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Raven Rise (Pendragon #9)

4.24 of 5 stars 4.24 · rating details · 8,401 ratings · 271 reviews

For use in schools and libraries only. This is where the showdown for Halla begins. 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

Hardcover, 544 pages

Published December 22nd 2009 by Turtleback Books (first published May 1st 2008)

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Nov 15, 2012 Jennifer Wardrip rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: trt-posted-reviews

Reviewed by Shyanne for TeensReadToo.com

RAVEN RISE is a wonderful addition to the PENDRAGON series. It is just as exciting as the rest and keeps you wanting more. I had a hard time putting it down and there is no way that I will not be purchasing the next one so I can find out what happens next!

RAVEN RISE is about a Traveler named Bobby Pendragon. Now eighteen, his struggle to save Halla is harder than ever, and everything he's ever done has come down to this. He must save Halla from an extreme...more

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Mar 23, 2011 Mike Aragona rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: all

For the penultimate book... this was very disappointing. Regardless of the great set up in the last chapter for the final book... there were problems with this one.[return][return]Number one, they found out about the evil new traveller on Second Earth and how he came to be. So... why did they try to stop him on Second Earth instead of going back to First Earth and preventing him from becoming what he does? Why did no one even mention that path?![return][return]With that big issue (for me)... it...more

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Jul 03, 2008 Skylar rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: Pendragon fans

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Jan 18, 2009 Sabrina rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Yes, there is a tenth book, and no, Saint Dane is not dead. Yet. Hopefully. You get my point. In Raven Rise, the battle finally moves to Second Earth and Bobby partially has no idea because he lost his Traveler ring. Nevva Winter leads Bobby back to the other Flume on Ibara and gives him back his ring, however - not out of kindness, though, of course. Nonetheless, Bobby goes to Third Earth to find out everything he can about Saint Dane's 'Convergence' and ends up with the 'Bronx Massacre' after...more

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Aug 12, 2012 Cortlyn Matney rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

This book was a breath of fresh air after I finished the Eighth and had to wait for it. It opened with knowledge that made me cringe and growl. There was something about how it was partly an intellectual battle and partly Bobby needing to get himself into gear that was absolutely breath taking. It was a novel that went from a man that has given up, and amped up into madness that you think will work, they think will work, and then the unthinkable happens.

This book had so many twists and turns. I...more

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Jun 29, 2011 Mike Aragona rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: all

For the penultimate book... this was very disappointing. Regardless of the great set up in the last chapter for the final book... there were problems with this one.

Number one, they found out about the evil new traveller on Second Earth and how he came to be. So... why did they try to stop him on Second Earth instead of going back to First Earth and preventing him from becoming what he does? Why did no one even mention that path?!

With that big issue (for me)... it became more an exercise of readi...more

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Jun 25, 2011 Aparajitabasu rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: adventure, children-s, fiction, fantasy, sci-fi, young-adult

The long Pendragon series is about to end. Its the penultimate book #9 Raven Rise and its getting ugly and its also getting dystopic. Which is my kind of good. Lets read,

Here is the summary of the book:

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 ar...more The long Pendragon series is about to end. Its the penultimate book #9 Raven Rise and its getting ugly and its also getting dystopic. Which is my kind of good. Lets read,

Here is the summary of the book:

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.

The story starts after Bobby trapped himself and demonic Saint Dane on the tropical Ibara, yet it seems that his sacrifice was pointless for the Convergence has already begun. On Third Earth, Patrick wakes up to a dystopian future Earth. He meets up with Mark and Courtney in 1930 and they go to Second Earth to try and stop Saint Dane's plans. Nevva is disguised as Telleo (trying to get Bobby to fall in love with her; no luck) and lets a few minor details slip. Bobby then finds out that Saint Dane has escaped Ibara, and goes after his to his home territory Second Earth. A cult leader named Alexander Naymeer (an English idealist, brainwashed by Saint Dane) is creating chaos with Ravinia (the name of the cult). Bobby, Alder, Mark, and Courtney try to avoid the Ravinians while looking for the leader of the rebellion. In a giant battle known as the Bronx Massacre almost half the characters die or at least seem to be dead (leaving clinchers for the next book), and Saint Dane seems to have won. Yet the ending gives readers hope for Bobby and the travelers.

