Michael Scott switched three, sometimes four times in one short chapter. That’s going overboard, don’t you think?
Alas, my favourite villain has gone soft by the end, but considering all of the hints Michael Scott dropped throughout the series, it’s not that surprising. What is surprising is how much Dee changes in a short span and how much more we learn about Virginia Dare. I won’t give any spoilers, but we do learn some surprising things about their pasts and true personalities.
The ending had a nice twist that I didn’t see coming, but it did make sense. Pretty much all of the loose ends were tied up, which is nice, but it also leaves potential for a sequel. Overall, not a bad ending, but it could have been better.
I give this book 3.5/5 stars.