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!
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.
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
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!
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