Shadow Plague Contagious

One of the effects that J.K. Rowling's Harry Potter series had on the world was the proliferation of dozens of "wanna be" novels giving rise to a new genre of "Bubblegum Fantasy." Books like Leven Thumps, Eragon, Twilight, and many others all fall into this category. And while a lot of these are just two dimensional attempts to cash in on Potter's success (see Leven Thumps), some of them actually have a bit of substance. Such is Brandon Mull's Fablehaven series. The latest installment and third volume in the series, Grip of the Shadow Plague, continues the adventures of fourteen year old Kendra Sorenson and her mischievous twelve year old brother Seth as they work to protect their grandparents "preserve for the protection of magical creatures" from a demonically inspired plague spreading amongst the creatures of Fablehaven and turning them darkly feral. From the first chapter, Grip of the Shadow Plague hooked me and didn't let go until the book's exciting climactic battle with a tragic villain that you can actually feel sorry for. However, in spite of Mull's impressive Rowling-like ability to hijack the imagination, Fablehaven 3 continues to suffer from the series's patches of embarrassingly amateur writing (some of the descriptions are really awkward) as well as some painfully unsuccessful attempts at humor that dragged on and made me wince. Yet in spite of its narrative blemishes, Brandon Mull has made a substantive and imaginative contribution to the Harry Potter genre. I really enjoyed this book and would call it the strongest in the series thus far. On a scale of 1-10, Fablehaven Grip of the Shadow Plague gets an 8.

The Wheel of Time Turns

So you're probably asking yourself, "Why is Jason posting a review for a book that is almost three years old?" Because I just finished it for the first time, so back off! Actually, I only got into the Wheel of Time series last year, so like my experience with the Harry Potter books, I've had the opportunity to enjoy the series almost all at once and it has easily become my favorite fantasy saga thus far. In this the eleventh installment of the Wheel of Time, we get to experience the "calm before the storm" suspense of Rand, Mat, and Perrin along with WoT's numerous cast of characters preparing for The Last Battle. This being said, there is little calm about Knife of Dreams, the story being rich with emotional drama, intense confrontations, and epic battles. Which was a relief as the previous book, though a solid WoT adventure, was quite sedentary and dragged in places. In Knife of Dreams Robert Jordan again proves himself the master of the epic as dozens of subplots are artfully woven together throughout the narrative (or pattern), and its several characters and their world are brought to life by Jordan's unique thoroughly descriptive style. Tragically, Jordan passed away late last year before he could complete the final installment in this bestselling series. And so now we wait for homegrown hero Brandon Sanderson of Provo Utah to finish the story in the final volume due out next November. Thousands of fans will be eagerly awaiting the epic conclusion, especially those who've been following the series from its beginnings in 1990. No pressure Brandon. On a scale of 1-10, I rate KoD a 9. A worthy last work of an incredible story teller.