The Merchant of Death (Pendragon #1)
by
D.J. MacHale
Bobby Pendragon is a seemingly normal fourteen-year-old boy. He has a family, a home, and even Marley, his beloved dog. But there is something very special about Bobby. He is going to save the world.
And not just Earth as we know it. Bobby is slowly starting to realize that life in the cosmos isn't quite what he thought it was. And before he can object, he is swept off to a...more
And not just Earth as we know it. Bobby is slowly starting to realize that life in the cosmos isn't quite what he thought it was. And before he can object, he is swept off to a...more
Paperback, 384 pages
Published
September 1st 2002
by Aladdin
(first published January 1st 2002)
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Not even something as terrifyingly cuddly as a trio of skydiving "ninja" cats could have won me over to this story.

However, fans of this book/series can keep their dander down as this is not going to turn rant as I have no reason or desire to bash this tale. My angries were not provoked. The writing is fine, the main character is fairly engaging, there’s a decent back-story and nicely drawn diabolical villain.
My less than lofty rating is more a recognition that this sub-genre of light, YA, com...more

However, fans of this book/series can keep their dander down as this is not going to turn rant as I have no reason or desire to bash this tale. My angries were not provoked. The writing is fine, the main character is fairly engaging, there’s a decent back-story and nicely drawn diabolical villain.
My less than lofty rating is more a recognition that this sub-genre of light, YA, com...more
I wanted to enjoy this book because then I'd have several more good books to read after this one, but I was ultimately disappointed. I found the first person, diary pov grating and impossible to get into. The writing also came off as either uninspired or overly wordy when MacHale realized he needed a bit more exposition. Though actually, it was a lot of exposition since everything kept being repeated several times. On top of that, a lot of things happened in the plot just for the sake of the plo...more
There are a number of books entitled "Pendragon" out there, including Lawland's Pendragon Cycle. You'd do best to search for this series by the name of each installment.
The Merchant of Death is the first in the series and sets the grounds for the rest of the series: Bobby Pendragon appears to be a typical popular young teenager, but discovers in a Gaiman-esque scene in an abandoned subway station that he is a Traveler, a sort of interworld, intertemporal good-guy who has a role in the battle bet...more
The Merchant of Death is the first in the series and sets the grounds for the rest of the series: Bobby Pendragon appears to be a typical popular young teenager, but discovers in a Gaiman-esque scene in an abandoned subway station that he is a Traveler, a sort of interworld, intertemporal good-guy who has a role in the battle bet...more
Jun 09, 2008
Martinibeerman
rated it
4 of 5 stars
Recommends it for:
young adults, teens and adults
Recommended to Martinibeerman by:
Bryant
I just finished reading the first book in this series and I am excited to have 7 more to plough through! I realize that few can come close to the genius of J.K Rowling, but I had hoped that this series would. While I am thoroughly enjoying reading them (I just started the second book,) the set-up is far too obvious. I appreciate when an author tries to take the format of a book into a direction that has not been done before, but with the journal format of the book, I feel like he is constantly t...more
I read this series many years ago and couldn't remember anything! I do remember why I liked them so much though! This book was a fantastic journey to a new world filled with interesting people. I love how you feel like the main character is writing strait to you. In a sense he is though cause your reading it as Mark and Courtney. I love how you can relate to him. How he isn't some perfect hero that you can't even begin to understand how he thinks. Bobby has doubts and has the same reactions that...more
The beginning book that hooked me on its fast paced, plot twisting, and at times adrenaline pumping series.
This book really cannot be denied. D.J. MacHale, who has created many other favorites for Y.A. has now beautifully written a creative and entertaining book. The story is of youbg Bobby Pendragon, a life of a normal 14 year old, which takes a dramatic turn as he is introduced to a universe that is all so unreal; yet completely in danger. His Uncle Press, who interrupts his great life at th...more
This book really cannot be denied. D.J. MacHale, who has created many other favorites for Y.A. has now beautifully written a creative and entertaining book. The story is of youbg Bobby Pendragon, a life of a normal 14 year old, which takes a dramatic turn as he is introduced to a universe that is all so unreal; yet completely in danger. His Uncle Press, who interrupts his great life at th...more
The Merchant of Death is the story of Bobby Pendragon, a normal fourteen year old boy who is going to save the world... yeah, nothing out of the ordinary so far I know, your basic fantasy story... Bobby doesn't know it until his Uncle Press takes him through the gates of an alternative world called Denduron, preventing Bobby from attending a basketball game... the basketball game and a certain Courtney Chedwynde are pretty much all that are on Bobby's mind.