So literally all hell has broken loose. Although the previous book should be called for "where-all-hell-started-to-break-loose". D. J. Machale has completely discarded all the formula he used in the previous books and its chaotic and to some extent I've been expecting it since I began reading it, we'll take of this later.

Bobby Pendragon is now grown and his decisions have not gotten any easier. The bond of friendships are still what make him such an endearing and flawed character. Halla is pretty chaotic and things are not as they are meant to be. That premise drives the book, shakes up former realities and brings us one step closer to understanding what is really going on in this Matrix-like world of adventure. (Just a ref. matrix is way better than this whole stuff)

Although the first few (I said few since this series is not my favourite) books were amazing and real pageturners, this one was a bit hard to keep up with. machales writing style was not top quality and quite repetitive. it was like the entire series led up to this one book and everybody was expecting it to go out with a bang but it turned out to have a quite weak plot and did not live up to the reputation of the series. This installment of Pendragon is both exhilarating and disappointing all at the same time. There is so much going on and so much to take in from the past books that the bulk of adventure from any one territory is muted, which disappoints me because I love the individual experiences on each of the territories. I still am lingering on the past descriptive genius of unique territories such as Cloral and Eelong! The cool part is that the story line all still works well and I could not put this book down.

I felt that this whole book was the lets watch the hero be stupid so that when he gets his act together later it will be more impressive part of the story. Now I can stand that for a chapter or two, but not a whole book. It got very old for me very quickly. All that you need form this book to get to the last one is a page or two on the few actions important to the plot. I do hope that the next book, the "hero has his act together". The battle is on in RAVEN RISE. The battle for Halla. The internal battle of Bobby Pendragon. The battle of the people of the territories. And the battle between Saint Dane and Pendragon. This is what it is all coming down to.

Bottom line is its good but don't waste your money borrow it from a friend. (for those who found the book interesting please don't mind - this is an honest opinion that is all)(less)

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Nov 12, 2010 Heaven rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

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Apr 26, 2011 Leslie rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

What a masterpiece!

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Jul 27, 2011 Medina added it · review of another edition

This is the first Pendragon book that I have finished in quite a while that made me want to go and get the next. I have forced myself through the last several books feeling that nothing much was happening and there was not any progression being made on the overall story. In this one though at the end it all started coming together. I am looking forward to book 10 and figuring out how it all comes together in the end. And of course the public library does not have the last book in the series. I h...more

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Oct 03, 2009 Victoria rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

This is the "penultimate Pendragon," as D.J. MacHale himself calls it. And boy, is it full of everything needed to lead into the final chapter of this series that literally spans all of space and time.

It has come back to Second Earth. Bobby, trapped on Ibara by his own hand, has a painful revelation to make. He hasn't stopped Saint Dane. Instead, the demon has freed himself and is now launching his final plan to bring about the Convergence and his ultimate goal. And he has, at last, chosen Bobby...more

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Jul 16, 2008 Amy rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I'm sorry, but this book depressed me imensley. I still enjoy the series and will undoubtedly read the 10th and final book. But this one was really hard to get to. The world is coming to an end, everything was going wrong, and it never got any better. I don't know if the point was to give them more to fix in the last book, but it seemed so hopeless.

