Curse of the Spider King

The Berinfell Prophecies #1

by Wayne Thomas Batson, Christopher Hopper

The Seven succeeding Elven Lords of Allyra were dead, lost in the Siege of Berinfell as babes. At least that's what everyone thought until tremors from a distant world known as Earth, revealed strange signs that Elven blood lived among its peoples. With a glimmer of hope in their hearts, sentinels are sent to see if the signs are true. But theirs is not a lone errand. The ruling warlord of Allyra, the Spider King, has sent his own scouts to hunt down the Seven and finish the job they failed to complete many ages ago.

Now 13-year-olds on the brink of the Age of Reckoning when their Elven gifts will be manifest, discover the unthinkable truth that their adoptive families are not their only kin. With mysterious Sentinels revealing breathtaking secrets of the past, and dark strangers haunting their every move, will the young Elf Lords find the way back to the home of their birth? Worlds and races collide as the forces of good and evil battle. Will anyone escape the Curse of the Spider King?

Genres: Fantasy, Young Adult, Christian Fiction, Christian, Fiction, Adventure, Christian Fantasy

372 pages, Hardcover

First published September 4, 2009

About the author

Wayne Thomas Batson was born in Seabrook, MD in 1968. He had an adventurous childhood and adolescence that included: building forts in the woods, crabbing and crayfishing in bays, ponds, and bayous, playing lead guitar in a heavy metal band, and teaching tennis lessons at the local recreation center. He attended Gabriel DuVal Senior High School where he wrote for the school’s newspaper and literary magazine. He was voted “Most Talented” in his senior year, and wrote this for his Yearbook Senior Goal: “To become a published author.” Little did he know that God had even greater plans.

Wayne Thomas Batson has spent the last thirty years teaching Reading and English to Maryland middle school students. Wayne Thomas Batson lives in Eldersburg with his extraordinary wife of 26 years. His four adult children intermittently live at home whenever their unexpected adventures lead them.

Batson’s writing career began in 2005 with the publication of fantasy epic, The Door Within. Since then, The Door Within, The Final Storm, Isle of Swords, and Isle of Fire have all appeared on the CBA Young Adult Bestseller List, including #2 for The Final Storm Fall 2007. To date, Batson has penned or coauthored seventeen novels and has sold well over half a million copies.

Wayne Thomas Batson gives thanks to God for the abundant life he’s been given. He continues to write for the people he cares so deeply about because he believes that, on a deep level, we all long for another world and yearn to do something important.

Reviews

[Lovely Day]

DNFd at 10%

I’m terrified of spiders…

I was trying to read it because I’d heard great things about it, but there is just SO MANY SPIDERS, I just couldn’t continue 🤮

[Sierra Faith · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this book! You would think with many points of view (see below) it would get confusing, but the story wasn't confusing at all. I really enjoyed learning about the kids' powers. I fell in the love with the characters and am looking forward to the next book by Wayne Thomas Batson and Christopher Hopper, Venom and Song.

Genre: Fantasy.

Romance: NONE! No romance at all! There was talk toward the end where a group of girls mention Timmy as being "cute." But that was the only thing!

Magic: Each of the seven kids has "Powers:" walking on air, reading minds, shooting fire from his hands and telling the near future. The enemy uses Arc Stones, which flash blue. There are creatures called "Wisps" who remind me of shape-shifters, and they can turn into any elf or human form.

Language: None.

Violence: If you don't enjoy fighting scenes or mentions of blood this book isn't for you! There is extensive use of swords, bows, and spiders; and mention of blood, death, and killing. The descriptions of the spiders being killed and killing are detailed.

Scripture/Bible stuff: There are many mentions of God. The G in God is capitalized. (In the elven language God is called Ellos.) Several mentions of God being the creator. Romans 8:38-39 is quoted.

[Madeline J. Rose · Rating 5 out of 5]

Initial Response
Wow, was that INSANELY AWESOME or what?!

