The Pendragon Adventure Book 10: The Soldiers of Halla Discussion

Hey, y'all! I'm here with one of my last summer reading challenge posts! I've finally finished my July challenge: The Pendragon Adventure!

Series Info

Since this series is a little less well-known than the other series in my Summer Reading Challenge, I decided to discuss the premise of the series as a whole. The Pendragon Adventure is a 10 book series centered around our main character, Bobby, and his adventures through multiple dimensions (or territories, as they're called in the books). The books are told from a dual perspective. Our main perspective is of Bobby, told in first-person through journals which he sends to his best friend to keep a record of what is happening. The secondary perspective is of Bobby's best friend, Mark, and pseudo-girlfriend, Courtney, who receive the journals and go through their own problems on Earth. The majority of the books focus on a single territory each, as Bobby travels there to thwart the evil Saint Dane.

Book Summary
As always, remember not to read this if you haven't read the previous books in the series, because this summary will probably spoil you for any books that came before this one!

Everything has led to this. The final battle has begun, not just for the tenth and final territory, but for all of Halla. The travelers must finally learn the truth behind Saint Dane and Halla and must come together for one final showdown to save everything that exists, has existed, and will exist. The battle for Halla will soon be over.

Overall Thoughts

Non-spoiler section!

Oh, look at me, eating my words again. I'm starting to judge my younger self for my opinion on books. I can kinda get where my past-self was coming from, but my mind has been significantly changed. I've always remembered the last 3 books as the ones that totally took the series down a path that I did not like at all, but after this re-read, two of those books are now my two favorites in the series.

Going into this book, I remembered almost nothing about the plot. I distinctly remembered the beginning and the explanation of Halla, and I distinctly remembered the epilogue. That's it. It was like reading it for the first time. And I can kinda understand my younger self's dislike for this book, because those two sections that I remembered were the ones I was the most iffy about. I've never been a fan of the explanation that goes down in the first 70ish pages of this book. It gets a little too existential and... I hate to call it spiritual but I can't really figure out what other word to use. (I tried thesaurus.com and I'm still grasping at straws here). It comes out of nowhere, and I feel like it should have been integrated into the book before it a little so that it wasn't this sudden info dump. Because the info is vital to the rest of the book, but it seems to come out of left field.

Once we get past that, though, you'd better hang on because the battle has begun. This book is very fast paced. Normally, the first large chunk of the book is Bobby trying to figure out exactly what's going on. But we have all the info laid out quickly at the beginning of the book, so there are no secrets from there. It's just a constant battle, and I loved it.

As far as the epilogue goes, I didn't quite get it the first time I read it. The second time through, I understood what was going on and actually really liked it. I enjoyed seeing some parallels and seeing how DJ MacHale brought things together in the end.

One complaint I have about the book is that I feel like some of the explanations are glossed over. There are points when characters are like "yeah, I don't it either." I feel like there were a few things that DJ knew needed to be explained or at least addressed, and when he couldn't figure out how to explain it, he just decided that his characters would have no idea either. I've done this before in my own writing, and that seems to be what went on just a little in this book.

Overall, this gets at least 4.75 stars out of 5. I may end up giving it the full star value in the end, but right now it's battling with another book as to which will win top spot.

Spoilery Discussion!

OK, so... let's talk about Solara. I think that my main problem was that it was pretty much just comes out of nowhere. Suddenly, we're not just trying to save Halla, we're trying to save Solara, which is only preserved by the energy of those who are fighting back. I feel like if this concept was at least hinted to or brought up earlier, it wouldn't have felt like such a random shift. Once we got past all the existential stuff, their ability to use Solara's energy was really cool. The travelers are finally on the same playing field as Saint Dane, but not by stooping down to his tactics but by simply knowing what he knew. And the ability to just step into a different territory? Super cool.

I loved the Mark/Courtney plots. They each became leaders in their groups. 23- year-old Mark is such an awesome character. Finally confident, capable, and barely even stuttering! And of course, we all knew Courtney could keep everything together, no sweat.

I also really enjoyed the Nevva-isn't-actually-evil plot. It makes total sense. She was pulled in by Saint Dane's vision of the future. She thought she was fixing the problems. When she realized that Saint Dane didn't care about her opinions or really the opinions of anyone, anywhere in Halla, she realized her mistake. And I love that. Ultimately, she caused the fall of Saint Dane.

Finally, the epilogue. Like I said, I was so confused the first time around. I just didn't get it. But I finally realized what was going on. Bobby was sad that he fought for a normal life that he would never get to live... but he did get to live it, without any knowledge of Halla. And I was so confused about who it was who brought the box of journals until I noticed the parallel. The series starts with Uncle Press walking in on Courtney and Bobby kissing, and that's how it ends. The fact that he said he had 9 more to deliver made me tear up because that means that all of the other travelers were also able to live a full life that they had fought so hard to achieve, before returning home to Halla. I loved it.

Favorite Quotes

Page 17: Oh yeah, and Loor and I were nearly mauled by a polar bear. 
And Spader was hanging out with a penguin.

Page 77: Uncle Press laughed and shook his head. "I guess we've come full circle. I had to drag you into the fight, and now I can't drag you out."

Page 446: Uncle Press continued, "I think the Travelers , Aron, and Boon should be in the second wave. We will need them once we get inside."
"I will attack with the first wave," Loor said. It was a flat-out statement. There was no arguing with her. She wasn't going to hide behind anybody.
"As will I," Alder said.
"What about me?" Spader chimed in. "I think I'd like first crack at these wogglies. We earned it, didn't we?"
"Me too," Siry chimed in. 
"And me," Boon said.
Uncle Press looked to Aron. Aron shrugged. "It is not the time to be cautious."
Uncle Press shook his head and sighed. "Fine. Who picked you people anyway?"
"That would be you, mate," Spader said. "And you made some fine choices, I have to say."


So, there you go, that's all for this summer reading post! Have you read the Pendragon series? What do you think of the series? Let me know in the comments! My full series discussion post will be up soon, and will be followed by a ranking of my favorite travelers, territories, and covers!

I've also created a Facebook page for my blog, so if you want to check that out and like it, you can click HERE. I'll try to keep that pretty up-to-date with new posts and such.

Thanks for reading this! If you like my posts, don't forget to subscribe/follow, since it lets me know that you're enjoying what I'm doing. See y'all soon!

The Pendragon Adventure Book 9: Raven Rise Discussion [Summer Reading Challenge]

Hey, y'all! I'm here with another summer reading challenge post! I'm continuing on with my July challenge: The Pendragon Adventure!

Series Info

Since this series is a little less well-known than the other series in my Summer Reading Challenge, I decided to discuss the premise of the series as a whole. The Pendragon Adventure is a 10 book series centered around our main character, Bobby, and his adventures through multiple dimensions (or territories, as they're called in the books). The books are told from a dual perspective. Our main perspective is of Bobby, told in first-person through journals which he sends to his best friend to keep a record of what is happening. The secondary perspective is of Bobby's best friend, Mark, and pseudo-girlfriend, Courtney, who receive the journals and go through their own problems on Earth. The majority of the books focus on a single territory each, as Bobby travels there to thwart the evil Saint Dane.

Book Summary
As always, remember not to read this if you haven't read the previous books in the series, because this summary will probably spoil you for any books that came before this one!

Bobby Pendragon believes that it is over. He has trapped both himself and Saint Dane on Veelox, seemingly stopping Saint Dane from completing his plans. But what he doesn't know is that while he's isolated on the island of Ibara, Halla is falling apart. The battle has moved to his home territory of Second Earth, and Saint Dane's Convergence seems to be underway. Is it too late to save Halla?