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Mar 11, 2009 deliabookworm rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

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Jan 23, 2013 Jacob added it · review of another edition

“Raven Rise” by D. J. MacHale is a great book. It is about three teenagers named Bobby Pendragon, Mark Dimond and Courtney Chetwynde fighting to save the universe from two evil people named Saint Dane and Nevva Winter. To aid them in their quest for destruction, Saint Dane and Nevva created an evil organization called Ravinia. Ravinia was an organization where nothing less than perfection was accepted. Only people that were exceptional in some way were allowed to be part of Ravinia. All of the o...more “Raven Rise” by D. J. MacHale is a great book. It is about three teenagers named Bobby Pendragon, Mark Dimond and Courtney Chetwynde fighting to save the universe from two evil people named Saint Dane and Nevva Winter. To aid them in their quest for destruction, Saint Dane and Nevva created an evil organization called Ravinia. Ravinia was an organization where nothing less than perfection was accepted. Only people that were exceptional in some way were allowed to be part of Ravinia. All of the other normal people in the world got rounded up and imprisoned in giant monitored enclosures called Horizon Compounds. The Ravinians were oblivious to the nightmare that the world outside of their perfect little lives had become. Part of Bobby, Mark and Courtney’s quest to save the universe is to get the Ravinians to see the truth of what Ravinia had done. Only then was their quest truly completed: when the Ravinians realized what they had done and destroyed Ravinia themselves.

While saving all mankind from destruction, Bobby, Mark and Courtney had to work through many moral dilemmas where they had to go against their instinct and make super tough decisions for the greater good. For example, there was one time where Bobby and Mark had to allow Saint Dane to slaughter one group of people in order to give a larger group of people time to escape from Saint Dane’s murderous grasp. In the end, though, Bobby, Mark and Courtney discovered how their hard work and thoughtful decisions paid off, which was a huge relief for them. I know that I certainly wouldn’t have been able to sleep at night knowing that I might have made innocent people sacrifice their lives for nothing.

My favorite part of the book was when Bobby killed Alexander Naymeer, the leader of Ravinia. I liked this part because of how it changed Bobby. Beforehand, Bobby had just been intent on getting revenge, driven by his mindless rage and hate. Afterwards, though, he learned to restrain himself and control his emotions. It turned out that the exact thing that Saint Dane wanted Bobby to do was to kill Alexander Naymeer. By doing so, Bobby only helped the progress of Ravinia’s domination instead of hurting it. Killing Naymeer manipulated all of the Ravinians into believing that their cause just had to be the right one, because their leader was willing to sacrifice his life for them and their cause. After Bobby figured out that he had been tricked, he became a little more reserved and controlled, which greatly improved his character as a whole. Other instances like this one where Bobby got tricked helped him to learn how to judge situations and never take something for granted.

The Pendragon books (“Raven Rise is the ninth Pendragon book) were written because D. J. MacHale got needed a change in his life. In the beginning, he was a screenwriter, but overtime, D. J. MacHale found that writing for television show didn’t suit him. Like all authors, D. J. MacHale wanted his work to be read by people. That doesn’t happen in a television show. A lot of the time, editors run over the script a whole bunch of times and make changes to make the script suit them. Then, when the actor finally says the line, it could be buried in the midst of a super action-packed scene. Someone who is viewing the show would be focusing on the intense action, not the line that the actor says. In the interview, D. J. MacHale also said that there is too much sitting around and waiting involved in writing for television shows. Sometimes, the people who ran the shows that D. J. MacHale worked for ended up not even running the shows at all. That was why D. J. MacHale turned to writing books. In books, your writing is always heard, and it is not altered and morphed into a different piece by a whole bunch of editors. With books, you also know right away whether or not your book will be published. That is how the Pendragon books came to be.

I connected with the people in “Raven Rise” who resisted Ravinia. A lot of the people who fought back were actually exceptional people who could have had been part of Ravinia. They were actually a lot more exceptional than a lot of the Ravinians, because they were willing to fight for what they thought was right. I connected with these people because I feel strongly about human rights, just as the did. I know that if I were in that book, I would have never joined Ravinia. I would have stood up against Ravinia, just like those brave people in the book did. I also connected with those people because a lot of them were people just like us. Whereas many people in Ravinia were important leaders from countries all around the world, the people who stood up to Ravinia were people who had lives that are very similar to ours. Some of the resistors were even kids our age and younger. In other words, I connected with the people who fought back against Ravinia because I can imagine how my life and my decisions could have mirrored many of theirs.