High Lights
- THERE ARE SO MANY CHARACTERS.
- AND I LOVE IT.
- I loooove huge casts of characters, and this book delivered in such a way that wasn't confusing or hard to keep track of. Just the right amount of people. :)
- JUST. THE CHARACTERS. IN GENERAL.
- Tommy is great, Kat is great, Jett...
- We'll see.
- But Jimmy and Kiri Lee are great too.
- And Johnny and Autumn have much sibling rivalry and banter and it's so true and I love it.
- I SO loved reading the parts about Berinfell! I felt so immersed and it was EPIC. Each time they were over, I found myself reverted back to the regular, mundane world. Well, only for a few minutes, and then chaos usually erupted, but anyway.
- I think my favorite of the Sentinels has got to Charlie.
- And can I just? ATTENTION BATSON AND HOPPER IF YOU KILL MY PRECIOUS LITTLE CHARLIE IS DEAD I WILL FIND YOU AND MAKE YOU REWRITE THE BOOKS. JUST FYI. O_O

Low Lights
- Hmm...None.
- Well, I guess sometimes it felt like the writing style changed a little bit, which is understandable, since it was co-written, but it still kinda threw me off.

Conclusion
This was a reread for me, and I'm SO HAPPY I REREAD IT because I'm going to writer's workshop to meet Mr. Batson, so. Yeah. Figured I should reread this and refresh my memory a little. Anywho, THIS IS AN EPIC BOOK. If you love high fantasy and elves and all that awesome stuff in a modern, technological atmosphere, than this is the book for you!
5/5.

[Shantelle · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5 stars

Cool story! I’m looking forward to continuing the series. This is a fantasy tale centered around a group of teens who are living in our world. Definitely lots of danger, and bit creepy at times. Also adventurous and funny. Christian themes.

[Bcs (Sarah. B) · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Curse of the Spider King by Wayne Thomas Batson

Rating: Four point Five

Language/Profanity: Possibly mention of someone cursing.

Faith: Elos; the word of both Elos and God; Master Conductor; praying.

Romance/Sex: A boy has a crush on a lady.

Violence ect.: Scars; long war; death; injuries; attacks.

Other: Rude kids both to other kids and adults.

Part of a Series: Yes, book one in a three book series that is completed.

Synopsis:
The Seven succeeding Elven Lords of Allyra were dead, lost in the Siege of Berinfell as babes. At least that's what everyone thought until tremors from a distant world known as Earth, revealed strange signs that Elven blood lived among its peoples. With a glimmer of hope in their hearts, sentinels are sent to see if the signs are true. But theirs is not a lone errand. The ruling warlord of Allyra, the Spider King, has sent his own scouts to hunt down the Seven and finish the job they failed to complete many ages ago.

Now 13-year-olds on the brink of the Age of Reckoning when their Elven gifts will be manifest, discover the unthinkable truth that their adoptive families are not their only kin. With mysterious Sentinels revealing breathtaking secrets of the past, and dark strangers haunting their every move, will the young Elf Lords find the way back to the home of their birth? Worlds and races collide as the forces of good and evil battle. Will anyone escape the Curse of the Spider King?

Thoughts:
This would have been much better if I had read it. Most of the characters' voices were incredibly annoying. The only reason I listened was for the Scottish accent. Honestly.
I really liked the story line and the action and adventure. I want to star the next book soon, as it is fully set in the new world.

Bible Verse:
Revelation 22:13 KJV
[13] I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end, the first and the last.

[Penny Wood · Rating 5 out of 5]

WHOA

That was REALLY good.

Slightly creepy at times, but REALLY good.

[Denise · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this book. It's been a while since I read a Wayne Thomas Batson book. I remembered really liking him as an author and this book reminded me why. He is really good at creating that classic fantasy world with a sense of wonder and imagination attached to it.

And now for some minor critiques....
1. There were A LOT of characters. Even with the character list in the front of the book (a complete lifesaver!) there were still a lot. The book wasn't long enough to effectively develop all the characters. I felt like Johnny and Autumn especially did not get the character development they deserved.

2. The writing in "Scottish" accents.... yeah that was weird. Kind of half-hearted so I was hearing the accent on some of the words but not really getting it. Probably would have been better to just write the Scottish dialogue with normal English spelling.