Overall Thoughts

Non-spoiler section!

I don't know how I feel about this book. Well, I guess I do, but I'm not sure why. And why is a pretty important factor in this situation. Although I ended up really loving The Pilgrims of Rayne even though I remembered disliking it, the same can't really be said for Raven Rise. I mentioned in my last post that I really disliked the turn that the last few books took. And after re-reading Raven Rise, I'm finding that I feel the same way. However, as I said, I'm not sure why I dislike it. I'm not sure whether I dislike it because I'm so frustrated with how calculated and well thought out Saint Dane is and how he's winning the upper hand or because I genuinely don't think that this is the way I think the series should go.

I think that's the epitome of my struggle with the last few books in this series. I have a hard time figuring out whether I don't like it because I hate that Saint Dane is getting the upper hand, or if the Convergence legitimately takes the series in a direction that was totally out of left field and doesn't fit with the rest of the series. I think it's probably a combination. I feel that although I like the book, my emotions toward it go more toward appreciation rather than liking.  Maybe I just crave the simplicity of the one territory per book plotline. As I said, I'm not quite sure how I feel about it. Hopefully, my thoughts are more coherent in the wrap-up.

I also worry that my opinions of this book might be slightly clouded by my opinions on The Soldiers of Halla. A very confusing and (for me) extremely memorable scene occurs at the end of Raven Rise, and it prompts this big explanation about Travelers in The Soldiers of Halla, and I distinctly remember not being satisfied with that explanation at all... and I feel like that's partially clouding my opinion of Raven Rise.

I also feel like Raven Rise is a lot choppier than any of the other books. Usually, we get a nice back and forth between Bobby's POV and Mark & Courtney's. In Raven Rise, however, we have Alder, Mark & Courtney, Patrick, and Bobby. Just when we get into one story, we're bounced to another.

As far as rating, I'm a little torn, which makes sense since I don't exactly know how I feel. I do feel that it's one of the more intricate and well-constructed Pendragon books, so I'll give it 4.25-4.5 stars because of that.  More accurate rating TBD in my wrap-up.

Spoilery Discussion!

If I were to choose one word to explain this book, I think it would be confusing. All the changes occurring with Halla because of the Convergence had me really confused. Especially the timelines. It seemed sometimes like Nevva and Saint Dane would have to be in multiple different places at once for their plans to work out. The changes to Second Earth kept me confused, as did the changes to Third Earth.

I'm also kinda getting tired of Saint Dane's plans always working out just how he wanted them. Even when Bobby thinks he's doing something that's finally going to take Saint Dane by surprise, he's playing right into Saint Dane's plans! There's no way he could plan this whole elaborate scheme so perfectly to know exactly how Bobby will react to events.

Also, that scene at the end with all the Travelers showing up in this desolate wasteland... huh? I know it's explained early on in The Soldiers of Halla, but I can't remember the explanation, so right now nothing makes sense. I'm confused.

Sorry this discussion is totally incoherent, but I think I'll have my thoughts together for the last book.

Favorite Quotes

Page 116: "I'm not your friend."
"Yes, of course. I hope that by now you understand exactly where our differences lie."
"I do. I'm trying to protect the territories, and you're trying to kill everyone. I've had that one down for a while now."

Page 432: I grabbed Alder's arm and squeezed. "You're my brother. There's nobody I'd rather be here with. Actually, I'd rather not be here at all, but since I am, I'm glad you are too."

Page 446: "How many of those suits do you have? Do you like, send them to the laundry, or just toss 'em out and put on a new one when it gets all gamey?"
Saint Dane chuckled. I amused him. 
"Does it matter?" he asked.
"It was a joke, idiot." On top of everything else wrong with him, Saint Dane didn't have much of a sense of humor. Except when I amused him. Which happened a lot, I'm sorry to say.
"I'm glad to see that you're in a good mood. You should be. Our struggle has finally come to an end. Perhaps we should celebrate."
"Perhaps you should bite me."

Page 458: "There will be no more protests. No more dissension. No more violence. There will be only one voice. The voice of Ravinia. The voice of Halla. Your voice."
"There goes freedom of speech," I said.
Saint Dane didn't react.



So, there you go, that's all for this summer reading post! Have you read the Pendragon series? What do you think of the series? Let me know in the comments!

I've also created a Facebook page for my blog, so if you want to check that out and like it, you can click HERE. I'll try to keep that pretty up-to-date with new posts and such.

Thanks for reading this! If you like my posts, don't forget to subscribe/follow, since it lets me know that you're enjoying what I'm doing. See y'all soon!

The Pendragon Adventure Book 8: The Pilgrims of Rayne Discussion [Summer Reading Challenge]

Hey, y'all! I'm here with another summer reading challenge post! I'm continuing on with my July challenge: The Pendragon Adventure!

Series Info

Since this series is a little less well-known than the other series in my Summer Reading Challenge, I decided to discuss the premise of the series as a whole. The Pendragon Adventure is a 10 book series centered around our main character, Bobby, and his adventures through multiple dimensions (or territories, as they're called in the books). The books are told from a dual perspective. Our main perspective is of Bobby, told in first-person through journals which he sends to his best friend to keep a record of what is happening. The secondary perspective is of Bobby's best friend, Mark, and pseudo-girlfriend, Courtney, who receive the journals and go through their own problems on Earth. The majority of the books focus on a single territory each, as Bobby travels there to thwart the evil Saint Dane.

Book Summary
As always, remember not to read this if you haven't read the previous books in the series, because this summary will probably spoil you for any books that came before this one!

Following a defeat on the territory of Quillan, Bobby follows Saint Dane to the territory of Ibara, which appears to be an island paradise. But not everything is as it seems in the town of Rayne, where secrets run rampant and the Traveler doesn't want anything to do with the battle for Halla. Meanwhile, Courtney is busy trying to find Mark, before he sets a devastating series of events into motion.

Overall Thoughts

Non-spoiler section!

I'm eating my words. All of them. I'm not sure if I've said this on any previous posts, but I've always disliked the turn this series took near the end. I distinctly remember being disappointed with books 8-10. But I also read #8 at the age of 13, #9 at 14, and #10 at 15. And I haven't re-read them. So it's been a while. Which is why I'm currently eating my words.

This is easily the most complex and intricate Pendragon book so far. Both of the plots (Bobby's and Courtney's) were extremely interesting and compelling. Rather than the little breaks in action that we get from Courtney and Mark's plot, Courtney's plot is just as full-speed-ahead as Bobby's. I remembered one of the major twists in the book, but forgot a few others, as well as forgetting some of the Courtney plot. This read-though, I was significantly more impressed than I was the first time. Honestly y'all, depending on how much I enjoy books 9 and 10, this may be my new favorite. That's how impressed I was with this read-through.

If I were to choose one word to describe this book, it would be INTENSE. There's constantly something exciting going on, whether it's on Bobby's end or Courtney's end. Speaking of ends... THAT ENDING! I remembered that something major happened near the end, but I couldn't remember what events caused it to happen. I remembered it being an accident, when it was actually very purposeful. Whoa. Very intense.

As far as rating, I'm  not going to jump and give it a full 5 stars out of 5, but I will say that it's at least 4.5- 4.75 and might be bumped up in the series post. 

Spoilery Discussion!

