Key's to the Demon Prison

 Slow in reviews it seems... 

My son and I finished this back in the beginning of April. As the final book in the Fablehaven series by Brandon Mull, we enjoyed the somewhat ribbon tied ending. 

Kendra and Seth go to another hidden sanctuary in hopes of getting the last artifact to stop the Sphinx's schemes of opening the demon prison. The get there and find that The Evening Star is already there and are ready to bite their heals. Finding the last artifact and getting out prove extremely difficult. Seth and others get captured with Kendra and very few actually escaping. Seth, while in prison, makes new acquaintances and makes a deal with the Sphinx, while Kendra and others make a plans for a jail break. But when Seth gets out and the others become captured, thing get more complicated when Seth makes another deal with a demon and finds just how poorly those can end. Now with more demons on the loose, with new allies yet still in prison, and the list of true keys to the demon prison dying Seth, Kendra, and their comrades need to find means of stopping armies of demons from taking over the world. 

There was so much going on with this book. In looking back, there was so much jumping around from place to place that it if you weren't paying enough attention you could get lost. But I think, because it was the culmination of everything it was fitting. I do find it interesting how many final books (in series) end with a treasure hunt. Where people have to run around like crazy in order to stop the big bad because they don't have all the things they need yet. It ends up becoming a treasure hunt more than anything else--I'm looking at you HP. I while it works gathering up these odds and ends, it does get a little crazy. Also then to have the big bad finished off "fairly easily" and by two kids is kinda odd -- I get it's young YA and they went through a lot to get there, but still. 

I enjoyed the character progression over all for Kendra and Seth, though Seth had much more than Kendra did--hers I felt was lacking. I liked at the end of the book how there were questions from the author about how different Seth was in the beginning (opening windows during a solstice) to now (still getting bamboozled by a demon). He still makes mistakes, but owns up to them; and how these mistakes and his reasoning behind them changed over the course of the series. I do think it would have been nice to have Kendra need to abruptly learn new things and change for the better, but I honestly can't think of a when she did. She seems to stay the same throughout the whole series. 

I liked being able to see the different sanctuaries and fairy shrines and other important places that we get to travel. Brandon Mull has an interesting imagination to come up with some of the crazy traps and strange situations that he's able to create in the story. From Australia to Turkey to Norway. Teleportation helps a lot in order to do that. 

My son was happy with the ending and letting the world of Fablehaven chill for a bit. It was a long time reading these books. Now we're off to other worlds and adventures, but we'll probably not be too far away from Mull's other works in the future. 

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. 

Grip of the Shadow Plague

 It takes a really good writer to make the reader cry for more than five pages over and over again and when you think you've got a handle on your emotions just to get kicked in the emotional teeth again. Thanks Brandon Mull. I needed a salty shower just on my face this morning. 

Kendra and Seth are still at their grandparents house for the summer. It is too risky to send them home yet because the Society of the Evening Star is still out to get them. And now it seems that even Fablehaven isn't safe anymore. Now creatures of light are turning dark from this unknown plague and they don't know why. Kendra has also been issued an invitation to join the Knights of the Dawn and help them retrieve more artifacts. Kendra and Warren go down to Arizona with other members of the Knights of the Dawn. The others at Fablehaven have found that not only has this dark plague attacked the creatures, but it can also turn human's into shadows that now only Seth can see. More and more creatures at Fablehaven are being infected and there are very few sanctuaries left for anyone. 

This was a very good book. There were times when I most defiantly didn't want to put it down and I wanted to read on even if my son wasn't too thrilled about it. (Yes I might have dragged him to the book against his will, but I really wanted to know what was going to happen.) It was well written with good pacing that kept us well engaged. There was a part that I pretty much knew for sure what was going to happen (which I was right), but it didn't stop the emotions from flowing over their banks. Well done Mr. Mull.

I've come to very much love these characters. I still have my suspicions about one or two of them, but I'm very intrigued to see what will happen to them in the future. All of them have their own personalities that they stick to and are endearing. I loved the development of new characters that we got to interact with, specifically a mustached twirling gent whom I like very much. 

I very much am excited to read the next book and will probably try to make my son listen to some of it during Christmas break even though "reading is just before we go to school, mom!" We'll see, my son, we'll see. 

Rise of the Evening Star

 Rise of the Evening Star is the second book in the Fablehaven series by Brandon Mull  and it is "interesting, strange, and silly" says my son. 

A year has passed since the events of the first Fablehaven book. Kendra has had some interesting side effects of being kissed by all the fairies and can now see into the into the magical realm without aid. After an incident at school and potential bad guys hanging around, Grandma Sorenson convinces Kendra and Seth's parents to let them come visit and help Grandpa who just broke his leg thus also keeping the kids out of harms way. But now Fablehaven is in jeopardy again. The Society of the Evening Star is working to get five ancient artifacts that are hidden on different preserves so then they can release demon. Fablehaven has such an artifact. But now there is a traitor amongst those at Fablehaven and they don't know who it is. 

My son and I really enjoyed this a lot. There were many funny moments, amongst the serious ones, that made my son laugh a lot. The story was very engaging. The many creatures and bad guys they encountered were different and I didn't know what to expect for the most part. 

It was great to see Seth having learned his lesson from the last book. He isn't as foolhardy and reckless, and while he does things the grownups don't particularly like he does them for good reasons and with a tendency for caution instead having his guns blazing. Kendra also ends up drawing on her brother's courage for support which is big of her to see this good quality in her brother. 

I have my predictions which are starting to accrue and it will be fun to see if I'm right or if I'm wrong. 

Fablehaven

 This is a book that I'm glad I picked up. I am reading it to my son and he is very invested in it as well. 

Fablehaven is about a brother and sister who go to live with their grandparents for a few weeks while their parents are away during the summer. Grandpa Sorenson has some strict rules around his Connecticut home, especially to stay out of the woods because there is a tick infestation and he doesn't want them to get hurt. Kendra is more than willing to stay near the house reading and figuring out the little mystery Grandpa Sorenson gave her with the keys in the playroom, while Seth on the other had has a hard time doing what he's told. Off adventuring he goes while everyone's back is turned and finds a pond that is imaculately cared for and an old lady hidden deep in the woods. Muriel gnaws at a rope and talks to the little creatures that surround her. Why is she out there and what else is Grandpa Sorenson hiding. What Seth and Kendra end up finding out is that Grandma and Grandpa Sorenson are caretakers of a magical preserve. The butterflies that are constantly flittering around the gardens are actually fairies and Muriel is a witch bound to her little hut by strong magics to keep the rest of Fablehaven safe. But when Seth doesn't listen to the rules Grandpa and the other adults get taken and it's up to Seth and Kendra and a chicken to find the adults of Fablehaven before Fablehaven is destroyed. 

This was a great book. The world building behind all of the light and dark creatures in the Fablehaven preserve was grasped both my son and I. The time goes by too quickly before we have to get ready for school in the morning (when I read to him). Each plot twist and turn was fun to explore. 

I particularly like bookish Kendra and adventurous Seth. They are foils in a way to each other, as siblings often are. And although Seth is often portrayed as reckless and doesn't listen to the rules, you can see how he isn't an awful person. We get to see his reasonings, even if some of them aren't as honorable as moral would dictate. As the story progresses, he learns (as all children should) that our actions have consequences and we will end up having to live with them.