“Raven Rise” taught me a very important lesson, which is to never give up. The people who disagreed with Ravinia’s never gave up, because they knew that they were fighting for a just cause. Those courageous people didn’t stop trying, even when Ravinia threatened to kill and harm them. In the end, their hard work and perseverance paid off, because they were able to help defeat Saint Dane, Nevva and Ravinia. If you try your hardest in every aspect of life and never give up, you can work past any obstacles and overcome any challenges that may face you in life.

I would definitely recommend this book. It is an amazing, suspenseful, action-packed fantasy, but it isn’t just constant adventure. There are also a lot of subtler things like character development weaved in throughout the action and drama. Because of that, I can recommend this book to many types of readers. This book will suit people who look for an exciting, magical adventure, as well as people who want a story that takes place more inside of someone’s head than outside of it, meaning that there is also a lot of mental conflict and progress that goes on inside of the characters’ heads. If anyone wants to read this book, though, don’t read it right away. You should start with the irst book in the Pendragon series, called “The Merchant of Death,” and work your way through the series until you get to book nine, which is “Raven Rise.” Seriously, though, this is an amazing book. If you haven’t read these books, you haven’t lived. Happy reading!
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Jul 22, 2008 Shannon rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: young-adult-fantasy-sci-fi

I've liked this series in the past, but it's just dragging on and on and on and . . .
It was more of the same that's happened in the last eight books. At first it was exciting, but it's really gone on too long. I will read the last to find out what happens in the end, but I'm not excited about it anymore.

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Jan 04, 2012 Andrei Biswas rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Pendragon: Raven Rise is the penultimate book to the Pendragon series. Written by the same author as always, D.J. MacHale, as a critic, I have to say this is the best book I have read so far in the series.

Bobby is stuck on Ibara, because he has destroyed the flume there. But he did for a good reason too: He wanted to stop Saint Dane to cause any more havoc in any of the territories. But unfortunately, Saint Dane finds a flume in Veelox and he digs it out and he is gone before Bobby could realise...more

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Mar 17, 2011 Shira Karp rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

This review isn't so much about the book as about the narrator on the audiobooks. I checked and it's the same narrator throughout the whole series. He's pretty steady throughout the first eight books, but come book nine he gets weird and starts changing things. The most noticeable in this book are Bobby and Courtney's voices. And Mark's to an extent. They're just... different. Which is disconcerting. After having spent weeks in my car listening to him do these voices it's not a pleasant change....more

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Apr 20, 2009 Clancy rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

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Jul 25, 2012 Chloe West rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I read this book in about three days. All 500 something pages. I just adore the Pendragon series. They're so intense, suspenseful, imaginative, and just amazing. I'm seriously about to start on number 10 right now. I really can't think of anything wrong with the books at all. I love the way D.J. MacHale writes. I even pause several times during the book to admire it. I have no idea how he came up with this idea, but it's amazing. There were a few parts that confused me, but that's probably becau...more

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Jun 11, 2011 Keaton Henderson rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

“The penultimate Pendragon,” DJ MacHale called it.

Bobby thinks the battle of Halla is over. No more chasing Saint Dane from territory to territory, turning point to turning point. He has built a new life on Ibara. All is well until Loque, who had previously been thought dead, tells him about the Flighters. Saint Dane had forced Loque and other prisoners in the Lifelight pyramid, to dig to find something. “He said we were digging for something called... flume.” This sends Bobby to Rubik City w...more

“The penultimate Pendragon,” DJ MacHale called it.

