"MAX" review

Well, it's March again, and you know what that means! Oh. You don't? Well, it means another Maximum Ride book by prolific thriller writer James Patterson. There have been four so far. The first three were fantastic, getting better with each book. The fourth book...was...er, written. That's about as much as I can say about it. Skeptical now? Yeah, you should be. But don't worry, The Final Warming-- er, I mean Warning-- is really quite short, and MAX is much, much better, perhaps the second best in the series.

The book, which is named after the main character, is about the Flock, a group of six kids who are a whopping 98% human. The other 2%? Well, that's what all the fuss is about, isn't it. The rest is avian DNA. You see, the Flock is being hunted by a number of detestable baddies who will stop at nothing to keep them silent (with a short detour into Global Warming land in Book 4). The latest is Mr. Chu, a temperamental Chinese businessman with a few dangerous secrets. He represents a group of wealthy, powerful people who hate the Flock with a passion.

So they kidnap Max's mom, taking her off the coast of Hawaii, where thousands of fish are mysteriously dying. It's up to Max, Fang, Iggy, Nudge, the Gasman, and Angel (those lovable bird kids) to rescue her and get to the bottom of Mr. Chu's crimes. Oh, and the Voice inside Max's head has gone almost silent.

Wow, it's good to read a quality Maximum Ride book again. While this is still a bit shorter than the first three, it's a good step up from #4. The book is loaded down with action and suspense of every kind-- read the book and see what I mean-- and some loose ends from the other books get resolved nicely. And the Global Warming stuff pretty much stayed in the last book. It's refreshing to see Patterson is on his A-game again. We can only hope it lasts approximately forever.

The best part is: I'm really looking forward to the inevitable sequel. It'll be fun to see where Patterson goes from here.

My rating: 9.5/10

"PENDRAGON Prequel 2" review

PENDRAGON 10 is coming May 12. It's big. It means business. And it's spawned a trilogy of prequels that span the whole of Halla. So please, while you wait for The Soldiers of Halla, here's PENDRAGON Prequel 2.

No, I'm not using its full title. End of story. Drop it.

On the territory of Veelox, Aja Killian is in trouble. A classmate of hers has infiltrated Lifelight with a virus program. It's a game, called "King Hruth's Maze". And Aja's being framed. So with the aid of a man by the name of Press, she must enter the game, save a trapped student, and escape the maze. Oh, and by the way, find out what her purpose really is. But watch out! Saint Dane's influence on Veelox is strong...

Elli Winter lives on the territory of Quillan-- a territory run by deadly games in which the citizens compete for food. One day, not too long after her husband dies, Elli is swept into the hands of Quillan'd revolutionaries. She goes from becoming a cleaning lady to an integral part of excavs, missions to dig up lost books as a part of Mr. Pop. Don't know what Mr. Pop is? Read The Quillan Games, book seven in the PENDRAGON series. But can even the enigmatic Press, telling her stories of other worlds, help her when an excav is ambushed by dados?

Sixteen-year-old Alder is out of luck. He's been training to become a Bedoowan knight on the territory of Denduron for years, but no one has ever taught him. He's an overweight, bumbling oaf who can be easily beaten. That is, until an old man, Wencil of Peldar, decides to really train him. But can Alder complete his Great Ordeal-- going down into the poisonous air of the glaze mines to find a ring inside a room marked with a star? And who is this man named Press, who claims to know the secrets of the universe?

Prequel 2 is written by Walter Sorrels. He doesn't try to be like D. J. MacHale, but his style isn't a bad one. In my opinion, it's better than Prequel 1, which I believe I rated too highly. I'd give Prequel 1 an amended rating of 7. The extra 1.5 points accounted for the fact that I got to read about characters I haven't read about in years. But a 7 is what the book on its' own earned.

With that settled, I'd like to point out how well Sorrels teases the reader with familiar characters and plot elements that echo throughout the entire PENDRAGON series. No, it's not as good as a real PENDRAGON, but it's well worth the $7.00 I paid for it. A definite yes, but only if you're a PENDRAGON fan.

My rating: 8/10

Writing a Fantasy Series, Part Two

Writing a Sequel

So you've made it through book one of (insert number here). Now what?

Fresh Meat

Chances are, by now, readers are fairly well-acquainted with your world and the characters that inhabit it. Hopefully, they've grown to love them as well-- or hate them, it doesn't really matter. So they want to see their old friends again. But don't just do the bare bones minimum. (The bare bones minimum, by the way can be put into an equation: original plot - same settings +new characters = sequel! It's that easy!)

The bare bones minimum isn't fun to read, and sincce most fantasy series aren't duologies, you'll want readers to come back (again). Yes, introduce new characters. It'll add depth to your story and help keep it from being boring. Yes, put in new settings. It'll keep readers more immersed in your world. But don't do this at the expense of totally abandoning the old ones. They're good, too.

But make your story interesting. Make it fresh. Make it new. For example, The Well of Ascension starts after where most series end. It's about rebuilding and acting nobly in the face of civil war, but it's about much more as well. The Rise of the Wyrm Lord took a risky move, sending a completely new character into the fray. Not only new to the story, but a different gender as well. This must have presented some interesting POV challenges for Wayne Thomas Batson. Which brings us to...

Point of View

Now, there are several ways to address the POV issue, and none is any more right than the others. There's the first-person view, which is hardly ever used in fantasy (notable examples being The Name of the Wind and Percy Jackson and the Olympians). Then there's the ever-so popular second-person POV. Yes, I'm being ironic. The only book I've ever read that used this POV to any major extent is You Don't Know Me. Not a fantasy, but very, very good. Third-person limited view can be seen in The Underland Chronicles, Harry Potter, and Charlie Bone. Third-person omniscient view, however, is the most commonly used (i.e. Mistborn, The Lord of the Rings, and PENDRAGON, as well as The Inheritance Cycle). Which one's working best for you? You'll have to decide. Though it's not done commonly, a series can switch from limited to omniscient POVs-- here's looking at you, Inheritance.

A Little Pinch of Darkness

Sequels tend to edge toward the darker side of life. This gives a nice way to set the book apart from its prequel, but just remember: a little pinch of darkness will do. Don't get too begged down in the heavy shadows or else your readers will get too depressed to really enjoy the book.

On Poetry and Songs

Use with caution.

Dangle that Carrot!

The second book in a series doesn't need to end with a cliffhanger. But make sure the readers are tantalized by the prospect of another entry in the series. Dangle the carrot in front of their noses, and they'll follow you wherever you go.

Do it tastefully, of course.

Part Three: The Penultimate Novel coming soon!