Before I get into everything I really enjoyed about this book, I need to get one big complaint off my chest. And it's not so much a complaint about The Pilgrims of Rayne as it is with the entire series. Every single book, Bobby does some sort of recap in his journal. We get told information that we already know from the series. Bobby is writing this journal to Mark and Courtney, who have read all the journals, and who even experienced some of the events, so explaining what Halla is or that he's a traveler is just ridiculous because they already know all that stuff. These little recaps were clearly thrown in there in case someone randomly picked up a book in the middle of the series and started reading it, but I find that stupid. The recaps don't give enough information to sufficiently inform a new reader about what's going on, and I'm not sure why you would even cater to them. By recapping, you're discouraging someone from picking up the series from the beginning. Authors should be catering to their dedicated readers, not some idiot who would start reading the 8th book in a series without reading any of the previous books. But enough of my rant.

Ok, so there were a lot of twists and turns going on in this book. Let's start with the one I remembered most vividly from my first read: the fact that Ibara was actually part of Veelox. I remember being shocked the first time I read it. Just, whoa. I hadn't seen that coming at all.

Secondly, Saint Dane's dado army. I forgot the majority of the plot of this one, except for Courtney's plot, so the dado army surprised me. I'd forgotten that he was using a dado army. But it's Saint Dane, so I shouldn't be surprised.

I also found the whole Ibara/Veelox story really interesting. Back when I first read this, I'm not even sure I knew what world-building was. And I certainly didn't know what aspects of books that I really wanted fleshed out. Oh, how times have changed. I've said it before and I'll say it again: world-building/a very fleshed out world is one of my favorite aspects in books. And that's done so well in this book. First, we see this very secretive society of Ibara- the one where the Tribunal keeps secrets from the people and people disappear for voicing opinions. Then, we discover the bigger picture and the destruction of Rubic City. Finally, and my personal favorite, we learn how everything happened through the Tribunal and everything makes sense. It's just so well crafted and I loved every second of it.

Finally (for Bobby's plot, at least), the mixing of the territories. Oh boy. I've got to hand it to Bobby- he was really clever about it. He planned it out and in theory, it was a great plan. He thought several steps ahead, and honestly, it's kinda Saint Dane-like thinking. This also brings up a bit of a "moral" dilemma about whether mixing the territories is allowable or should be avoided. I'm about to spoil some stuff about the later books, so if you haven't read past this book, skip the rest of the paragraph. *SPOILER ALERT* It's been 6 years since I read Raven Rise, and 5 since The Soldiers of Halla, but if I remember correctly, the Convergence is all about mixing the territories (hence the title "Convergence"). This is clearly why Uncle Press told Bobby not to mix the territories, because although it might help an individual territory, it's also helping Saint Dane's long-term plan. Why couldn't Bobby trust Press and not the villain?! *SPOILER ALERT OVER*

Now, on to Courtney's plot. Like I said, this was also really exciting. It wasn't quite as intense as Bobby's plot, but it's pretty intense. Courtney and Dodger's journey to stop Mark was really exciting, and the action just kept building and building, along with the confusion. I think a lot of the reason I got mad at this book the first time through was because it seemed like Mark was too easily manipulated. But honestly, if it had been my parents who died, I would've done anything to save them. So it's very understandable. Although I did get really annoyed at Mark. I could kinda understand that he might believe or want to believe that Courtney was the one who was confused and had been manipulated, but I draw the line at Mark thinking Courtney was purposely lying to him. Sure, trust this bully-suddenly-turned-nice-guy over your best friend. That makes sense.

OK, that's way longer than I intended, but I just had so much to say!

Favorite Quotes

Page 1: The future isn't what it used to be.
I love that as an opening line. Too great.

Page 209: P.S. This is from Spader, mates. Tell Pendragon that I've thought long and hard about the things he's said to me. I guess you might say I've done a little growing up here in the jungles of Eelong. Tell him I'm ready. I'm with him. And when the time comes, I'll follow him to the ends of Halla.
After that, the last one to Grolo's buys the sniggers.
Hobey-ho,
Your mate, Spader
Honestly teared up while reading that. I absolutely love Spader.

Page 328: "Who are you!" Siry screamed in anger.
I gripped him tighter, holding him back.
"Don't you know?" Saint Dane said with glee. "I'm the boogeyman."
Oh hey, Saint Dane does have a sense of humor! A really twisted one, but I wouldn't expect anything different from him.



So, there you go, that's all for this summer reading post! Have you read the Pendragon series? What do you think of the series? Let me know in the comments!

I've also created a Facebook page for my blog, so if you want to check that out and like it, you can click HERE. I'll try to keep that pretty up-to-date with new posts and such.

Thanks for reading this! If you like my posts, don't forget to subscribe/follow, since it lets me know that you're enjoying what I'm doing. See y'all soon!

The Pendragon Adventure Book 7: The Quillan Games Discussion [Summer Reading Challenge]

Hey, y'all! I'm here with another summer reading challenge post! I'm continuing on with my July challenge: The Pendragon Adventure!

Series Info

Since this series is a little less well-known than the other series in my Summer Reading Challenge, I decided to discuss the premise of the series as a whole. The Pendragon Adventure is a 10 book series centered around our main character, Bobby, and his adventures through multiple dimensions (or territories, as they're called in the books). The books are told from a dual perspective. Our main perspective is of Bobby, told in first-person through journals which he sends to his best friend to keep a record of what is happening. The secondary perspective is of Bobby's best friend, Mark, and pseudo-girlfriend, Courtney, who receive the journals and go through their own problems on Earth. The majority of the books focus on a single territory each, as Bobby travels there to thwart the evil Saint Dane.

Book Summary
As always, remember not to read this if you haven't read the previous books in the series, because this summary will probably spoil you for any books that came before this one!

After some very bizarre events on Zadaa, Bobby follows Saint Dane to the territory of Quillan. Upon arriving on Quillan, Bobby is thrust into The Quillan Games. Competitors chosen in the Games compete in dangerous, often deadly challenges just to stay alive. Civilians place bets on the games, and for many that's the only way that they can survive the territory run by the omnipresent "Blok." Bobby must fight not only to save Quillan, but to survive.

Overall Thoughts

Non-spoiler section!

I've always counted The Quillan Games among my favorite of the Pendragon books. As I've said in previous posts, due to the ever-changing setting of the series, each of the books takes on its own genre. As I've mentioned several times in the past, I love dystopian. Especially when we get great world-building and the back-story to how the world got so messed up. And we get all of that. I've said it before, but I'll say it again: DJ MacHale is amazing at world-building. We got a real sense of the territory, and even got a scene when the territory's back-story is described. I love it.

My love of the games in this book is part of the reason that I know I need to read The Hunger Games eventually. (No, I haven't read it. Shock, awe, blah, I feel no shame.) I find the actual games in The Quillan Games to be super interesting and cool. And although it has obvious differences from The Hunger Games, there are many very obvious similarities as well. And this was published 2 years before The Hunger Games, so you can't claim that DJ copied. Because he was first.

I really can't complain about much in this book. I even enjoyed Mark and Courtney's plot. It wasn't as action-packed and exciting as Bobby's plot, but it was interesting, especially at the end.

As far as rating, I'm  not going to jump and give it a full 5 stars out of 5, but I will say that it's at least 4.5- 4.75 and might be bumped up in the series post. 

Spoilery Discussion!

I totally love the twist with Veego and LaBerge actually being from Veelox. I also loved that so many of their games were stolen from other territories. Yes, it wasn't how it was supposed to be, but it made things really interesting.

So, a moment with the Second Earth plot. The last bit of that was... whoa. There was that whole split where Courtney went through the flume and returned to a totally different Earth with robotic cats and way advanced computers. And Saint Dane revealing himself as Andy Mitchell! We obviously knew that because of The Rivers of Zadaa, but Courtney didn't know that. That was just all intense.

