"PENDRAGON-- Raven Rise" review

It has begun.

After 8 books, the Convergence has finally arrived. Saint Dane unveils his sinister plan that we've been waiting to hear about for so long. The Battle for Halla has truly started in earnest. But is it as good as the others? Of course. Better, even.

Hobey ho, let's go.

Summary: This is where it begins. The showdown for Halla. At stake is nothing less than all that ever was and all that will be.

There's only one thing missing--Bobby Pendragon.

While Bobby remains trapped on Ibara, the battle moves to his home territory: Second Earth. Mark Dimond and Courtney Chetwynde are left on their own to defend Second Earth agsinst the forces of Saint Dane. They must face off against a charismatic cult leader who has risen to power by revealing a shattering truth to the people of Earth: They are not alone.

The Convergence has broken down the walls. The territories are on a collision course. The final phase of Saint Dane's quest to rule Halla is under way.

And Bobby Pendragon is nowhere to be found.

Evaluation: This series keeps getting better and better. Each book takes readers to a new level of suspense, mystery, and involvement in the story. You care about the characters. They're fleshed out, three-dimensional (no pun intended), and dynamic. And D. J. MacHale isn't afraid to kill some of them off. This raises the stakes even more. In PENDRAGON, anything can happen. But if you think it's going to happen, it probably won't.

I honestly wasn't expecting Second Earth to be the next territory fought over, though it makes perfect sense in hindsight. Sometimes, it seems there's no way the characters can make it through (and some of them don't). Sometimes, it seems that though what Saint Dane is doing isn't "the way things were meant to be", it's the way things are going to be. And, of course, there's a cliffhanger. The book's ending raises a LOT more questions than it answers.

Bring on Book 10. Next May can't come soon enough.

My rating: 10/10