Book Review: The Edge Chronicles, Stormchaser, by Paul Stewart

A while back I read The Edge Chronicles first book, Beyond the Deepwoods. It was a good read, not a real super captivating one, but a good read. So, when I saw book two on the library shelf I thought I would go back and visit Twig and see what he was up to. I liked the first book, but Harry was all the rage at the time and I was reading all about Hogwarts and such and so, I just did not follow up on Twig...... until now. And I am glad that I did. I just may follow up with him a bit more later on too.

In Stormchaser, by Paul Stewart and Chris Riddell, Twig is found in the big and dirty city of Undertown. The conflict between the creatures is growing and greed is trumping goodness at every turn. The floating Univeristy city of Sanctaphrax is overlorded by a greedy and evil academic would be. At every turn in this book there is the fight, whether physical or mental, between good and evil. Namely greed (selfish gain) and generosity (selfless goodness).  Where greed seeks to sacrifice others to gain that which is coveted for oneself, generosity, here, seeks to sacrifice self for what is good for all, to bring justice, truth and balance to society.
Twig is caught up with many strange creatures and as the last book left him reunited with his father, a Sky Pirate, he learns who his father really is in this book. Twig grows up and figures out what is truly important in this book. He finds that generosity and courage beat greed every time, even when the personal sacrifice is great. The generous one still wins for all. Stormchaser ends with Twig starting another truly great adventure...................... and if I told you about it you wouldn't go read it now would you?

While there are many fantastical creatures there is no real wizardry here, in case that is objectionable to parents. The magic in the book is reasonable and is in the form of an enchanted forest. There is a level of violence in  the book which consists of two events. The first is a mutiny on board the Stormchaser. The second is a demented individual in the mud marsh, who surreptitiously offers to guide travelers with intent to harm. It is not super descriptive but a sensitive child would be upset by the latter. This book is appropriate for kids in grades 4th through 8th. If a third grader is a super reader then it would not have any objectionable material for that age, other than the mud marsh guide, in my opinion.

While I am not in a big hurry to get the rest of the books, I think I will read them eventually.

The series consists of:
Beyond the Deepwoods
Stormchaser
Midnight over Sanctaphrax
The Curse of the Gloamglozer
The Last of the Sky Pirates
Vox
Freeglader
The Winter Knights
Clash  of the Sky Galleions
The Imortals

Book Review: The Stowaway, by RA & Geno Salvatore

I have read several books in the last few weeks. I finished a great series and wanted something new. So, I picked up one of four different series.

I will review for you The Stowaway (first book in the series Stone of Tymora) written by RA and Geno Salvatore.  This is a great book and a very quick read as it is so captivating. I will be reading the rest of the series to dig up more of the story, which is very elusively left out to add to the mystique of the series and the intrigue of reading more.

Young Maimon is an orphan. Found and raised by mysterious people who are secretive about his origins. He wants to know more, but will learning these things really satisfy or will they just create more questions?  Just after his 12th birthday his guardian gives him a gift.  This item is bound to his soul in a magical way and this story begins to to open the mystery that Maimon seeks to solve. Who is he and why is he here? What is this gift and what is it's connection to him?

This book is full of action and mystery and plenty of magic and fantasy creatures, both good and bad (although the bad certainly do play a larger roll as of now against Maimon and his mystery). I have a feeling the whole series will be a must read if you get caught up in the story, it certainly ended with a lot left to know. Of course I think at the end of this book there was a lot left for Maimon to learn and we are following him. Like reading the first chapter in a great novel.... must get to the next one.

For kids who have trouble following a mixed plot line, this may not be the best read. The book is not typical or straightforward. It starts in the middle and Maimon tells what he knows of his story, which is not much, while flashing back to his current situation. This could be confusing for a kid who is not really good at reading mixed plot lines.

For this reason and for the depth of evil presented I would not recommend this for kids younger than 11 or 12. This is a good book for fantasy lovers. Geared toward 5th to 8th graders.