Oh, and Nevva revealing that she was actually working with Saint Dane. Ouch. I knew it was coming since this was a reread, but I still got annoyed with Bobby every time he did what she told him to.

I don't really think I have anything else that's really spoilery to talk about. I just really enjoy this book.

Favorite Quotes

Page 6: I can't transform myself into other people. Believe me, I tried. I closed my eyes, concentrated my thoughts, and thought: Become Johnny Depp. Nothing happened. Maybe I should have been more specific and thought: Become Johnny Depp in Charlie and the Chocolate Factory as opposed to Johnny Depp in Pirates of the Caribbean.

Page 100: There were shelves everywhere that were loaded with dolls. Clown dolls. I hate clowns. Have I mentioned that? In my opinion, there are two kinds of people: those who fear and hate clowns... and clowns.

Page 220: I had a restless night. You know that feeling where you can't get to sleep on Christmas Eve because you're so excited about all the great things that will be waiting for you in the morning?
It wasn't anything like that.
Except for the not being able to sleep part.

Page 403: Veego and LaBerge walked away, but as they left, LaBerge stopped and gave me a confused look. "How do you know this game?" he asked.
"Didn't you know? I'm an honorary Batu," I said.
"You are?" LaBerge said with shock. He looked to quickly to Veego for a reaction. She didn't give any. Obviously LaBerge didn't remember me from Veelox, and Veego didn't bother to remind him.



So, there you go, that's all for this summer reading post! Have you read the Pendragon series? What do you think of the series? Let me know in the comments!

I've also created a Facebook page for my blog, so if you want to check that out and like it, you can click HERE. I'll try to keep that pretty up-to-date with new posts and such.

Thanks for reading this! If you like my posts, don't forget to subscribe/follow, since it lets me know that you're enjoying what I'm doing. See y'all soon!

The Pendragon Adventure Book 6: The Rivers of Zadaa Discussion [Summer Reading Challenge]

Hey, y'all! I'm here with another summer reading challenge post! I'm continuing on with my July challenge: The Pendragon Adventure!

Series Info

Since this series is a little less well-known than the other series in my Summer Reading Challenge, I decided to discuss the premise of the series as a whole. The Pendragon Adventure is a 10 book series centered around our main character, Bobby, and his adventures through multiple dimensions (or territories, as they're called in the books). The books are told from a dual perspective. Our main perspective is of Bobby, told in first-person through journals which he sends to his best friend to keep a record of what is happening. The secondary perspective is of Bobby's best friend, Mark, and pseudo-girlfriend, Courtney, who receive the journals and go through their own problems on Earth. The majority of the books focus on a single territory each, as Bobby travels there to thwart the evil Saint Dane.

Book Summary
As always, remember not to read this if you haven't read the previous books in the series, because this summary will probably spoil you for any books that came before this one!

After battling Saint Dane on Eelong, Bobby moves on to Loor's home territory of Zadaa. In Zadaa, there are two main tribes- the Rokador and the Batu. The Rokador are very technologically advanced and live underground, while the Batu are a warrior class tribe who live above-ground. Tensions between the Rokador and Batu are becoming more and more strained because of the lack of water. The Batu believe that the Rokador are holding back the water, and the Rokador are running out of room underground and are abused when they go above ground. Bobby knows that this must be the turning point of the territory, and must figure out a way to stop Saint Dane before he can claim another territory.

Overall Thoughts

Non-spoiler section!

I forgot a lot of the plot of this book. I remembered that the conflict was over water, and I remembered one or two plot points, but apart from that I forgot almost all of the book. Normally, I would be surprised about that, but after re-reading it, I think that's totally understandable, because this book wasn't that memorable as far as Pendragon books go.

I'm not saying that the book is bad, but in the scheme of the whole series, this pretty forgettable and not as exciting. For me, Zadaa isn't as interesting as the other territories. All of them have something that makes them really interesting or unique, like being all water or cats being the dominant species, but Zadaa is literally just like a desert on Earth. I guess that nothing is different enough from Earth to be interesting for me. What I really love about these books is how interesting and cool the different territories are and this one just... isn't.

Along with that, the plot isn't so exciting or interesting to me either. I guess that that the warring tribes is kinda getting old at this point since both Denduron and Eelong had warring tribes. I guess that nothing about this book really excited me, interested me, or surprised me.

Except for one thing. THE ENDING. There was something that happened at the end that I totally forgot about, and when it happened, I was shocked and upset and freaked out. Whoa.

As far as rating, I'm going to have to give it 4 stars out of 5. As far as Pendragon books go, it's not as good as the other books, but it's still a pretty OK book. 

Spoilery Discussion!

OK, so the ending... whoa. Loor DIED for a hot second. DIED. I totally forgot about that whole scene and my memory is vague on the books after this, so I wasn't sure whether or not she was in later books and was fully convinced that she was actually dead. I sobbed. And then when she came back to life, I was shocked. I was a little annoyed at the speed she healed because even though Bobby and Alder healed quickly, they still took several days. Bobby even took an entire month. But Loor DIED and she only took about 10 seconds to be conscious again. Huh? It just doesn't make any sense.

That was really the only exciting part of the book though. I think that it might be more from a lack of interest on my end than the book actually being boring. I mean, they almost drown several times over, and they take this long trek underground to stop a war. I guess it's exciting, but it just didn't really interest me. I'm not sure why, but I just really didn't care. Honestly, my favorite part of the book was probably when Bobby was training.

One thing I did really enjoy was getting to see both Alder and Loor. As I've said, Loor is one of my favorite characters, if not my absolute favorite character, and I loved getting an entire book with her in it rather than just little snippets of her life. I also really like Alder and was really glad to finally get to see him again because he's just a total teddy bear. So nice.

As far as Mark and Courtney's story went, the first half was a little boring. I remembered the fact that Courtney got run off the road, but although I suspected that Saint Dane was posing as Whitney, I couldn't remember whether that was accurate or not. Also, the very end scene where Andy is implied to be Saint Dane... whoa. I remembered that Andy was really Saint Dane, but I couldn't remember how or when that was revealed. And I still don't get why he saved Courtney. He said something about coming too far to let her die, but he was the one who tried to kill her...? I dunno, I don't get it.

Also, the Loor/Bobby romance thing made me really sad. I just want them to be together. Who cares about Courtney? Loor is way cooler. Ugh I just want them to be together.

This book is also kinda a turning point for me with the books because my brain kinda divides the books into the "old" books- the ones that were out when I first read the series- and the "new" books- the ones I read as they came out. Now, although The Quillan Games was already out the first time I read the series, it was the newest book, so my brain lumps it in with the "new" books. But if I remember correctly, there are also some major changes that occur in The Quillan Games that change the rules a bit, so I guess that's also a literal turning point in the series... I'm not sure. Either way, I definitely feel like I'm leaving one era and beginning the next.

Overall, this book just isn't my favorite. It doesn't bring me the excitement that I want from a Pendragon book, and maybe that's just because I don't find the territory that exciting. I'm not sure, but although it's not my favorite, I do enjoy it.

Favorite Quotes

Page 27: "Do not make the mistake of underestimating Pendragon," she [Loor] said firmly. "You do not know him as I do."

Page 37: "I met Pendragon when I made the journey to the far desert, He is from the tribe known as... as..." Loor was scrambling. Bokka didn't know about the Travelers. I had to bail her out.
"Yankees," I said. "The Yankees tribe." Hey, what can I say? It was the first thing that came to mind. "It's a strong tribe," I added. "Respected by all... except our mortal enemies, the Sox tribe. They hate us. Especially the Red ones. Cannibals. Nasty characters."