Bobby thinks the battle of Halla is over. No more chasing Saint Dane from territory to territory, turning point to turning point. He has built a new life on Ibara. All is well until Loque, who had previously been thought dead, tells him about the Flighters. Saint Dane had forced Loque and other prisoners in the Lifelight pyramid, to dig to find something. “He said we were digging for something called... flume.” This sends Bobby to Rubik City where he learns Saint Dane succeeded in uncovering the flume. His begins his life of a traveler again.

Meanwhile, Mark and Courntey, Bobby's acolytes, have failed to prevent Keaton Electronic Marvels (KEM) from creating dados. They return to Second Earth to find out things have changed again. A man named Alexander Naymeer is now living on top of the flume. He is the leader of a cult called Ravinia. Ravinia accepts the powerful and talented and banishes the unable and weak. This is the cult of Saint Dane. They soon realize the turning point of Second Earth has come.

Bobby has to save his territory.

This book is a great fantasy. It is book 9 of the Pendragon series, so you better read the others or nothing in this book will make sense. I loved this book. I always get excited when the penultimate books come out. They always seem to be the best. I read until 1:00 AM so I could finish the last 150 pages. This is a page turner so you better have a lot of free time. This book is a twist of emotions. Towards the end, it gets sad (I'm not telling why), but the twist at the end makes everything a lot better.

The theme of the book was a bit hard to find. In the end, I came up with re-entering the game book. It's a good theme, but hard to find.

I highly recommend this book. It is written by DJ MacHale, so if you've seen any of his movies or have read Morpheous Road, you'll enjoy this. He writes many fast paced books and somehow manages to fit bits of dialogue in the mix of it. Again, I recommend you buy this book. (less)

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Aug 28, 2010 Cristina rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

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Jan 23, 2010 Winddancer rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: young-adult

This review applies to the entire series. I'm not going to review each book separately. Overall, a decent series, but LONG. Very, VERY long. By book 10 there was a lot of religious overtones going on, from the cosmic “we're all part of the same whole” vision of Shambala to the main character being “created” to stop the bad guy. In the end all the "chosen" don't hang around to help the rebuilding of the ten worlds, which I though was a bit poor form, especially since they--all be it rather inadve...more

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Sep 20, 2011 Andrew Arias rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

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Sep 16, 2012 Malavika rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

The Penultimate Pendragon!!
Pendragon is nearing the end of his long battle for Halla.
But the odds don't look good. His friend Mark Diamond has unknowingly caused a change in all the territories. Bobby is trapped on Ibara and believes he has trapped Saint Dane with him. But Saint Dane has his methods and the war is by no means done...
Bobby's friends need him, Halla needs him, but will Pendragon be able to overcome his fear of more loss and 'Unresign'?
There is a lot at stake and Pendragon is in th...more

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Dec 10, 2009 Jordan rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

OH IT WAS SO AWESOME!!! Ok, so maybe... well... I dunno. It didn't have the charm or the humour of the previous books. The concept was good, but it wasn't as good as it could've been... you know? It just felt like a continuation of the story, rather than pow pow pow OMGOSH I'M IN LOVE type of story. It was just... story. With some humour.

The pros: It was WAY more exciting. I was all like, "NO! BOBBY! DON'T DO IT! DON'T HURT THE BRITISH GUY!!" (read to understand) And then I cried at the end just...more

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Aug 15, 2009 Zarakoda rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: science-fiction

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. When I first began the book, it seemed somewhat... slow. Not in content, but in style. I wasn't being shocked by plot twists, the dialogue was flat (especially with Mark's parents... wished they had stayed dead so that readers didn't have to deal with them in this book), and things in general just didn't seem as imaginative as D.J. MacHale usually is in his books. That could just be because I'm becoming a very analytical reader, or because there was so much jumping around from territory to terri...more When I first began the book, it seemed somewhat... slow. Not in content, but in style. I wasn't being shocked by plot twists, the dialogue was flat (especially with Mark's parents... wished they had stayed dead so that readers didn't have to deal with them in this book), and things in general just didn't seem as imaginative as D.J. MacHale usually is in his books. That could just be because I'm becoming a very analytical reader, or because there was so much jumping around from territory to territory and thus plotline to plotline. In any case, the storyline was along the line of a mediocre three, and I was cringing: would I have to give a book in one of my favorite series such a low number?

