Writing a Fantasy Series, Part Three

The Penultimate Novel

Well, you're almost to the end. Congratulations. It seems as if I'm not the only one doing this sort of thing, but I hope my contribution is good. If not...well, too bad. I'm writing it anyway.

The penultimate novel is a fragile thing. This could be lumped in with the "sequel post", for it can be the second book in a series or the eleventh (*coughcoughWheelofTimecough*). But this one's important. This is one where a cliffhanger seems a must. Look at The Rise of the Wyrm Lord, The Battle of the Labyrinth, Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, PENDRAGON: Raven Rise, Gregor and the Marks of Secret, and many others. Sure, some books don't have major cliffhangers - i.e. Brisingr, The Well of Ascension (sort of), and Charlie Bone and the Shadow. But a really good cliffhanger will keep readers waiting with bated breath the entire span of time until the finale is published.

And... that's pretty much all I need to add. Oh, and here's this.

Writing a Prequel

The prequel is even more fragile than the penultimate novel. It doesn't just need to be good, it needs to be amazing, or else the readers won't care. Actually, on second thought, just don't write a prequel. Please, for the good of mankind.

"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