Imagine his surprise when he learns th...more
I have to admit, this whole story was pretty good.
This was highly recommended to me by a friend and YES I TRUST THAT FRIEND AND HER OPINIONS VERY MUCH. YEAH DALENA I'M TALKING ABOUT YOU LOL. Yes, I was totally satisfied. Dalena here said that this book wasn't as good as the other books in this series, and that's a pretty awesome fact to take in because this book was good already on its own.
Bobby Pendragon is fourteen years old, the same age I am. However, the cover dude doesn't look it. The co...more
This was highly recommended to me by a friend and YES I TRUST THAT FRIEND AND HER OPINIONS VERY MUCH. YEAH DALENA I'M TALKING ABOUT YOU LOL. Yes, I was totally satisfied. Dalena here said that this book wasn't as good as the other books in this series, and that's a pretty awesome fact to take in because this book was good already on its own.
Bobby Pendragon is fourteen years old, the same age I am. However, the cover dude doesn't look it. The co...more
Apr 22, 2009
Mary
added it
Recommends it for:
Anyone who likes fantasy adventures
Recommended to Mary by:
My really good friend from school
Goodreads is being annoying today (it may just be my computer) so I'll try and make this quick:
The Merchant of Death, the first book in the Pendragon series, made hardly any sense--I can't wait to read the rest of them. My friend has pestered me like crazy to get me into this book. And so, obviously, when I went to get books for my trip to Mexico, Pendragon was pretty high on my list. At first I didn't really want to read it, so I read a bunch of different books, including a very good vampire bo...more
The Merchant of Death, the first book in the Pendragon series, made hardly any sense--I can't wait to read the rest of them. My friend has pestered me like crazy to get me into this book. And so, obviously, when I went to get books for my trip to Mexico, Pendragon was pretty high on my list. At first I didn't really want to read it, so I read a bunch of different books, including a very good vampire bo...more
The homeless guy jumped and got hit by a train. In the “Merchant Of Death” by D.J. McHale there were many different things that kept me interested in the book.
One thing that made me enjoy this book was that this book’s cover was kind of cool looking. The cover had a boy in a tunnel with a light shining through the door. Another reason I liked this book was because the personalities of the characters were defined they each had a different one. Like how Loor thinks bobby is unworthy to be a Trave...more
One thing that made me enjoy this book was that this book’s cover was kind of cool looking. The cover had a boy in a tunnel with a light shining through the door. Another reason I liked this book was because the personalities of the characters were defined they each had a different one. Like how Loor thinks bobby is unworthy to be a Trave...more
My book the lost city of Faar written by D.J Machale. The ending was phenominalaction filled. Here let me tell you what happened. There are two main protagonists, the lead traveler Bobby Pendragon and his uncle Press. and he has a friend along with him called Spader a aqueneer. The scene in the ending was when Saint Dane where he wanted to leave cloral and go to Elong another territorie. Saint Dane is a malevolent person always a step ahead of Bobby. The ending was good with face to face confra...more
Well, I didn't realize it when I first started reading this series, but D.J. MacHale is the same guy who co-wrote the TV series Flight 29 Down.
As you can probably tell, I am only puting the first book of all of my series down. I am not saying the first is the best, but I am saying if you are reading the series, this is the one to start with.
The book was great, I mean you get so hooked on it, on the series. I mena this boy, Bobby Pendragon, gets whisked off on an adventure that he is reluctant to...more
As you can probably tell, I am only puting the first book of all of my series down. I am not saying the first is the best, but I am saying if you are reading the series, this is the one to start with.
The book was great, I mean you get so hooked on it, on the series. I mena this boy, Bobby Pendragon, gets whisked off on an adventure that he is reluctant to...more
A friend suggested I read this, so I did. He clarified that this Pendragon series was close to his heart during his early teens, but he thought I might like it now. As an adult.