Page 68: Once I started moving, each day I felt a little better. Pain is a weird thing: When you've got it, you know it- but you don't really know the moment it stops. It's kind of like, afterward you realize: "Hey, it doesn't hurt to breathe anymore. Or walk. Or blink."

Page 223: "I guess that's the Yellow Brick Road," I said.
"The what?" Loor asked.
"The way to Kidik." Note to self: Stop making clever Second Earth references.

Page 244: Loor froze... and dropped her stave.
Uh-oh. Whatever she was looking at had shocked her so badly that she dropped her weapon. Let me write that again. Loor was so shocked, she dropped her weapon. Loor. I don't have to tell you how wrong that was. 



So, there you go, that's all for this summer reading post! Have you read the Pendragon series? What do you think of the series? Let me know in the comments!

I've also created a Facebook page for my blog, so if you want to check that out and like it, you can click HERE. I'll try to keep that pretty up-to-date with new posts and such.

Thanks for reading this! If you like my posts, don't forget to subscribe/follow, since it lets me know that you're enjoying what I'm doing. See y'all soon!

The Pendragon Adventure Book 5: Black Water Discussion [Summer Reading Challenge]

Hey, y'all! I'm here with another summer reading challenge post! I'm continuing on with my July challenge: The Pendragon Adventure!

Series Info

Since this series is a little less well-known than the other series in my Summer Reading Challenge, I decided to discuss the premise of the series as a whole. The Pendragon Adventure is a 10 book series centered around our main character, Bobby, and his adventures through multiple dimensions (or territories, as they're called in the books). The books are told from a dual perspective. Our main perspective is of Bobby, told in first-person through journals which he sends to his best friend to keep a record of what is happening. The secondary perspective is of Bobby's best friend, Mark, and pseudo-girlfriend, Courtney, who receive the journals and go through their own problems on Earth. The majority of the books focus on a single territory each, as Bobby travels there to thwart the evil Saint Dane.

Book Summary
As always, remember not to read this if you haven't read the previous books in the series, because this summary will probably spoil you for any books that came before this one!

After Saint Dane's first victory on the territory of Veelox, Bobby follows him and Gunny to the territory of Eelong. On Eelong, the jungle cats called klees are intelligent and treat the humans, called gars, like slaves. The tension is mounting between the klees and the gars, and the only way to save the territory may be to break the rules.

Overall Thoughts

Non-spoiler section!

You're probably surprised this is going up so soon after my post for The Reality Bug. Honestly, I kinda am too. These late-night BookTubeAThon Twitter sprints are really helping me get through books. I finished up The Reality Bug during Monday's sprints, and got 325 pages into Black Water during Tuesday night's sprints! Then today (Wednesday!) I pushed through the last 100 pages. And when I finish this post, I'll be starting Twitter sprints again. Whew. It really is a reading marathon!

Anyway, on to the actual book. I liked it more than I remembered liking it. I've never been a huge fan of Eelong, and at best, I'm indifferent about Kasha, the traveler from Eelong. As I've said many times, I tend to prefer the books that take place on the territories I like the best. That may be why my memory was a bit cloudy as to how good this book is. The plot is excellent. The end of Reality Bug/ beginning of Black Water is kinda the turning point of the series. Things start to get more confusing, the plots get more intricate, and it becomes harder to figure out what exactly Saint Dane is really up to. I like that because the series really ages as the characters do.

As I said, I'm not a fan of Eelong. Since I can't remember a ton about some of the other territories that the series hasn't touched on yet, but I can tentatively say that this is my least favorite territory. If it's not my absolute least favorite, then it's at least in the bottom three. It's dangerous to even walk around on solid Earth and humans are treated like animals. No thanks!

Also, I forgot how exciting Mark and Courtney's plot-line is in this book! I totally forgot about what they had going on in this book and the part that they played in everything! I think that's what helps the plot out. Not only is Bobby's plot really interesting, but Mark and Courtney get an even more interesting plot than they got last time.

As far as rating, I'm going to give it around a 4.5. It may vary a bit in the end, but I'm going to go with 4.5 for now.

Spoilery Discussion!

First of all, the ending. THAT ENDING. I remembered that it happened, but it's just... whoa. As if Kasha dying wasn't bad enough, Spader and Gunny got trapped on Eelong. Honestly, I just feel bad for them. Of all the territories to get trapped on, they're stuck on EELONG. That just sucks. And Spader finally had his head on straight and was going to be a great asset to Bobby, which is such a bummer. At least Bobby's continuing on to Zadaa, where he has his best asset- Loor. But the loss of Spader and Gunny is damaging. Also, does anyone else picture Morgan Freeman as Gunny? Just me?

I love that Courtney and Mark jump into the action. I was yelling at them the entire time for using the flumes even though they could tell things were going wrong, but I knew that was what they needed to do because they had no other way of helping Bobby out. They couldn't get in touch with the real acolyte on Eelong. I guess they could've gone to the guy who was the previous acolyte on Second Earth and asked him for some names, but he's pretty grumpy and not helpful. Either way, I loved getting one long narrative with everyone attempting to save Eelong. It made the book super action-packed. Plus, we got to see Cloral again, which is always great.

Honestly... I don't have a ton more to say about the book. It's not my absolute favorite in the series, but I do think it has a really great plot. And I love that all of the characters band together to save Eelong. I hate that this spoilery discussion is so short, but that was really all I had to say about the book.

Favorite Quotes

Page 58: "Tell you what," I said. "I'm going back home, to Second Earth, where humans are humans and cats pee in a litter box. If this Seegen character wants my help, he can find me there. Let's see how he likes dealing with a world where he belongs in a zoo."

Page 125: Truth was, Mark was a terrible swimmer. But he put his faith in the fact that using the air globes was as easy as Bobby described. he wasn't going to let something silly like an irrational fear of a horrific death by drowning stop him from seeing Cloral.

Page 144: "I need something to write with," I said. I figured it was time to catch up with my journals. 
Kasha looked at me like I had just announced I was going to grow a second head.
"You can write?" she asked, not hiding her surprise.
"Amazing, but true," I answered snottily. "And I can count too. Want to hear?"

Page 174: There was nothing else to think about. I had already counted the stones in the walls (8,462), done every math problem i could think of, and even came up with my own lyrics to that old song "Smells Like Teen Spirit," since I never understood the real lyrics anyway. Tell me that's not desperate.

Page 259: The town was a strange oasis tucked into the mountains of nowhere. The only thing that would have made it more surprising was if there had been snow and a guy with a red suit who made toys and drove a sleigh.

Page 316: Boon added, "And we're not there yet."
"Hobey!" Spader exclaimed. "Let's be positive."
"Okay," Boon said. "I'm positive we're not there yet."
Spader laughed and said to Boon, "I like you, mate. When this is over I want to show you Cloral."
"You sure about that?" Courtney asked. "Can klees swim?"
"No, we can't," Boon answered. "Would I have to swim if I went to Cloral?"
Courtney, Mark, and Spader exchanged glances, and burst out laughing.

Page 259: "The sprinklers!" Bobby exclaimed. "On the light posts."
"They have sprinklers on light posts?" Courtney asked.
"What's a sprinkler?" Spader asked.



So, there you go, that's all for this summer reading post! Have you read the Pendragon series? What do you think of the series? Let me know in the comments!

I've also created a Facebook page for my blog, so if you want to check that out and like it, you can click HERE. I'll try to keep that pretty up-to-date with new posts and such.

Thanks for reading this! If you like my posts, don't forget to subscribe/follow, since it lets me know that you're enjoying what I'm doing. See y'all soon!