*Warning: the Following is a rant from someone with a music degree about some of the music stuff in the book.*
Firstly, before I rip some things apart, I was very happy they included a musical character. You normally get the jock character, but to have a serious music character and a jock character was pretty cool. But, if you're going to include a musical character, make sure you know a little something about classical music yourself.
Three quick annoyances:
1. She would not be using a baroque violin to play Mozart. That's a specialized instrument tuned differently and played differently (different bow, not shoulder rest etc.) used for an authentic BAROQUE performance. Also to the best of my knowledge (I'm not a violinist) it's a different technique to play it too so she wouldn't have just been able to pick up the instrument and play it like her newer violin.
2. No one knows "all the Mozart." Literally a 12 year-old kid who says she knows how to play every single piece Mozart wrote for the violin which is A LOT. I think it's safe to say no professional violinist knows "all the Mozart." Maybe it was meant as an exaggeration but the other characters seemed to take her seriously.

3. Lastly, standard string quartet instrumentation is 2 violins, viola, and cello NOT violin, viola, cello, doublebass. I also double checked and Mozart did not even write a piece for violin, viola, cello, doublebass. He did, however, write plenty of the standard string quartet instrumentation.
*end music rant.*

Honestly just minor annoyances. It was a very fun fantasy book that I would recommend.

[R.M. Archer · Rating 4 out of 5]

May 2017 rating: 5 stars
October 2019 rating: 4 stars

[Silvano Pagano · Rating 4 out of 5]

I first read this around 9 years ago and loved it and, after re-reading it, I was reminded why. This should be in the same awesome category of The Lord of the Rings and The Chronicles of Narnia. I don't enjoy true fantasy as much but this has a great modernity to it, enjoyable characters, unique abilities and also a real sense of dealing with the extraordinary e.g. letting your parents in on what's happening! I definitely would have prayed so hard to fall into the world of this book because to find out that you're an Elven Lord with abilities would be great!

[Fred Warren · Rating 3 out of 5]

Curse of the Spider King introduces us to seven orphans living the hard-knock life (hey, it’s tough just being a tween, even under normal circumstances) in a variety of communities around the world. Some have it better than others, some of them don’t even know they are orphans, but all are facing a rocky adolescence, and not just the usual issues with bullies and bad grades. Alien forces seem to be taking over their bodies, with bursts of super strength and speed, weird premonitions, and enhanced abilities in marksmanship and music. Worse, some of the adults in their lives–librarians, gym teachers, even custodians–are manifesting a bizarre new side to their personalities, and engaging in combat with mysterious cloaked figures that seem to be following the orphans’ every move.

Then, there are the books. Each of the orphans is given a mysterious book that seems to warp the fabric of reality when they read it, plunging them into a three-dimensional retelling of the strange history inside.

Elsewhere, elsewhen, the kingdom of Berinfell is betrayed from within and overrun by the forces of the malevolent Spider King. A small remnant escapes to safety, but the only hope of regaining their lost home and driving away the enemy lies with the infant heirs of the slain Seven Lords.

I’m thinking there might be a connection here somewhere.

In Curse of the Spider King, Batson and Hopper have set the stage for an epic struggle of good versus evil that spans two worlds and multiple volumes.

Bottom Line: I liked this book. Batson and Hopper have created a compelling story with interesting characters and strong themes of faith, courage, and friendship. Though targeted at younger teens, I think it holds appeal for readers of all ages.

N-QB3: This being the first story in a series, the authors have to spend some time getting the pieces onto the chessboard. In some ways, Curse of the Spider King reads like an extended prelude. We meet the heroes and villains and watch them make their way to Allyra, getting a fair bit of backstory along the way about who these people are, where they came from, and why we should care. I don’t mind that, and there’s plenty of white-knuckled action as things move along, but I ended with the feeling that the real meat of the story was yet to come.

Teen Titans, GO!: The tale of orphan misfits who are hidden royalty and/or super beings with powers and abilities far beyond those of mortal men is familiar, but it’s managed to maintain its appeal for centuries. The feeling that nobody really understands us, that some malevolent force marooned us with these people, and that a higher destiny awaits us, somehow, sometime, resonates with teens and with adults who remember being teens. To their credit, Batson and Hopper’s heroes and heroines don’t wallow in self-pity or languish the days away waiting for their kingdom to come. They keep their chins up and muddle through. Some of them have great relationships with their adoptive parents they don’t want to abandon.

The battle scene at the end where the young Lords begin to realize their latent power and accept their role in the war thrust upon them is a lot of fun, as is the transformation of their Elvish protectors from mild-mannered librarians and the like into formidable warriors.