It was definitely a young adult novel. I can't appraise it from a young adult perspective though, so as an actual adult(?) it was a series of monumental eye rolls. Every nuance was spelled out for the reader in the same sentence in which it appeared. I assume that's a common occurrence for young adult novels, because they...more
It was definitely a young adult novel. I can't appraise it from a young adult perspective though, so as an actual adult(?) it was a series of monumental eye rolls. Every nuance was spelled out for the reader in the same sentence in which it appeared. I assume that's a common occurrence for young adult novels, because they...more
awful! it was way too long for such a dull book. the writing is so freaking annoying! two biggest problems: 1. oh, i'm going to string this out and set this up for three pages, even though you know by the second sentence what i'm talking about, because not naming it builds the suspense better. please. on several occasions he withheld information that was so obvious to me way before he said it outright. and really, no way would he talk to his friends like that, tiptoeing around everything you thi...more
I was really disappointed by this book. It started very promising and yet it didn't live up to my expectations. I guess, after a long time of searching for a good sci-fi novel, I thought this could live up to something like Ender's Game. I mean it had the tools. It had flumes and territories and intergalactic travelers and alien races. But, it didn't seem like Star Wars or didn't even slightly resemble the excitement of The Princess of Mars. The writing was so-so, the plot was quite fresh and go...more
Dec 18, 2012
Anthony
added it
Pendragon
By: Anthony Cornelius
A book is a journey; cliche, yes, but absolutely true. Books are so captivating even if the words on the page may not play a tune, per se, that fits to your liking. I find myself almost always diving head first into book be it good or bad. For Pendragon, it was an in between for me. A story line fit for a thrilling novel, but just fixating on all the wrong things, drawing out a childish tone.
Bobby Pendragon was your average run-of-the-mill kid who had perfect family...more
By: Anthony Cornelius
A book is a journey; cliche, yes, but absolutely true. Books are so captivating even if the words on the page may not play a tune, per se, that fits to your liking. I find myself almost always diving head first into book be it good or bad. For Pendragon, it was an in between for me. A story line fit for a thrilling novel, but just fixating on all the wrong things, drawing out a childish tone.
Bobby Pendragon was your average run-of-the-mill kid who had perfect family...more
So, I'm rereading this series because it's been a really long time and I have no clear opinion of whether I liked it or not and why. I remember liking Saint Dane as a badguy, because of his personality and abilities (that, while used for evil, were brilliantly played). I like that he can appear any way he wishes--it just makes it that much harder to find him.
I did not like the first book the first time through, but I liked it a lot more this time. Bobby is a good, realistic main character. He ca...more
I did not like the first book the first time through, but I liked it a lot more this time. Bobby is a good, realistic main character. He ca...more
I just now finished D.J. MacHale's The Merchant of Death (Pendragon #1).(view spoiler)
...more
Bobby Pendragon is just your average basketball star, until the day that he dissappeard. Bobby is whisked away by his Uncle Press right before the big game. Uncle Press, a usually happy and fun uncle, gets serious and tells Bobby to get on his bike with him and drive into the city. There, they go into an abandoned subway station and are attacked by a tall shape-shifter named Saint Dane. Bobby flees and finds a door. Beyond the door, he is sent to a mid-evil world where he is forced to live. Thin...more
The pendragon series seems to be one of the series every boy reads, like Magic Tree House. So, I gave The Merchant of Death a try. I have to admit, I was having a very difficult time seeing the allure. It was most difficult for me to get past the style:journal entries for a couple of chapters, which means monologue. The chapters that had Courtney and Mark I really enjoyed. The writing style in this book is very simplistic. The writer uses cliches and the smallest words possible to describe somet...more
In the world of Bobby Pendragon, there lies only listlessness and the carefree life of a normal popular teenage boy. This normality is broken when one day his Uncle Press enters house and subsequently asks Bobby to go with him on a journey that transcends space and time, in order to save a world Bobby has never even heard of before. Will this challenge prove to be his downfall, failure coming at the price of death, or will he surmount his immaturity and fight the foe that lingers underneath a fa...more
For starters, I'd like to say that this book was recommended to me by a friend who doesn't like to read at all. He said he read this book for a book report and ended up buying the rest of the series because he loved them so much. I figured I'd give it a try.
I liked the journal setup of the story, although I doubt a 14-year-old boy could actually write super detailed journals like the ones in the book. I know I can't, and I'm 18. For the most part, I liked the plot. It was gripping enough to make...more
I liked the journal setup of the story, although I doubt a 14-year-old boy could actually write super detailed journals like the ones in the book. I know I can't, and I'm 18. For the most part, I liked the plot. It was gripping enough to make...more
Strange plot device is this book's biggest problem
First, in the interest of full disclosure, I am not a tween and the only reason I read this book is that it was free on the Kindle. Further, even though YA fiction is not something I typically read, I did very much enjoy the Potter books, the Narnia books, the Iron Cauldron books, etc. as an adult. In other words, I am able to appreciate a well-crafted novel targeted at a younger audience, but Death Merchant is a puff piece no matter who is readi...more
First, in the interest of full disclosure, I am not a tween and the only reason I read this book is that it was free on the Kindle. Further, even though YA fiction is not something I typically read, I did very much enjoy the Potter books, the Narnia books, the Iron Cauldron books, etc. as an adult. In other words, I am able to appreciate a well-crafted novel targeted at a younger audience, but Death Merchant is a puff piece no matter who is readi...more
I picked up this book because my relatives send me gift cards to bookstores for Christmas and birthdays. And graduation. I also grabbed the second book of the series, and I went home to read. I do this a lot where I just go shopping for books and then get multiple books in a series without really thinking about it. It's a real problem that leads to me spending hundreds in a bookstore. I had not knowingly encountered the author before this point, but later I'd figure out he was actually involved...more
Originally posted at FanLit.