The Pendragon Adventure Book 4: The Reality Bug Discussion [Summer Reading Challenge]

Hey, y'all! I'm here with another summer reading challenge post! I'm continuing on with my July challenge: The Pendragon Adventure!

Series Info

Since this series is a little less well-known than the other series in my Summer Reading Challenge, I decided to discuss the premise of the series as a whole. The Pendragon Adventure is a 10 book series centered around our main character, Bobby, and his adventures through multiple dimensions (or territories, as they're called in the books). The books are told from a dual perspective. Our main perspective is of Bobby, told in first-person through journals which he sends to his best friend to keep a record of what is happening. The secondary perspective is of Bobby's best friend, Mark, and pseudo-girlfriend, Courtney, who receive the journals and go through their own problems on Earth. The majority of the books focus on a single territory each, as Bobby travels there to thwart the evil Saint Dane.

Book Summary
As always, remember not to read this if you haven't read the previous books in the series, because this summary will probably spoil you for any books that came before this one!

After a bittersweet success on First Earth, Bobby continues on to the territory of Veelox. The inhabitants of Veelox spend nearly all of their time in their individual, perfect, virtual realities. However, the outside world is not quite so perfect. Although Veelox's traveler, Aja, claims to be getting things under control, food is scarce and the land is a desolate wasteland. Bobby must uncover Saint Dane's plan and save the territory before its inhabitants destroy themselves.

Overall Thoughts

Non-spoiler section!

A lot of Pendragon fans say that this one is one of their least favorite books in the series. But I never really understood that, because it's one of my favorites! Because each book is set on a different territory, the books kinda fall into different genres. The Merchant of Death is mostly high fantasy, but The Never War is more historical fiction. The Reality Bug, however, is a mix of sci-fi and dystopian. And those two genres make me very happy.

Aja though... she really irks me. I feel like personality-wise, she's not very different from myself. We're both pretty confident in our intelligence and despise asking others for help. But those qualities don't necessarily add up to a good traveler. You have to know when to ask for help.

One thing that I really like about The Reality Bug is that you never quite know exactly what's going on. It leaves you confused a lot. And because it's crafted to confuse you, I really enjoy it.

I both love and hate the territory of Veelox. I think it's super interesting, but I would never, ever want to live there. It's kinda like with 1984. I think that the world is really interesting and well-constructed and I love learning all about it, but it would be a nightmare to live in. I love learning all about Veelox and their virtual reality, but I don't think I'd ever want to live there, even though the virtual reality is really tempting.

I also really enjoy Mark and Courtney's plot in this one. Finally, finally they get an interesting plot. I like both of them as characters, but I'm always sad when I reach the end of one of Bobby's journals because I know I'll have to read a chapter of them going  through their boring lives before getting back to the action. But this is when they actually start getting actually interesting and I loved it.

As far as rating, I'm going to give it at least a 4.5 out of 5. It might end up getting higher, but it's definitely at least a 4.5.

Spoilery Discussion!

I was so excited when Bobby went and got Loor to help him, and I loved how much sass she gave Aja. Speaking of Aja, I think she has no business being a traveler. She's a great phader but she isn't a good traveler. I can't remember whether or not she shows up later in the series, but I doubt it because she won't even leave Veelox. Compared to Loor, who is a really great traveler, Aja is useless. At least her heart is in the right place. Kinda.

That reminds me. Please tell me there's someone else out there who ships Bobby with Loor and not Courtney. Please? I get that Courtney was that girl he crushed on forever and she's totally beautiful and stuff, but... LOOR. She's loyal and strong and smart and just super awesome. Courtney is kinda... whiny. Especially in this book. I'm not saying that I dislike Bobby and Courtney as a couple. I like them. I just like Loor and Bobby better. Because LOOR.

Anyway, back to the actual book. Saint Dane was pretty absent in this book until the end, which I liked, because it gave Bobby a chance to work things out on his own without Saint Dane constantly trying to stop him. Saint Dane knew he'd won. This time, his plan was pretty much Bobby-proof. I really don't think that Bobby could've done anything to save Veelox. And honestly, I like that it wasn't a happy ending. So far, Bobby has managed to pull everything off, and when he defeats the Reality Bug with only 20ish pages left, you think he's done it again, but then Saint Dane pulls it out at the last second and it sucks. But at least for once, it wasn't predictable. And Saint Dane's win and the rules changing allows the books to get even more crazy and interesting. Again, I don't get why this is one of Pendragon fans' least favorites in the series. I think it's great.

Another reason why it's my favorite is, like I said, that Courtney and Mark actually get an important plot! I can't remember for sure, but I'm pretty sure that now that they're acolytes, they're going to continue having more interesting plots, which is great because like I said above, their stories tend to be a low point for me in the story.

I really like the sequences where they're inside Lifelight. Regardless of whether it's perfect or whether there are imperfections, I think it's a really interesting invention and like to see what everyone comes up with.

Overall, I just really like this book. It's always been one of my favorites in the series, and this re-read reminded me why I like it so much!

Favorite Quotes

Page 165: Loor looked right into my eyes and gave a little smile. That didn't happen often. Loor wasn't the smiley type. But when she did, it made my heart melt. It wasn't until I saw her again, here on her home territory of Zadaa, that I realized how much I had missed her.

Page 173: Loor pumped her legs and drove the guy backward, through the room and out of the portal. She finished him off by flipping him over her back into the waterfall, sending him plummeting into the fast-moving river.
I looked up at the Rokador guy who was operating the water controls. He didn't stop working, but gave me a nervous glance.
"You should see her when she's mad," I said to the scared guy. 
I thought the poor dude was going to faint. I hurried out of the room, jumping over the bodies of the groaning guards, and joined Loor on the ledge behind the waterfall. 
"Finished playing?" I asked. She gave me a sly wink and we were off. 

Page 174: Aja gave Loor an up and down once-over. She then said, "Is Loor a man's name or a woman's name?"
Ouch.
Loor answered,"It is the name of a legendary hero on Zadaa. A woman."
"Really?" Aja said. "What did she do that was so heroic?"
"She killed her enemies and ate them."
Aja's eyes opened in shock. She turned forward and clutched the wheel of the vehicle nervously. Loor looked at me and winked. She was kidding. Great. That's all I needed. 

Page 350: Loor and I had been through some hairy adventures but we were now connecting on a whole new level. I think they call it "normal." I always had a ton of respect for her. Now I felt as if I had found a friend. 

Page 352:"Thank you for coming to Veelox," I said. 
"Gratitude is unnecessary," she declared. "I am a Traveler."
"But I threw you into a pretty nasty situation without a whole lot of warning and... you are an amazing person, Loor."
I wanted to hug her, but she wasn't the sentimental type. So I was surprised when she reached forward and touched my cheek. It was a tender gesture. Something I never thought she was capable of.
"I feel the same about you, Pendragon," she said sincerely. "I am glad you are our leader... and my friend."



So, there you go, that's all for this summer reading post! Have you read the Pendragon series? What do you think of the series? Let me know in the comments!

I've also created a Facebook page for my blog, so if you want to check that out and like it, you can click HERE. I'll try to keep that pretty up-to-date with new posts and such.

Thanks for reading this! If you like my posts, don't forget to subscribe/follow, since it lets me know that you're enjoying what I'm doing. See y'all soon!

The Pendragon Adventure Book 3: The Never War Discussion [Summer Reading Challenge]

Hey, y'all! I'm here with another summer reading challenge post! I'm continuing on with my July challenge: The Pendragon Adventure!

