26. March 2012 by HOB's Robert.

A great story in two volumes:

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9. March 2012 by HOB's Robert.

Amy and Dan return for a brisk dangerous trip to Switzerland to retrieve an ancient gold ring that has been in the care of the Cahill family for generations. The book begins in 1507 with Gideon Cahill, his wife Olivia, and their children: Luke, Thomas, Jane, Katherine, and Madeleine. We learn how Gideon, the great Alchemist, passed on an ancient gold ring and created the serum the Cahils struggled for years to recreate. We also learn the history behind what motivated Grace to create the challenge with the 39 clues and her desire to bring the Cahils together.

As Gideon closes in on a perfected formula for the serum he is betrayed by Damien Vesper who demands to be given the formula to use to take over England and ultimately the world. As Gideon runs out of time he gives four of his children a vial with part of the serum. Each is powerful enough to endow them with extraordinary abilities in one skill and together could be used to create the powerful serum. He and Olivia are hopeful the children will unite to create the serum and use it for the good of humanity. However, the children aren’t able to get along and depart. After Gideon dies, Olivia leaves and raises Madeleine to be the protectorate of the ring. When Olivia dies Madeleine tries to bring the family together starting with Luke. Again ending in failure she escapes with the ring and is determined to set a course no matter how many years it might take to reunite the family to reap the benefits of the serum. Which brings us up to date for Grace’s story and the 39 clues. Then with the introduction of the Vespers the authors set the stage for the ending of book eleven and set the stage for a new continued series.

Enjoyable!

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18. June 2011 by HOB's Robert.

Book 5 starts where the plot ended in book 4.

Josh had summoned Coatlicue and Sophie, Aoife, and Perenelle drove it back into a Shadowrealm. Each side is contemplating why the other would oppose their actions. Each seeing Coatlicue in opposite characterizations.The story moves among the different groups of characters as they travel, gather additional characters and losing others. Always moving toward confrontations of the different parties and a possible climax. Will it be on Earth, in Danu Talis, or an other Shadowrealm? And in what time? Might it be the time when all the Shadowrealms began to form? Or when Danu Talis slipped into the sea?  Who will benefit and who will be destroyed? Not going to be answered in this book as our groups form in different times and places.

At Aunt Agnes or Tsagaglalal (She Who Watches) house. Gathering there is Tsagaglalal, Mars Ultor, Odin, Hel, Black Hawk, Niten, Sophie, Nicholas, and Perenelle. Nicholas is revived for one more day. They have a bar-bq and Tsagaglalal gives each a green tablet, from Abraham, with one for Josh remaining. They read their personal letters and most head off to San Francisco and Alcatraz. Sophie and Tsagaglalal stay and talk, Sophie learns the magic of the Earth, talk some more, and then Tsagaglalal asks if she is ready to go to Josh.

Gathering on Alcatraz are Josh, John Dee, Virginia Dare, Billie, and Niccolo so they might release the Loton and the other monsters in the cells. Virginia teaches Josh the magic of fire.  Billie and Niccolo refuse to release the monsters, declare -Waerloga, become Warlocks, and are locked in cells.

Gathering 10 000 years ago at Danu Talis and the crystal tower - Mars Ultor, Promethesis, Scathach, Joan of Arc, Saint Germain, Hel, William Shakespeare, and Palamedes, to help Anpu who has begun a revolution with Bastet and Anubis, the present rulers of Danu Talis. They arrive as Abraham the mage finishes the Codex.

In the last chapter Sophie learns how to use her green tablet as a magic mirror and ley gate. She sees Josh ready to enter a black rectangular hole created when Dr. John Dee united the four swords and travels to him. Sophie arrives, tries to talk Josh out of following Dee and Dare, and then pushes him in the hole along with herself. They arrive in Danu Talis where Dare is knelling before Isis and Osiris. At their arrival the man says Sophie, the woman says Josh, and the twins say simultaneously - Mom … Dad. Next, the twins are told that mom and dad are called Isis and Osiris here and they welcome them home.

Okay now if I followed this right, Bastet is the present ruler of Danu Talis and the sister of Isis and Osiris. Bastet is also the mother of Anpu and Anubis. Who are at odds about Danu Talis. If Osiris and Isis plan not to let Danu Talis sink, that would mean Sophie and Josh would never exist? If they let it sink, that would mean they would not exist. I guess the answer is in the prophecy - With the Twins - one to save the world, one to destroy it to become the one that is all. Anyway, we have a little time to see if we can figure it out, but not too much, as an additional page in the book announces book 6 - The Enchantress - as the final book.

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11. November 2010 by HOB's Robert.

