Secrets of the Dragon Sanctuary

 

 

Fablehaven: Secrets of the Dragon Sanctuary is number four in Brandon Mull's Fablehaven series and it had some twists and turns that I didn't see coming.

It's nearly Christmas and things only go wrong for Kendra and Seth Sorenson. The Society of the Evening Star is everywhere and even with Warren and others on guard at all times, Kendra finds herself kidnapped with a duplicate taking her place. Seth and Warren end up confronting the fake Kendra and she commits suicide--all the while Seth and the other's believe Kendra is really dead (funeral and everything) and they don't know what Kendra is gone. The Sphinx forces her to try to work the Oculus which almost makes her go crazy. With some unknown help, Kendra is able to escape and makes her way back to Fablehaven and safety. Though comforted by the fact that Kendra is actually alive, complications arise as new information appears that the Society of the Evening Star knows where and is planning on going to get yet another piece of the key to the Zzyzx, the Demon Prison. Gaining access to the Dragon Sanctuary is only part of the battle. The dragons themselves are something completely different. 

As I said, there were some twists that I didn't see coming. Some sad things, but others that blew my mind. I wonder if there were times when I could have been a more thorough reader and picked these bits of foreshadowing up, but there were other things were it blindsided me and my son as I read aloud to him. The ending did have a bit of a villainous monologue that was rather tedious, but I don't see how Brandon Mull could have concluded it in any other way. 

I think the world of Fablehaven was well dove into. We were given so much more information about the different things that go on that 'we without magical milk' don't know about, stinkbulbs being the biggest one I think. Of course we spent a lot of time in Fablehaven as well as amongst dragons elsewhere, but there was more to explore and discover in Fablehaven itself, which was intriguing.

It did seem like it took a long time to get through. It almost seemed like there were three different stories in one book, as if they were hard "Acts" in a play. These moments didn't seem to flow well into one another. So much like separate stories, that it was hard to remember what was going on previously. It was strange. 

Though, there was a lot of character development for both Seth and Kendra which makes me happy. Seth is stepping into his own and making his stands. Kendra is finding it hard to trust anyone. I'm excited to see how much farther they go in the next book.