The answer was "no". Once I got through all the what-not (if important and sometimes fun what-nots) on First Earth, Denduron, and Ibara, the book finally started getting to the main subject: the battle on Second Earth. I had always wondered what MacHale would do to the present - I liked what he did, using First Earth to change the present of Second Earth. Things were a bit predictable at first, but there was some fun content in there. I don't need to go into the details; presumably people reading this have already read the book since I marked "spoilers" (and for a good reason).

Certainly, the ending is what made the book. Many books save themselves in the end and this one certainly did an extraordinary job about it by killing off Alder. I'm not being callous - I loved Alder and he was one of my favorite characters. But at that point, I could tell was extremely into the book because something intense was occuring at last. Pendragon getting angry enough to throw Alexander Naymeer off the helicopter was exciting and climatic enough that I could pass by the predictability. The creation of the giant flume at the Yankee Stadium, as well as the return of Press and the other Travelers (though I have yet to wonder where Kasha's father, Spader Senior, and the other previous Travelers are) really excited me. Not to mention the wonderful, mostly-bleak ending... Mark and Courtney presumably dead?!! Nice plot twist! I'm glad that I have The Soldiers of Halla right beside me so that I can finish up this extraordinary series at last.(less)

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Jan 21, 2009 Lacy rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

In the ninth installment of Bobby Pendragon's quest to save Halla from the clutches of Saint Dane, things go from crummy to worse. Mark and Courtney don't know what to believe when Saint Dane tells them that Bobby has given up the fight, don't know what they've started when Mark loses his traveler ring, and don't know what to do when they return to a Second Earth where nothing is as it once was.

These books are really interesting to me on a craft level. On the one hand, the plotting is top notch;...more In the ninth installment of Bobby Pendragon's quest to save Halla from the clutches of Saint Dane, things go from crummy to worse. Mark and Courtney don't know what to believe when Saint Dane tells them that Bobby has given up the fight, don't know what they've started when Mark loses his traveler ring, and don't know what to do when they return to a Second Earth where nothing is as it once was.

These books are really interesting to me on a craft level. On the one hand, the plotting is top notch; with most of this series, I think I see the final twist coming, I usually predict one right, and then WHAM! Something comes flying in out of left field that I never anticipated. But it doesn't feel like a cheat. It's just really excellent story telling.

On the other hand, I find myself pretty much constantly annoyed with some of the actual writing. D.J. MacHale is a perfect example of telling instead of showing. What he normally does is show us something and then tell us about it. Several times. For example:

"Welcome back," he said warmly, as if he actually meant it. "I was afraid you'd miss the festivities. Close your eyes; I'll put some lights on."

What a courteous guy! He didn't want me to be uncomfortable when he flicked on the lights. How thoughtful. I'd have thanked him if I hadn't wanted to hurt him.

MacHale is trying for the easy conversationalism and sarcasm of Bobby's internal monologue, but really, he just succeeds in telling us the same thing twice. And he does it over and over and over again throughout the book. The tome's 544 pages could probably have been trimmed by a third by an editor with a canny eye. As it is, I spend a lot of time skimming with these books.

Also, his tenses bother me. Everything Bobby writes in his journals is in the past tense. Everything. Even things that are still true. If he means, "I love Coke," as in, he still loves it even when he is writing the journal, he will nevertheless say "I loved Coke," as if the love had passed. I know, it's a grammarian thing, but it bugs the heck out of me and has for all nine books.

But that's the interesting part. I still love the story. I'm still coming back for more. And I'm still REALLY disappointed that the last book of the series isn't out yet so I can run out and read it.