I Got in Through the Wardrobe, in the Spare Room: There’s a strong echo of The Chronicles of Narnia here, and C.S. Lewis’ classic series is given several direct tips of the hat. We have two worlds, linked by a mystical portal and other connections, both physical and spiritual. Two kingdoms are at war, with evil ascendant. Seemingly ordinary children have a prophetic royal destiny. Myth in one world comes to life in another. That said, Batson and Hopper have created a unique setting with its own rules. Allyra is not Narnia, but there’s definitely a kinship, as both draw on classic themes of heroic literature.

The same God rules both worlds, but as in Narnia, he goes by a different name in Allyra. I think it’s pretty cool that the connection comes through in conversation among inhabitants of both worlds, who are clearly quoting the same Scripture.

Once More Into the Breach, Dear Friends: One of the strongest themes in this story is the value of self-sacrifice. The Elves take horrendous casualties in their effort to protect their young Lords, and the children, despite their confusion and reservations, offer their own lives in return. The people of Berinfell know that freedom, and survival, aren’t free, and they pay the price willingly and courageously.

Coming Attractions: I’m looking forward to seeing our young heroes develop their special abilities and leadership skills in the next installment of this series. I’m also interested to see how they integrate into this strange, new culture they suddenly find themselves part of. Finally, there is a hint that this war was, in part, brought on by past misdeeds of the Elvish people, and I’m curious to see where Batson and Hopper go with that thread, as it implies their foes may not be one-dimensionally evil or irredeemable.

Oh, and there’s a lot of damaged real-estate and bodies scattered across the battlefield back on Earth. Will we human beings remain blissfully ignorant, or will the fate of Allyra be intertwined with our own?

[KC · Rating 5 out of 5]

10/10, would highly recommend - For all ages.
WOW. Truly an incredible story, and well-written. Reading these for the first time as a young adult (early 20's) and would highly recommend them for kids, young adults, parents, and beyond.
I wish I had read them as a kid, not only because I would have loved them then, but also because I would then also get to experience them again as an adult.

[Zanna · Rating 1 out of 5]

i relate to the wisps because i too would cringe and run away if someone started quoting scripture at me.

[Jill Williamson · Rating 5 out of 5]

In The Curse of the Spider King by Wayne Thomas Batson and Christopher Hopper, seven children go about their lives. With the exception of two siblings, these children do not know one another. But they all have two things in common. 1. An adult who has given them a very special book and, 2. A creepy man who watches them wherever they go. Tommy, the first to read his book, experiences a 3D history of Berinfell, a foreign world in the midst of a war between Gwar and Elves.

Stranger things start to happen to the seven children: they begin to experience supernatural abilities and dark creatures try to kill them. Their only hope for survival is to leave earth and face an unknown future in a distant world. For if they stay on earth, they risk their own lives and those of their families.

The premise of this novel is clever and fun. The characters were well-written, unique, and each one drew me into their story so that I hated to leave them. I loved the special book that comes to life to tell its story. There was also good mounting tension as the story built toward the action-packed ending, which I liked a great deal.

Because there are so many point of view characters, it took me a little while to get into the story. I kept trying to figure out who my main character was, but there are seven main characters. Each character was done well and drew me into his or her story, but it was difficult to keep them straight even when they finally got together (which was really fun, but the way). Plus, their names were similar. Three J names, three names that end in “y”, and two K names. Kiri Lee was a great name, though, and I never confused her with anyone. But I couldn’t keep the boys’ names straight.

The Curse of the Spider King is very well-written. The authors totally pulled off having so many main characters. If it weren’t for the similar names and the resulting confusion as to who was who, it would have been totally gripping, despite the ensemble cast. I’m really excited about this new series. I highly recommend it for readers of all ages who love a good contemporary fantasy. Looking forward to book two!

[Ivan · Rating 3 out of 5]

So I am not a literary genius... not even close. But despite not knowing the technical details of what makes a good book, I know when I like one.

I don't know for sure why I took to this book so much. I think perhaps when I read it, it reflected things I was working through in my own life. Although I read this book about three years ago, something about reading it over eight times has supported my ability to remember it.

