Series: Chronicles of Kendra Kandlestar, Book 3
Author: Lee Edward Födi
Publisher: Brown Books Publishing
ISBN: 9781934812389
Book Source: review copy from author
Kendra Kandlestar is twelve now, and her Uncle, the wizard Griffinskitch, has taken her as his apprentice. Kendra wants to master magic as quickly as possible, so she can find and rescue her missing brother. Her new wand is slow to obey her, however, and Kendra is tempted by another source of power - a shard from the cauldron that once belonged to the sorcerer Greeve.
Power is tempting for other Eens too. To secure their own position, the village council forbids animals - like Kendra's friends Ratchet the raccoon and Oki the mouse - to use magic, and takes Uncle Griffinskitch prisoner. Kendra, Oki, and the warrior grasshopper Jinx manage to escape, and begin the quest for Kendra's brother. But every unger, dwarf, and krake in the magical realms seems to be after the shard. And Kendra soon discovers that invoking power and controlling it are two very different things.
The first volume in this series reminded me a little of The Hobbit, and Shard from Greeve feels a bit like the Lord of the Rings - the shard itself gave me a "one ring" kind of vibe. That, however, is where the similarities ended. As always, Födi fills his world with unique and unusual creatures, brought to life through their dialects and the lively artwork that decorates almost every page. While the settings are fantastic, the problems and motivations of the characters will resonate with real-life kids. There's also plenty of humour to balance out the more serious aspects of the story.
Plot-wise, I felt that this installment was a little less focused than Box of Whispers or Door to Unger. I think it's partly because Kendra seemed to make less progress towards her overall goal - to discover what happened to her missing family - than she did in previous books. A number of threads are also left dangling at the end of the story. I almost got the impression that Shard from Greeve was intended as a transitional book, meant to lead into the second half of the series.
Books one and two can be read as stand-alones, but I believe book three will be most appealing to established fans of the series. As before, I recommend Kendra Kandlestar to fans of Angie Sage's Septimus Heap series.
For more information on Lee Födi, visit his website. You can also get a sneak peak at book four, Kendra Kandlestar and the Crack in Kazah, at www.kendrakandlestar.com
0 comments:
Post a Comment