Series Info

Since this series is a little less well-known than the other series in my Summer Reading Challenge, I decided to discuss the premise of the series as a whole. The Pendragon Adventure is a 10 book series centered around our main character, Bobby, and his adventures through multiple dimensions (or territories, as they're called in the books). The books are told from a dual perspective. Our main perspective is of Bobby, told in first-person through journals which he sends to his best friend to keep a record of what is happening. The secondary perspective is of Bobby's best friend, Mark, and pseudo-girlfriend, Courtney, who receive the journals and go through their own problems on Earth. The majority of the books focus on a single territory each, as Bobby travels there to thwart the evil Saint Dane.

Book Summary
As always, remember not to read this if you haven't read the previous books in the series, because this summary will probably spoil you for any books that came before this one!

After another successful defeat of Saint Dane and the devastating loss of Uncle Press, Bobby and his newest companion, Spader, follow Saint Dane to First Earth in an attempt to thwart his evil plans once again. But Saint Dane's plans to send 1930s Earth into chaos aren't quite so easy to uncover, especially when gangsters are constantly after you.

Overall Thoughts

Non-spoiler section!

I went into this one remembering what the "turning point" was, but not remembering which way it was supposed to play out. The only other thing I really remembered about the book was that it hadn't been one of my favorites in the series, but I didn't dislike it.

The one problem that I had with this book was that some of the characters' thought processes were totally illogical concerning the turning point. I'll go into more detail in the spoilery section, but Bobby, being from Second Earth and knowing things about the incident as well as about the future of Earth, should have figured out Saint Dane's plan really early on in the book. Like I said, I went into the book not remembering how the turning point was supposed to play out and was able to figure out what was really going on pretty quickly just through logic.

As I've said in past posts, my favorite territories tend to dictate which books I really enjoy in the series. As far as territories go, First Earth floats somewhere in the middle for me. In a fantasy series set in all of these fantastic worlds, being on Earth isn't quite as exciting. I want to be on one of the territories I didn't learn about in history class.

As far as the plot goes, it's ok. I think that may be why it's not necessarily my favorite. And I can't really pinpoint why I don't like it quite as much as the previous books. I don't think there was anything wrong with it. This is, I think, the shortest Pendragon book, and I feel like if the book didn't have the flawed logic I talked about earlier, it would be more successful plot-wise. However, it would be significantly shorter. Maybe the flawed logic was added in to make it a little longer? I don't know. Like I said, I'm not totally sure why I don't like this one quite as much.

As far as rating, I'm going to give it similar to The Merchant of Death. Maybe around a 4.25 or maybe just a 4. 

Spoilery Discussion!

So, as I was saying earlier, some of Bobby's logic annoyed me. Once it was mentioned, he remembered learning about the Hindenburg explosion. Therefore, if he was actually thinking, he would have realized that the explosion of the Hindenburg didn't send Earth into chaos. I can understand that his immediate reaction would be that Saint Dane was using the explosion to create chaos, but if he would've just thought about it for more than two seconds, he would have realized that nothing that had actually happened in the past would have sent Earth into complete chaos or Second Earth would have been affected.

I've never been on-board with there being more than one Earth. Earth shouldn't get multiple territories just because the main character is from there! Also, I have so many questions about the logistics of it. If a traveler, 10 years later in Second Earth, went to First Earth, would they still wind up in 1937? Or would it be 1947? And why are 1 and 2 so close in time? So, so many years have been neglected prior to 1937. Also, story-wise, I got kinda annoyed with Patrick discussing details about the 20th century so easily. That's like me giving a detailed account of something going on in 1000 BC. And yes, he has fancy computers and is a scholar, but he was discussing a 1969 football game. There's no reason for him to have that random knowledge stored up in his head. 

I really enjoyed the trip to Third Earth. It's probably my favorite part of the book. I think that the future that DJ MacHale has set up is a fairly unique one. While it is the very technologically advanced society of science-fiction, there are many differences. It's a very environmentally conscious world. People have discovered new ways to expand, such as living underwater, on the moon, and underground. I think this part of the world was really well done, because it seems like that would take a very long time to come to fruition. There are, however, a few things that I'm not sure were quite so well done. For example, there were still cars. 3000 years in the future, I'm pretty sure that they would have discovered a better way to travel. Logically, I also think that computers would be more advanced than they actually were. Also, the fact that trains/monorail were even used at all seems a little far-fetched. We're talking three thousand years. Like I said earlier, that's basically the time between us and the people living in 1000 BC. That's biblical times. Think how much technology has changed between now and then.

I was surprised at how much of the plot I'd forgotten. I forgot that there were gangsters. And the conflict between gangsters is literally the center of the entire book. I had also totally forgotten the role that Saint Dane played. I'd forgotten that he was Farrow, a gangster, and Zell for a brief bit. I forgot several other things, but the point is that I forgot nearly everything that happened in this book except that the explosion of the Hindenburg was the turning point. And at first, I couldn't even remember whether it was supposed to blow up or not. It was almost like I was reading it for the first time. Almost. 

Favorite Quotes

Page 1: The way things are going, I know what I want for my fifteenth birthday... the chance to have a sixteenth.

Page 48: "Is there anyone in this town who isn't a gangster?" Spader asked.
"I know three for sure," said Gunny. "You, me, and Pendragon.
"Swell," said Spader sarcastically.

Page 60: Spader said, "So maybe we should go over to Germany and talk to this Hitler fella."
I laughed at that. "You don't get it," I said. "We can't just go over to Berlin, knock on Adolf Hitler's door and say, 'Excuse me, Mr. Hitler, you don't know us, but we'd really like you to reconsider this Holocaust thing. Okey dokey?"

Page 64: "Then tell me about this World War Two. Is it really the natty-do you're saying?"
"Worse," I answered solemnly. "I don't know the words to describe how bad it was. If there's a chance we could stop it, it would be beyond incredible."
Spader stood up and smiled. "Right then! I have a sudden urge to pee. Not that I'm nervous mind you. I'm just... scared to death."

Page 112: The bodyguard sitting next to Rose went for his gun. But he was too late because just as he pulled the gun from under his jacket, Max Rose got slammed with a wave of tableware, flowers, and Bobby Pendragon, Undercover Traveler.

Page 121: Spader looked at me with a sick expression," If I fall out, pull this ring?" he repeated. "What happens then? I sprout wings and fly?"

Page 183: I don't know how long the trip took. Actually, now that I think of it, it took around three thousand years. Time sure flies when you're having flume.

Page 253: A few times I looked back to check on Gunny. The poor guy was having a rough time. His face looked green, but he still have me a brave thumbs up. At one point I wondered if gunny thought the thumbs up meant "I'm going to puke again," because that's pretty much all he was doing.


So, there you go, that's all for this summer reading post! Have you read the Pendragon series? What do you think of the series? Let me know in the comments!

I've also created a Facebook page for my blog, so if you want to check that out and like it, you can click HERE. I'll try to keep that pretty up-to-date with new posts and such.

Thanks for reading this! If you like my posts, don't forget to subscribe/follow, since it lets me know that you're enjoying what I'm doing. See y'all soon!

Pendragon Book 2: The Lost City of Faar Discussion [Summer Reading Challenge]

Hey, y'all! I'm here with another summer reading challenge post! I'm continuing on with my July challenge: The Pendragon Adventure!