Though I know the story was epic back then, I found myself less impressed with the sequal - it was still good, but different....

Sort of like a story intro thing - slightly spoiling - but not majorly:
The story is of 7 normal kids across the United States, who... are much less normal than even they think, as their powers begin to mature, and reveal themselves. Elves from another dimension come to bring these children back, as they represent the hope of entire race facing annihilation by the hands of an evil king who had already once tried to rid the universe of the 7. Set in a modern day world, with portals to a LoTR type world, the 7 must make their decision to face their destiny and help the Elves regain their former glory over the evil king, or try to ignore it. Whatever choice they make, they best make soon, because the Elves aren't the only ones looking for them....

--------
Anyways since I haven't read it for a couple years, but I am looking forward to reading again this time free of the spell that reading a certain book for the first time will cast on a young highschooler. The spell that hides all imperfections, and plot holes. I plan on reading it for the ninth+ time, this time with the intent of reviewing the book on a more professional level. I fear it may lose its magic, but if by chance it remains, then I will be all the happier for having done so.

I highly recommend reading it, though, I think it was intended for a younger crowd (like age 13)...oh well - I never was one for growing up to quickly.

[Noah · Rating 5 out of 5]

Curse of the Spider King, the first in the Berinfell Prophecies, was co-written by Wayne Thomas Batson and Christopher Hopper. It is an allegorical Christian fantasy fiction with many moral themes.
Seven Lords of Allyra, the Elven world, were taken by the Spider King, a wicked enemy bent on eradicating the elves from existence. They were then lost to earth where they were adopted into normal human families. Soon later, Sentinels were sent out to find them and guide them home, before the chiefs could kill them. They must band together, each finding his own powers, and return to Allyra to lead the battle against the Spider King.
The Curse of the Spider King does not get very compelling until about 40-50 pages into it. The writing, description, character development, and overall excitement and buzz is excellent. However, there were too many main characters to keep track of, especially when they are not at first together. Then there are the Sentinels that guarded each, and some prominent Elves and enemy chiefs in Allyra. Overall, the book was well worth it, and I look forward to the second, Venom and Song, due out in the summer of 2010.

[Melissa Rose · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book has believable protagonists, nightmarish villains, and a lot of action. A major strength of this book is a cast of characters I could identify with. Although I'm older than the main characters in this book, I can remember facing a lot of the same issues as most of the main characters while I was in middle school, which is quite an accomplishment considering there are seven very different ones.

Somewhat of a concern is the book's large cast, with many characters with similar occupations and not enough distinctions to keep them all straight all the time. As for the seven main kids, their characters were different enough to keep straight, although a couple of their names are similar enough to be confused.

There was one part of this book that lost my interest because there was a main character I couldn't personally identify with very well, but others who have read Curse of the Spider King assure me that this section is in fact interesting to people who are not me.

Overall, I enjoyed this book, intend to reread it, and would especially recommend it for readers who enjoy YA series as it is really only the beginning of a larger story.

[Anduril · Rating 5 out of 5]

Who wants to be an Elf?

Do you have scares on the top of your ears?
Did you get strange powers when you turned thirteen?
Are you morbidly afraid of spiders?
Then you could be an elf!
With the young Seven Elven lords stolen from their families as infants. They were taken to earth to be hidden till the ‘Age of Reckoning’.
Now the Time has come… The worlds are open for good and for evil to enter… Will the children return or be killed… who will find them first? The Spider King and his minions or the last remits of Elves…
Curse of the Spider King will make all arachnophobias tremble, all hero’s rise, all archers shoot better, in hopes that they are one of the 7.
Wayne Thomas Batson and Christopher Hopper make this a nail biting adventure. They did an excellent job creating a world ‘Allyar’. That will have you wishing you could go there. They also did a wonderful job with the mixing of two time periods, thousands of years apart. The characters are extremely well rounded and will make you love them all even Mobius, the chief Drefid.

