Gabriel Finley and the Lord of Air and Darkness

Gabriel Finley #2

by George Hagen

This exciting, emotionally rich middle grade fantasy continues the adventures of   Gabriel Finley and the Raven's Riddle —which has been compared to  Harry Potter, The Mysterious Benedict Society,  and Phillip Pullman's  His Dark Materials .

Gabriel Finley is longing to find his mother, who vanished without a trace when he was just a baby. Along with Gabriel's raven, Paladin—with whom he has a magical bond that enables them to become one creature and FLY!—and his three friends, he ventures back to the ruined underground city of Aviopolis to free her from the rune in which she has been imprisoned. But Aviopolis is home to Corax, the Lord of Air and Darkness, who is also Gabriel's uncle. And before Tabitha Finley is released, Gabriel must answer a riddle...or else be imprisoned for eternity within a rune himself.
 
Praise for Gabriel Finley and the Raven's Riddle :
"Both startling and moving—a vivid, compelling fantasy." — Norton Juster, author of The Phantom Tollbooth
 
"Enchanting." — Pseudonymous Bosch, The New York Times
 
"A great read for fantasy lovers who have worn out their copies of Harry Potter ." — School Library Journal , Starred
 
"A first-rate fantasy for middle-grade readers . Like Harry Potter ,...Philip Pullman's His Dark
Materials series,...and Trenton Lee Stewart's Mysterious Benedict Society books ." — Booklist , Starred
 
"Not to be missed." — Publishers Weekly , Starred

Genres: Fantasy, Middle Grade

288 pages, Hardcover

Published September 19, 2017

Reviews

[Alyssa Nelson]

Gabriel Finley and the Lord of Air and Darkness is a cute adventure story that focuses on Gabriel Finley, a boy who belongs to a line of people who have been known to become magically bonded to ravens. His uncle, however, used that power for evil and Gabriel now has to fight against him in order to save his long-lost mother and

This was a fast and easy read that focuses on friendship and family. Gabriel and his friends continually get themselves into trouble when trying to be independent and solve problems themselves, but they always have each other’s backs and each has his or her own strengths. I love how close and supportive they all are of each other, yet still have a few minor disagreements; I feel like it perfectly encapsulates having a best friend group. It’s also great how supportive and trusting the adults are; Gabriel and co. aren’t running around by themselves because of absentee parents, but because they have parents who trust them to make responsible choices, which is a nice change of pace for storytelling.

The story itself is exciting and has lots of twists and turns, which makes for an enthralling, page-turning experience. I could see reluctant readers being sucked into a book like this — lots of action and adventure. I haven’t read the first book, but still found it fairly easy to follow along (the first book is summarized quite well within the story). One of my favorite parts is how magic into everyday items throughout the story: stoves, writing desks, cages, etc. I enjoyed how this seems to take place in an every day world, but it’s all imbued with magic. This book also has fun with riddles, which are the key to magic in this fantasy world that Hagen has created; one of Gabriel’s friends makes a hobby of studying riddles so that she’ll be prepared when she needs them.

Definitely get this for the fantasy lover in your life. While it’s been compared to Harry Potter by some, I get more of a Underland Chronicles (by Suzanne Collins) feel to it — just not as dark.

Also posted on Purple People Readers.

[Nick_C1]

This book is a really good fantasy book as it has a good plot. Its about a 12 year old who has a raven always at his side to prevent the lord of air and darkness from getting out of his prison. This book is good because it kept me on the edge of my seat and I didn't want to put it down. I think one of the themes in this book is friendship because the friends always work together and never give up on one another.

[Ethan]

This is probably one of my favorite books. I rate it five stars because it is just so amazing. I love how Pamela gets to be an amicus just like Gabriel in this book. As usual, I love all the puzzles and riddles. I usually try to solve each of the riddles before they say the answer. The riddles in the Chamber of Runes are really fun to solve. The kind of good thing in this book is that now, Corax is now gone forever. I never really liked that guy. I also like how we get to know Pamela even better and meeting a few new characters. Mr. Coffin, the substitute teacher, is kind of creepy. He somehow now knows that Gabriel is going to go in a maze and will need a hook. He also has a raven tattoo. The second new character in this book is Caccius. I like the boy because he is Pamela’s brother. I like how he controls the valravens and just randomly gave the staff to Somes. I am excited for him to see the real world. Overall, I think this book is the best and I hope the author makes more.

[Cindy Mitchell *Kiss the Book*]

Hagen, George Gabriel Finley and the Lord of Air and Darkness, 288 pages. Random House, 2017. $17 Language: PG (3 swears 0 ‘f’) Mature Content: PG (smoking); Violence: G.

11 year old Gabriel Finley and his three friends, Abby, Somes, and Pamela, set out to find the magical torc. It's black magic caused his mother to vanish when he was a baby, as well as the dreaded Corax with his soul trapped inside the torc. He now must free his mother with his friends and his amicus, Paladin. Will he find a way to free his mother, or will Corax rule the world?

This book didn't have much action, and the action didn't start until very late in the book. Otherwise, it was a good book. It was interesting over all having tear jerking moments as well as an amazing story line and a lot of laughs.

EL - ADVISABLE 7th Grade Student Reviewer KG
https://kissthebook.blogspot.com/2018...

[Earl]

I enjoyed the first book in this series and was surprised to see there was a sequel.

I really wanted to read this for some reason and, despite the fact that I finished it at a time when my focus was all over the place and haven't really been able to concentrate on novels, I didn't really like it.

It didn't live up to the first book. This one seemed less sophisticated, less polished. The best way I could compare it to was if you really enjoyed a film in the theaters and then discovered it had a direct-to-DVD sequel.

[Tovah]

[Listened to audiobook] I give this a slightly reserved 4 stars. I remember enjoying the earlier book in this series more, but in this one I very much noticed that I am way more sophisticated a reader than the target audience (middle grades). The villains were caricatures and the plot was simplistic, but I liked the children and it was an interesting premise. I’ll keep it in mind for when my kids are at the appropriate reading level.

[jess (bibliophilicjester)]

I'm hovering between giving this 3.5 or 3.75 stars, so I'm leaving it blank for now. (3 physical stars means I went with 3.5, 4 stars mean 3.75, for future reference).

I'm slightly bitter this series is only two books bc I still have questions! And the characters are like, haha I guess it's another mystery!! Like NO I want to know all the things, lol 🤦🏻‍♀️ but yes, I'm an adult, and I will deal with it. *ahem*

This series is a really good time, and I 100% need a prequel following the adventures of the writing desk before it ended up with the Finleys. NEED. Every time it shows up wearing someone's robe or a shower curtain and starts dancing, I legitimately have to stop reading because I'm laughing too hard. UGH why does this not exist?!

I really love these characters and this world full of cheeky birds. And I was wondering while reading this book if the riddles were easier or if I've just gotten better at riddles because of these two books?! And yes, I will cover the rest of the page when someone asks a riddle so I can figure it out myself 😂 ravenclaw and INTJ here. I require ALL the clever answers, haha.

I loved seeing more about Somes! The group's way of handling a bully (be nice to and help him until he just effortlessly joins their friend group) is refreshing.

I really wish these books were more widely read...there are so many important takeaways, I think. I love how the kids and adults all work together and help each other out, but they all have individual skills that are valid and necessary and they all get their chance to shine. It says a lot about respect and trust. Perseverance. Fighting for what's right even when it's the most difficult path.

Now I just need that entire book about deskie, lol. For real though.

[Raymond Chen]

It is okay, onominous ending