Definitely good for guys, especially guys who like a series they can sink their teeth into. But girls will probably like it just as much. Hooray for female characters who kick ass!(less)

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Nov 14, 2008 Smaileh rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

For the last few Pendragon books, I've been more invested in Mark and Courtney's activities than in Bobby's--which is a little strange, since Bobby is the main character. I started off in this book feeling the same way--at least in the beginning.

Raven Rise starts pretty much where The Pilgrims of Rayne left off, which was a bit of a problem for me as it had been so long since I read the last book that I had forgotten some of the details. Fortunately, enough information was woven into the story t...more

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Sep 03, 2008 Allie rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: Everyone. Unless your into chick-lit and won't read sci-fi/ fantasy/ "boy"ish books

Recommended to Allie by: Zack

OMG!!!! OMG OMG OMG!!! **Spoilers**
kay tho this book is amazing, I was really sad. Nothing good is happening for the Travelers. It's one bad choice after another for Bobby. And the deaths! Goodness it's depressing! When you're sure about one thing, this person is good, it's actually Saint Dane/ Nevva!!! Some I saw coming but some I was like Oh God not again. Saint Dane is always about ten steps ahead of the Travelers, it's depressing.
And Mark amd Courtney!!! They are NOT Dead!!! No way!!! Call i...more

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Feb 28, 2009 Brigid *Flying Kick-a-pow!* rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: childrens, young-adult, adventure, fantasy, middle-grade

Okay ... I had to process this for, like, a day before I could come up with a review. My first reaction was like, O_o !!!!!! WTH??? But now that I've thought it over ... It wasn't so bad. It was definitely not my favorite of the series, but it wasn't horrendous. I just have a few issues with it.

First of all, it started off kinda slow. I mean, Pendragon didn't even show up for the first a hundred pages. What was with that? It was just a hundred pages of people running around going "WHERE'S PENDRA...more Okay ... I had to process this for, like, a day before I could come up with a review. My first reaction was like, O_o !!!!!! WTH??? But now that I've thought it over ... It wasn't so bad. It was definitely not my favorite of the series, but it wasn't horrendous. I just have a few issues with it.

First of all, it started off kinda slow. I mean, Pendragon didn't even show up for the first a hundred pages. What was with that? It was just a hundred pages of people running around going "WHERE'S PENDRAGON?? WHERE'S PENDRAGON???" And I'm like *yaawwwn* Soooo when is this going to pick up? I didn't feel like it ever DID pick up, either. Sure, there were a few weird plot twists here and there, but ... idk. There wasn't a lot to it.

Secondly, adding onto that, it was much too long. It was like, six hundred pages long, and only had about two or three hundred pages worth of plot. Bigger isn't better, DJ MacHale!!! The structure of the plot and the writing seems to have gotten much more careless as the series has continued. There are the paragraphs that are like two words long, and then the run-on paragraphs that are like an entire page long! Plus there are far too many careless typos in these books, which adds to my doubt on the editor's part. I mean, the author wrote "read" when he was supposed to write "red"! Sorry, but that's, like, horrendous editing. It made me wince. Literally.

Third, I have some issues with character development. I feel like Pendragon appealed to me more when he was a wimpy little kid. Now he's all like "Ooh I'm so awesome. I'm going to yell at people and strangle people." Does he seem a little arrogant now, or is it just me? He just sorta annoys me, at this point. Courtney and Mark annoy me, too, but for a different reason. While Pendragon has matured a little too much, I feel like Courtney and Mark are just MORE immature than when the series started out. They haven't really changed so much; they still act like fourteen-year-olds. I kept forgetting that they're, like, eighteen now. AGh.

Okay, actually like all of the characters annoy me. Except for Loor. She's awesome. But she was only on, like, the last page. And it was the best page in the entire book. Ga haha. ;D Yeah, I kinda want Pendragon to end up with Loor. Cuz Courtney is really annoying, and he never sees her anyway!!

All right, I'm getting carried away with this. Moving on.

