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.
Friday, August 15, 2008
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.
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