Bobby Pendragon is a normal middle-school kid and life is good. He’s the most valuable player on the basketball team and he’s just found out that Courtney, the girl he’s had a crush on for years, has a crush on him, too! Life could not be better... until Uncle Press arrives while Bobby is kissing Courtney and drags Bobby away to a medieval world where some oppressed people need Bobby’s help. For Bobby has special powers and: A Destiny! When Bobby disappears, Courtney...more
Bobby Pendragon is a normal middle-school kid and life is good. He’s the most valuable player on the basketball team and he’s just found out that Courtney, the girl he’s had a crush on for years, has a crush on him, too! Life could not be better... until Uncle Press arrives while Bobby is kissing Courtney and drags Bobby away to a medieval world where some oppressed people need Bobby’s help. For Bobby has special powers and: A Destiny! When Bobby disappears, Courtney...more
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it,
click here.
Jun 04, 2012
Aditya Sood
added it
The book “Pendragon: The Merchant of Death”, by Suzanne Collins, is very interesting. It is set in the regular world, in present times close to New York City. The book is about “Travelers”, who are people that can cross through space and time to different “territories”, which is basically an alternate reality.
Bobby Pendragon was having a great life, and everything seemed to be going so well. He was a popular kid at school with a wonderful best friend and a great place on the high school basketba...more
May 17, 2012
lizzie mcmizzie
rated it
3 of 5 stars
Recommends it for:
Kids, Tennagers, Young adults, anyone with a sense of adventure and creativity
Shelves:
young-adult-candy
The entire Pendragon series are marvelously well-crafted, rough-riding adventures. MacHale certainly knows how to spin a yarn rife with hilarity and suspense, but what is most impressive and enduring about the series are the fantastic and fantastically detailed worlds he creates. The characters are complex, develop in natural but unexpected ways, and ultimately are totally believable. The stories are clever, the worlds of his mind transposed into the Territories sing of the worlds past and to co...more
Apr 30, 2012
Erika (Rickie) Savage
rated it
5 of 5 stars
Recommended to Erika by:
Ruthy
Shelves:
march
The Merchant of Death is about a boy named Bobby Pendragon who finds out he is a Traveler from Second Earth. His uncle Press is also the Traveler from Second Earth, but there can only be one Traveler from each territory. Bobby must "accept the role of lead Traveler", and fight a Traveler named Saint Dane , who is trying to ruin Halla. (Halla is, every time and every place that ever
existed)
A problem Bobby must face is that it will be hard to find Saint Dane. He can take on the image of anyone e...more
existed)
A problem Bobby must face is that it will be hard to find Saint Dane. He can take on the image of anyone e...more
I started this series before all its books were released and this could be my mistake.
When I first read this book, I got captivated by the universe, unsettled by it I admit, but it was in a good way. I was always wondering what would come next, what could come next in this - no these worlds at the same time both different and close from ours.
Bobby Pendragon is a good main character, one with a behaviour you want to encourage though, at the beginning, he lacks a bit of maturity. You follow him, e...more
When I first read this book, I got captivated by the universe, unsettled by it I admit, but it was in a good way. I was always wondering what would come next, what could come next in this - no these worlds at the same time both different and close from ours.
Bobby Pendragon is a good main character, one with a behaviour you want to encourage though, at the beginning, he lacks a bit of maturity. You follow him, e...more
| topics | posts | views | last activity | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Is this a good start to a 10 book series | 13 | 80 | Apr 28, 2013 03:22pm | |
| Character change in "Merchant of death ' | 2 | 8 | Apr 03, 2013 08:18pm | |
| Pendragon | 6 | 33 | Oct 28, 2011 04:01pm | |
| The Merchant Of Death | 3 | 18 | Jun 08, 2011 05:16pm | |
| Good series, next books better | 4 | 32 | Jul 04, 2008 11:29am | |
| sounds interesting... | 5 | 16 | Jul 04, 2008 11:28am |
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
More about D.J. MacHale...
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
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Aug 15, 2012 12:04pm
Mar 10, 2013 08:58am