Lastly, WHAT THE HELL WAS WITH THE ENDING??? ****spoiler coming up*****

PENDRAGON DIED???? I'M SO CONFUSED!!! IT DIDN'T MAKE ANY FREAKING SENSE!!! I HAVE NO IDEA WHAT HAPPENED!!! GAAAH I'M GOING TO HAVE AN ANEURISM OVER THIS!!!!

Oh well. I guess I'll have to read the last book. Anybody know when it comes out??(less)

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About D.J. MacHale

D.J. MacHale is a writer, director, executive producer and creator of several popular television series and movies.

He was raised in Greenwich, CT and graduated from Greenwich High School. While in school, he had several jobs including collecting eggs at a poultry farm, engraving sports trophies and washing dishes in a steakhouse...in between playing football and running track. D.J. then attended N...more D.J. MacHale is a writer, director, executive producer and creator of several popular television series and movies.

He was raised in Greenwich, CT and graduated from Greenwich High School. While in school, he had several jobs including collecting eggs at a poultry farm, engraving sports trophies and washing dishes in a steakhouse...in between playing football and running track. D.J. then attended New York University where he received a BFA in film production.

His filmmaking career began in New York where he worked as a freelance writer/director, making corporate videos and television commercials. He also taught photography and film production.

D.J. broke into the entertainment business by writing several ABC Afterschool Specials. After moving to Los Angeles, he made the fulltime switch from informational films, to entertainment. As co-creator of the popular Nickelodeon series: Are You Afraid of the Dark?, he produced all 91 episodes over 8 years. He wrote and directed many of the episodes including the CableAce nominated The Tale of Cutter's Treasure starring Charles S. Dutton. He was nominated for a Gemini award for directing The Tale of the Dangerous Soup starring Neve Campbell.

D.J. also wrote and directed the movie Tower of Terror for ABC's Wonderful World of Disney which starred Kirsten Dunst and Steve Guttenberg. The Showtime series Chris Cross was co-created, written and produced by D.J. It received the CableAce award for Best Youth Series.

D.J. co-created and produced the Discovery Kids series Flight 29 Down for which he writes all the episodes and directs several. His work on Flight 29 Down has earned him both Writers Guild of America and Directors Guild of America award nominations.

Other notable writing credits include the classic ABC Afterschool Special titled Seasonal Differences; the pilot for the long-running PBS/CBS series Ghostwriter; and the HBO series Encyclopedia Brown, Boy Detective for which he received a CableAce nomination for writing.

In print, D.J. has co-written the book The Tale of the Nightly Neighbors, based on his own teleplay and penned the poetic adaptation of the classic Norwegian folk tale East of the Sun and West of the Moon.

The book series: Pendragon - Journal of an Adventure through Time and Space marks D.J.'s first turn as a novelist. He plans for this series of Young Adult adventures to span a total of 10 books.

D.J. lives in Southern California with his wife Evangeline and daughter Keaton. They are avid backpackers, scuba divers and skiers. Rounding out the household are a Golden Retriever, Maggie; and a Kitten, Kaboodle. (less)

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Quotes from Raven Rise

“I'm the terrorist, do what I say or I'll terrorize you.” — 120 people liked it

“The two circled around the back of the house, making sure that nobody saw them. Once inside, they found Patrick right where they had left him, sitting in front of Mark's computer. The only difference was that he was surrounded by bags of Doritos and cans of Mountain Dew. He looked up at them with wild eyes.
You okay?" Courtney asked.
I'm fantastic!" Patrick exclaimed. "This sugary drink is incredible!"
Swell," Courtney remarked sarcastically. "He's wired on Dew.” — 46 people liked it

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BBCode	[url=http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/10386752-raven-rise?utm_medium=api&utm_source=blog_book][img]http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1348579346l/10386752.jpg[/img][/url] [url=http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/10386752-raven-rise?utm_medium=api&utm_source=blog_book]Raven Rise by D.J. MacHale[/url]

Raven Rise (Pendragon #9)

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