[Abby G. · Rating 4 out of 5]

Who Likes Elves?
This is a perfect book if you love Elves, and who doesn't. After the Spider King minions have destroyed the elves kingdom, Berinfell. He had hoped that was the end of the elves but something happened that he had not planed... With the Allyran Elves almost non-existent they have but one hope. And that hope is on earth, hidden within billions of people. This is a fun and exciting book for anyone who likes fantasy. There are a few things that I don't like though. 1) The age of the main characters is 13, I like books were the hero's are slightly older. 2) The names are a little hard to keep strait and there are three names that I had a lot of trouble with. Their names are Tommy, Jimmy, and Johnny. So you can see to many 'mmy' and 'nny'. Other then that this is a great book and a lot of fun to read. Wayne Tomas Batson and Christopher Hopper did a great job.

[Rachel · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a great book. I connected with it quickly and loved the teen elf lords. The elves are like the kind you would read in The Lord OF the Rings, not Santa Clause. Love it. Each character has their own personality that readers can identify with. I personally liked the character Jimmy because his story pulled at my heart strings. The action is exciting and the world of Berinfell is fully developed. The powers of the teens are so cool, ranging from hearing people's thoughts to incredible strength. Spiders as the enemy are a brilliant idea because most people seem to hate spiders. A great tale written by two great authors. Recommended for anyone.

[A.M. Reynwood · Rating 4 out of 5]

This story has everything I've come to love from the co-author Wayne Thomas Batson, and I'm only sorry I haven't read this sooner!

Very little about the story so far is really unpredictable, but it was such a joy to just read and watch everything unfold. I had so much fun following all the characters, though it took a bit to remember who everyone was, juggling so many different POVs. Still, everything came together beautifully with humor and wit, epic battles and superpowers, magical books and librarians wielding swords─ it's hard not to get behind all of that. And this is just the beginning!

Adventures really are funny things . . .

[Glenn · Rating 4 out of 5]

Second reading and I really enjoyed the story... Loved how each character's back story was explained... Great ending...

[Abigail · Rating 5 out of 5]

This will always be one of my favorite adventure books!

[Jordan Encee · Rating 3 out of 5]

I remembered picking out this book when I was a kid. My mom and dad told me I needed to read more, and I had to choose something from the book store. Then I found this book; the cover is incredible, I love knights, and I'm terrified of spiders. I saw this cover and went: "Wow! This has to be an awesome book!" Once I brought it home and began to read it because I was told to, I stopped reading it. I stop at Chapter 21, Unstoppable Force. I remembered being bored with the book because the knights riding giant spiders were barely present, and I never reread it.

So here I am, as an adult, deciding to give this book another chance to see what I could not before. Is it boring as I remember, or were things I missed out on because I didn't pay attention to the book close enough? Let's find out.

When it comes to children's books, I think the most important thing any author, or in this case, authors, should do is have fun. Gregor the Overlander comes to mind for me. Even FableHaven in its later half. This book feels close to Leven Thumps. Berinfell is a lot like Foo. It is talked about, but we don't get there till the end of the book, leaving it for the squeals. However, this book does explore more of Berinfell in this neat history book that literally comes to life. I believe that was the highest peak that this book ever got to. It was intense and fun, and that's where the majority of the knights and giant spiders were at. It was much more fun being in Berinfell than dealing with six different middle schoolers.

Now I know what you might be thinking, the audience is for middle schoolers. You're right because I was in middle school when I first got this book, and I didn't finish it. Why would I care about the kids being in middle when I was already in middle school? Middle school me didn't want to experience that; little me wanted fun, action, just cool things happening. When it got to the spiders and knight, I was having fun, but when we went back to the kids to school, the fun was lost. I know these moments serve not only as character-building and showing their powers, but I do believe the story would have benefited more if the story took place entirely in Berinfell.

The only reason I say this is just because I think the Berinfell parts were the best. If they had to be on Earth, I wish that we could have gotten there quicker to experience more of Berinfell. Or it just takes place in Berinfell with the kids in there. How? Well, there could be a couple of options, it could be contrived, but I think it would have made a much better book. Sure the only thing you lose from that is the magical book that comes to life when you touch the words, but I think that can be pushed to the side for a better narrative.

I will not continue this adventure. Though technically, I will be getting what I want more of Berinfell after what happens in the end, but I'm not that interested in the characters. There are just too many of them, and trying to share equal time with them will be hard. The main ones I liked were Tommy, Jett, and Jimmy, but even then, I still feel they all didn't get enough attention to stick. If they mainly stick to one character as the leader, such as Tommy, then I think it could be a tad bit better. However, the point is that every single one of them is just as important, so it's hard for me to get invested in every single character.