Alliteration with pigs and of course the letter P. From the point in the story when poor Princess Pigtoria decides to solve her poor painted house problem through marriage and sets out to Porkville to find a Nice Pig Prince my opinion of the story began to deteriorate.  I continued to read hoping Princess Pigtoria would realize she didn’t need a significant other to solve her problems, but alas I was disappointed. In the end she does marry I imagine for love, Percy the Pizza Delivery Pig, but alas he paints her castle. The illustrations are well done and attempt to bring life and color to a poorly constructed story.

Age 6

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10. November 2010 by HOB's Robert.

In the forward Haddon mentions the book was first published in 1992 as Gridzbi Spudvetch and how he was persuaded to update the language, retool the plot, and in his words, “… change pretty much every sentence in the book.”  I don’t know what it was like before, but it is now a fast moving action packed mystery adventure with aliens threatening to blow up the Earth if their demands are not meet. The story is set in London, England where Jimbo’s father and mother have just had a role reversal - with his father becoming unemployed and his mother graduating and getting a better paying job than dad had previously. His sister, Becky, begins as the stereotypical antagonistic sixteen year older sister, dating an older thug who happens to have a black belt in karate. The family relationships provide interesting background subplots with a main plot situated around school: teachers, a mysterious language teacher seems to speak when they believe no one is listening or eavesdropping with electronic devices, and of course interplanetary travel. Jimbo’s friend, Charlie, is outgoing, curious, and creative enough to discover their teacher’s strange behaviors, find a key to break into a teacher’s house, find alien artifacts, discover map coordinates for Skye, Scotland, and to get himself kidnapped. Jimbo, was also on the kidnappers to do list, however, between Jimbo, his sister, and her karate boyfriend they are able to escape and the quest begins. With nothing, but a name on a map and loyalty to his friend, Jimbo and his sister head for Skye and planets beyond. This is an intriguing story with: British language usage, banter between friends, between brother and sister, and a fast paced action filled plot that takes two friends to an extraterrestrial planet inhabited by strange creatures, such as a rock music obsessed spider, Britney, and a ruling population that is unable to breed so they are repopulating their planet with science fiction fanatics. Interesting language, characters, and a fast paced creative plot will keep the reader turning the pages to see if Earth’s destruction can be stopped, friends reunited, and of course return to Earth and to their families. Age ten and up.

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20. October 2010 by HOB's Robert.

The story creators use nine pages of illustrations to introduce the Scroggins sisters, Hope and Honey. Text on page ten tells us the sisters are very close. Hope helps Honey get dressed in the morning and makes sure she has her whistle, in case of an emergency. Then mentions they are lucky to truly love each other while they are not so lucky by having awful despicable parents. Page eleven and twelve are the title page with an illustration on page thirteen and the story starts on page fourteen with - “FORGET HER.” Immediately telling the reader their parents order Honey out of the car, then Hope watches her sister get smaller and smaller as she and her parents drive away leaving her in a swirl of dust.

The author and illustrator tell a story of an older sister’s love for her younger sister and her desire to protect her. They do so by creating a fantasy world where dreams and memories are collected, banked, and stored for life by the WWMB (World Wide Memory Bank). Hope escapes her parents after she learns of her negative balance of memories, is escorted to the WWMB by Obleratta, learns about memories and dreams, and begins to believe her dreaming will enable her to find Honey.

The illustrations include information not included in the text and critical in understanding the story. As mentioned we first learn of Hope’s’ love and caring from the illustrations, the illustrations show Honey while she is separated from Hope, they show the CSG (Clean Slate Gang) as a renegade organization trying to sabotage the WWMB, and finally in the last sixteen pages after the text ends they show Honey’s first memory. An interesting story with a combination of media used to tell it. Provides some good opportunities for thinking. Older sisters might relate to it best and a certain amount of maturity may be needed by the reader to appreciate it. Action adventure, mystery, fantasy machines a la Roald Dahl may keep the less mature reader turning the pages.

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19. September 2010 by HOB's Robert.

Great conclusion to the series with opportunities to reflect on family, influence, change, power, history and …We first learned about Amy and Dan Cahill along with their au pair, Nellie Gomez in the  2008 Maze of Bones. Readers have traveled around the globe as they learned about their heritage while in search of 39 clues that are believed to make those who possess them the most powerful people in the world. The trip has been one of cliff hanging suspense through ten books of an intertwined plot of five family branches embattled in obtaining the 39 clues with many episodes being barely realistic. It is an action packed adventure with three charismatic characters that draw readers back nine times to see what adventures these highly likable characters will endure and surmount. However, Into the Gauntlet, book ten has its adventure and mayhem, but goes beyond the trivial and presents opportunities to think and reflect on several deep issues: the nature and responsibility that comes with the possession of powerful objects and ideas; responsibilities of caring for others and the world; the difficulties of change; responsibilities between family, ourselves, and humanity; how certain incidences in history have change the world and shaped future time, and more.While it is helpful to know the background information from the nine previous books a person might consider reading book ten aloud just for the opportunity to discussion any of these issues.Enjoy!