Series Info

Since this series is a little less well-known than the other series in my Summer Reading Challenge, I decided to discuss the premise of the series as a whole. The Pendragon Adventure is a 10 book series centered around our main character, Bobby, and his adventures through multiple dimensions (or territories, as they're called in the books). The books are told from a dual perspective. Our main perspective is of Bobby, told in first-person through journals which he sends to his best friend to keep a record of what is happening. The secondary perspective is of Bobby's best friend, Mark, and pseudo-girlfriend, Courtney, who receive the journals and go through their own problems on Earth. The majority of the books focus on a single territory each, as Bobby travels there to thwart the evil Saint Dane.

Book Summary
As always, remember not to read this if you haven't read the previous books in the series, because this summary will probably spoil you for any books that came before this one!

After successfully defeating Saint Dane in Denduron, Bobby and Uncle Press follow him to the territory he has escaped to- Cloral. Cloral is a world made up completely of water, and rather than having land, there are floating cities called habitats. But, upon arriving on Cloral and meeting up with Press's friend, Spader, they find that Cloral seems to be doing just fine. But things may not be exactly as they seem.

Overall Thoughts

Non-spoiler section!

In my last post, I said that I didn't remember much about The Lost City of Faar. That's both true and false. I remembered a lot about the world and a lot about Spader. It was the plot that I couldn't remember. I remembered maybe 2 plot points, but nothing else at all. This second (at least, I think it's only the second time) read reminded me why I really like this book. I'll have to get through the entire series before I make a definitive statement, but Cloral is definitely one of my favorite territories, if not my absolute favorite. It's such a cool world and DJ MacHale does such a great job making it come to life.

Along with that, Spader is one of my favorite characters in the series. He has so many really great qualities along with being just a really pleasant person in general.

Although The Lost City of Faar and The Merchant of Death are about the same length, The Lost City of Faar seems like a much quicker read than Merchant of Death. I guess this could be because in Merchant of Death, we not only learn a lot about everything, but also get a ton of action, whereas Lost City of Faar is less action, more adventure. Which I fine with me, because I've always been more a fan of adventure than action.

Lost City of Faar is also a really important turning point in the books. I obviously won't say why right here since this is the non-spoiler section, but some of the events in this book cause a huge turning point for Bobby continuing on into the rest of the series, and it's definitely great to see the way that Bobby responds to it.

As far as rating, because I really love the territory and the characters and the adventure, I'll go with a 4.5 out of 5 for now. As always, this could change for my final ratings, but that's where it is for right now.

Spoilery Discussion!

I know I said this about both Loor and Alder, but Spader is one of my favorite travelers. A lot of my favorite travelers are introduced fairly early in the series. I had actually forgotten that Spader accompanied Bobby in to the next territory. I remembered him being in more of the series and being a bit of a sidekick for Bobby, but I couldn't remember if it was immediately after Cloral. And I still can't remember how long he's with Bobby. Like I said, it's been a really long time since I read these books. I read most of them in 7th grade, then read books 7 &8  when book 8 came out, and then the last two when they were released. So it's been quite a while. I remember people and places but all of the plots are fuzzy.

As I said, I really like Cloral. That would be a really cool territory to visit. But I also enjoy the adventures they have while on Cloral. And the gadgets that Cloral has are really cool. And, of course, the city of Faar being totally hidden for centuries and centuries is also cool. Saint Dane also got pretty sneaky on Cloral. In Denduron, we saw him pretending to be two people, but this time we got three. I had totally forgotten that he impersonated one of the scientists, as well as the scene where he took the form of an aquaneer to get out of the brig. I'd forgotten how many different forms that Saint Dane took. Also, it seems like my question has been answered- Saint Dane clearly doesn't always have the blue eyes. However, it seems like he retains the blue eyes for whatever main villain he's impersonating, but whenever he actually doesn't want Bobby to know who he is, he'll change his eye color.

One of my favorite scenes in the book is when Bobby takes Spader to Zadaa to talk to Loor. Like I said in my last post, I used to not like Loor, but she's now one of my favorite characters. She's always there when Bobby needs her. Always.

And, we have the turning point of the entire series- the death of Uncle Press. Uncle Press's death always makes me thing of Dumbledore's death. Both are the only real mentors that the main character has, and their death shows that the main character is now on his own and has to solve his problems by himself. I think that's why, on my first read-through, I was shocked that Uncle Press died. I think I knew it would happen at some point in the series, but I don't think anyone expected it that early in the series. And it was just so sudden.

I haven't talked a ton about Mark and Courtney up until this point. Obviously, their plot isn't as exciting as Bobby's. I don't really remember a ton about their plot throughout the rest of the series, although I do remember bits and pieces. But I do know that their plot throughout this book is frustrating. Mitchell is just so annoying and I wanted him to go away. I had totally forgotten about Mark and Courtney tricking him, but I still wasn't sure why that was necessary. Once Mitchell had started claiming that the pages had come through some magic passageway in Mark's ring, the police would've just thought he was some crazy kid. Either way, their little trick worked, so yay.

Favorite Quotes

Page 58: "Nice of you to say, Press," replied Spader. "Last one to Grallion buys the sniggers?"
"Snickers?" I said. "They have candy bars here?"
"Sniggers, Bobby. It's a drink," answered Uncle Press

Page 71: A small grocery store was next to a small library and that was next to a shop that carried a little bit of everything from tools to toys to cookware. On Second Earth we had a name for this kind of store. Target.

Page 172: Unfortunately nobody else in the stadium was as excited as I was. Here I was jumping up and down like some crazed fan from the Cleveland Browns Dog Pound, and everyone else was just sat there, watching me, wondering who this idiot was who had lost control. Every eye in the stadium was on me, including the warriors down on the field. I felt like a total imbecile.
"Is this a custom where you come from?" asked Spader, who was just as surprised at my enthusiasm as everyone else in the stadium.
.........
She didn't even know who I was. I felt horrible. Then, a moment later, I saw it in her eyes. She finally recognized me; that's when something happened that I never would have expected. It was so shocking that I no longer cared about being embarrassed. It just didn't matter anymore, because as she stood there breathing hard, Loor looked up at me and smiled.

Page 236: If I had only one sentence to describe what it was like to be a Traveler, it would be this: "Just when you think you've seen it all... you haven't."

Page 309: "You want to know what I think?" I asked Saint Dane. "I think if you truly knew what was going to happen, if you really believed this was all part of your plan and that you couldn't be beaten, then you wouldn't keep begging me to join you."
Saint Dane blinked. I saw it. I had hit a nerve.
"What do I think?" I added. "It might not be here, it might not be today or even on this territory, but for the first time since I met you on Second Earth, I think that when this is all over, I'll be the one who's beaten you... because that is the way it's supposed to be."

Page 343: "Okay," I said, not really understanding. "What will stop his quest?"
Uncle Press didn't answer at first. I wasn't sure if he didn't want to tell me, or he didn't know. Finally he said:
"It won't end until he thinks he's won. That's when he'll fail.

Page 350: "I've told you there is only one Traveler from each territory," he said. "You never asked why there were two from Second Earth."
He was right. I never did. I don't know why, but the thought never crossed my mind. It was so obvious, but I never thought about it. Or maybe I didn't want to.
"Are you going to tell me?"
"The answer is, there can't be two Travelers from Second Earth. I knew my time was short. That's why I brought you from home. It was your time. It was Loor's time, and Spader's too. You are the next Travelers."
..........
"I'll tell you something else," he said. "You are the last. All that has gone before is prelude. The fight is yours. You will take it to the end. You are the last Travelers."

Page 360: I seriously thought about getting back to Second Earth and hiding under your bed, Mark. You could feed me leftover mac and cheese, nobody would know where I was, and I'd never have to think about anyone named Saint or Dane again.


So, there you go, that's all for this summer reading post! Have you read the Pendragon series? What do you think of the series? Let me know in the comments!

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