This book reminds me a lot of Leven Thumps in the narrative, mainly how it ends. As I said before, Berinfell and Foo were talked about in their respected stories. The plot was about getting to said place. But once there, the book ends, leaving us with the squeal to read next. Though how they get to the end is different, of course, I just liked Curse of the Spider King better than Leven Thumps. It is about how we experience the place they are trying to get to. Leven Thumps is about getting to the gateway to Foo to save Foo. But we never experienced Foo, it was talked about, and the villain had some scenes in Foo, but nothing was experienced by the audience. In Curse of the Spider King, we, the audience, do experience the fall of Berinfell. We see the world from both villains' and heroes' eyes. I believe that is why this book is a bit better than Leven Thumps.

This is not a bad story but not as great as I would hope it could have been.

[Alicyn · Rating 4 out of 5]

Like your mom always told you, "Don't judge a book by its cover." Perhaps this was the real reason this book, given to me by a friend, sat on my shelf for over a year. Nonetheless, when given the sequel by the same friend, it was time to finally pick this one up - and I scarce put it down in the time following.
The story quickly encapsulates you, gaining your attention and working your mind to figure out what is going on. For those whose minds work faster than books, perhaps it would not be as much of a mystery. However, I enjoy limiting my thinking to the information given and seeing the mystery unfold throughout the novel. While there are numerous characters to keep track of, they are mentioned often and from various viewpoints, giving readers a good chance of easily keeping up. Additionally, even though there are various characters, each is still given some level of depth, allowing the reader to get to know them personally instead of merely glancing over a one-leveled name.
As far as content, the novel is very clean. It contains a level of violence and suspense that would make me hesitate to give it to anyone less than 9 or 10 years old. In fact, most elements of the book would probably not be understood by anyone less than 9 anyway. Ideally, I would consider this novel appropriate (for content and for comprehension) for anyone 12 and up - yes, even adults, so long as you have not lost your sense of wonder and enjoyment. This is not a novel for the boring, but the adventurous and fantastical!

[Walt Walkowski · Rating 4 out of 5]

What struck me about this book was that it didn’t seem to be written for the audience for which it was (presumably) targeted. It definitely doesn’t read like YA fiction. But I didn’t mind. What readers will need to beware is a very slow start and an inundation of names to keep straight. I found myself frustrated at first and actually set the book down for a while. But once I was about a third of the way in, it began to pick up speed and make more sense. Will I continue the series? I don’t know.

[J.H. Lehr · Rating 5 out of 5]

A great kids/teen adventure filled with real, unique characters, perilous danger, and an ultimate hope. I would recommend to anyone looking for a good, clean novel for their kids or grandkids or even themselves! Set in a world reminiscent to Tolkien, seven teens on Earth discover they are actually elven royalty, and must journey to Allyra to defeat the Spider King. During this journey, they face near insurmountable obstacles and many threats, both internal and external, but ultimately learn to work together and use their powers for good.

[Elizabeth · Rating 3 out of 5]

I've been reading this with my son as he really enjoys this author. I think I would have enjoyed it more if there hadn't been so much jumping around from kid to kid to kid to kid to kid until they all meet up near the end. I started to forget who the characters were and it would take me a bit to get back into the story. There is a lot going on, maybe too much. I'm hoping I'll enjoy the next one a bit more since it seems like they'll all be together for awhile.

[Gabe Dunn · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is amazing. I like how the book gives you the kids' point of view into their lives and then when they read the book, it tells you what happens in the book so you know what events lead up to the story. I like how the book makes you feel like you are actually in the story. Finally, I like how the book is very fantasy like.

[Boyan Daneff · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was good. I would've given it five stars if it weren't for the bad editing. In some parts, the author began mixing up the names of the characters by mistake. I'm beginning to wonder if this book was revised by an editor at all. Overall, everything else was perfect, the plot was strong and confident, and the writing was amazing. Strongly recommended.

(except for the cheesy parts)

[Angelica · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book surprised me. It was very good despite being lower YA. The worldbuilding was great, the plot was interesting, and the characters were believable. It felt like a mix between Lord of the Rings and I Am Number Four. 4.5 stars.