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23. December 2009 by HOB's Robert.

Fabrizio, homeless 10 year old, was bound over to a Magician in medieval Pergamontio, Italy 1490. He has won over the heart of Mistress Sophia, but as she warns him he must make Master Mangus love him as much as she does. It was a serious time with a King, Claudio the 13th, believing in superstitions, magic and demons and a ban on magic. So it was that a man in black told Fabrizio to “tell your master he is in grave danger”. Even though Mangus claimed he didn’t perform magic, but instead illusion, and that real magic can be found in books and reasoning; he was soon to be accused of treason by the King’s prosecutor, DeLaBina. While Fabrizio is still trying to figure out what his master is is telling him. Mangus is hauled of with of being executed. Young Fabrizio is to save his Master and not find himself on the streets again, he must quickly learn about the entangled web of medieval superstition, suspicion, political intrigue, and technological innovation. Who is behind the treason? Is it the king’s son Prince Cosimo, who also fears magic and devils, or is it the prince’s rival, Count Scarazoni that manipulates the countries state of affairs with rationality? How can hundreds of sheets of paper with mysteriously identical inked messages, that DeLaBin claims were scattered over the city, have been created if not by sorcery? Fabrizio is one smart ten year old. He is able to untangle this intriguing mystery and hatch a plan that results in medieval justice, if that’s not an oxymoron. Easy to read,  mentally challenging, and a down hill run to the finish.

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22. December 2009 by HOB's Robert.

The Earth has been attacked twice by buggers resulting in great human lose and suffering. If each attack had not been repelled, it would have meant the extinction of the human species. Fearful a third attack will be successful the military has been breeding and experimenting to create and train a commander and army that will not fail to defeat the buggers.  Running out of time and successes Ender Wiggin may be the best hope as we discover in the opening sentences.

“I’ve watched through his eyes. I’ve listened through his ears, and I tell you he’s the one. Or at least as close as we’re going to get.”

For what we are not sure. Uncovered in this story is not only a children’s adventure story about competitive laser tag or video games, but several other powerful subplots and themes. The story was written for an adult audience with children characters. However, it has been adopted by adolescent and younger readers. It is a fast paced action filled story driven by the game competition that we learn has significant military consequences for the survival of the human species. However, the book is no light weight. We learn how these characters discover their actions can have social consequences and move to make significant world differences. Differences for Ender’s family, the military, politics, the world order and its affect on the world population and humanity of all intergalactic species.

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20. April 2008 by Robert from the Hob.

A picture of Lord Nelson, an excerpt from Shakespeare’s Tempest, a flashback to Lord Nelson’s funeral, and the giving of a piece of flag to Samuel Robbins all happens before the main character, Molly, 11, is introduced. In the first chapter she is rescued from drowning by her step father and step brother, we learn of her sideways moments (seizers), her complicated family situation resulting from the death of her father when she was four, the second marriage of her mother, recent birth of a brother, her stepfather’s relocation resulting in having to leave her friends and country, and her mother’s and new family’s desire for her to develop a love of sailing.  Her complicated situation results in her being drawn to the book - Life of Nelson, by Robert Southey, that she finds in a quaint book store on an excursion with her new family in her new home.

Flashback to Sam Robbins, 11 and his farming family in Kent, England in 1803. Sam’s father is abusive and life is stark. Sam’s mother seemingly makes arrangements for Sam to live with her brother Charlie, a rope maker in Portsmouth with the hopes of improving life not only for Sam, but the entire family. Briefly things improve. Until, Sam and his Uncle are pressed into service for His Majesties Service on the “Victory”.

The book goes back and forth from Sam’s story and Molly’s story alternating them from chapter to chapter. Cooper reveals the connection between the two characters by the end of the book. In the mean time the reader has discovered two stories. The story of present day Molly and her struggle to find out who she is and the story of Sam and his life, particularly on the Victory, don’t seem to have a compelling connection. The plausibility of Cooper’s description of Molly’s struggle with the changes in her life is an okay story, but the connection of the two stories is a stretch for a mature reader. However, it might not be for a younger reader. The stark descriptions of Sam’s experiences with his stepfather’s relationship to his mother and Sam and the descriptions about life onboard the Victory include grim descriptions of child sailors and other seamen in HMS in the early 1800’s. This is an interesting and compelling story, but the connection to Molly’s story isn’t compelling. 

There is accurate information that can be helpful for children to understand our collective historical background. Is it condescending to children to think knowledge of this information is best served with a story connecting characters with supernatural or other mystical forces as more interesting for them than a story where the main character might engage in realistic historical research along with some creative wonderment? I wonder what young readers will find most interesting - the factual information about the life on the Victory? or the modern fantasy that connects characters across centuries with unknown mystical forces? 

Posted in Modern fantasy, Historical fiction | 1 Comment »