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Pendragon #9
Raven Rise
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 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 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.
There's only one thing missing--Bobby Pendragon.
While Bobby remains trapped on Ibara, the battle moves to his home 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 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.
560 pages, Paperback
First published January 20, 2008
191 people are currently reading
6324 people want to read
About the author
D.J. MacHale
107 books2,347 followersD.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.
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.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 428 reviews
May 12, 2024
Complete 5 Golden Stars
"the Penultimate Pendragon"
(as Mr. MacHale said, I like the ring to it, don't you?)
was Epic!
"The war wasn’t over. The story didn’t end there. Not for Bobby. Not for Saint Dane.
And not for us."
(from Preface, Mr. MacHale)
another twist, another change in the triple territories,
the battle of
& Pendragon is nowhere to be found...
this book was a constant blending of action, thrills, riddles & unraveling, feelz attack & tensions, & things happening so fast, everyone was in a rush, I couldn't believe how much can happen in 500+ book, I also couldn't put the book down, even in my 3rd read, & it was just as exciting/shocking as the first time.
& something just been revealed in re-reading, if you are watchful enough, seeing through the layers of the Plot the author carefully created & can remember previous books while reading this one (it's the skill earned just by re-reading!) you can see the clues that were there since the beginning. (book 5, the arena; the one thing that almost happened there.) it's a complicated job! a skill to see those threads & a hard & delicate job on author's part to plant them in the first place.
I cried a lot...
intense & extreme
tears & laughs
serious & dark
familiar faces & reunions
unexpected turns of events & that damn moment that ruined everything (I didn't blame him, I would've done the same, probably?)
one of the greatest changes happening in this book is the narration, something like the end of book 5, but in larger scales.
New POV characters who we know already (yesss! My other two favourite Travelers have their own POV!)
there was a lot going on simultaneously, & the decision Bobby made in the last book, revealing its consequences
the chaos, as we are near the end, parallel stories
the end was emotional, unexpected, shocking, thrilling, also beautiful.
that one last part & I was crying the whole time (every time), I was waiting for it for sooooooo long!
"the Penultimate Pendragon"
(as Mr. MacHale said, I like the ring to it, don't you?)
was Epic!
"The war wasn’t over. The story didn’t end there. Not for Bobby. Not for Saint Dane.
And not for us."
(from Preface, Mr. MacHale)
another twist, another change in the triple territories,
the battle of
& Pendragon is nowhere to be found...
this book was a constant blending of action, thrills, riddles & unraveling, feelz attack & tensions, & things happening so fast, everyone was in a rush, I couldn't believe how much can happen in 500+ book, I also couldn't put the book down, even in my 3rd read, & it was just as exciting/shocking as the first time.
& something just been revealed in re-reading, if you are watchful enough, seeing through the layers of the Plot the author carefully created & can remember previous books while reading this one (it's the skill earned just by re-reading!) you can see the clues that were there since the beginning. (book 5, the arena; the one thing that almost happened there.) it's a complicated job! a skill to see those threads & a hard & delicate job on author's part to plant them in the first place.
I cried a lot...
intense & extreme
tears & laughs
serious & dark
familiar faces & reunions
unexpected turns of events & that damn moment that ruined everything (I didn't blame him, I would've done the same, probably?)
one of the greatest changes happening in this book is the narration, something like the end of book 5, but in larger scales.
New POV characters who we know already (yesss! My other two favourite Travelers have their own POV!)
there was a lot going on simultaneously, & the decision Bobby made in the last book, revealing its consequences
the chaos, as we are near the end, parallel stories
the end was emotional, unexpected, shocking, thrilling, also beautiful.
that one last part & I was crying the whole time (every time), I was waiting for it for sooooooo long!
January 25, 2018
Well. When I started this particular Pendragon installment, I definitely wasn’t expecting to have an entire ending chapter that rivaled the amount I cried during Clockwork Princess’s epilogue, but here we are. (it wasn’t quite as much as CP2 but that’s just because that epilogue was the best ending ever)
Wow, this was such a crazy ride from beginning to end. My boyfriend only told me one thing when it came to this book and that was that it didn’t really take place in one single territory and now I completely understand why he told me that. It wasn’t like the others where we were introduced to a new world and a new challenge, this one progressed the story line so much and really finalized a lot.
The second half of the book just kind of left me shocked and the book as a whole gave me an eerie feeling of witnessing the world during Hitler’s rise to power. The tattoos, the flags, the sense of “superior” human beings. It honestly kinda left me shuddering on more than one occasion while reading certain parts.
Bobby finally gets reunited with his best friends- Mark and Courtney- only to be ripped away again almost as quickly. He and Alder make a daring journey in an attempt to stop so much bad from happening, only to be screwed at every turn. There were a couple times where I honestly found myself getting lured into believing one way, starting to get comfortable, when something would come up out of nowhere and leave me feeling like a complete idiot for being lured into that false sense of security.
I could feel Bobby’s frustration, his anger, his sadness, all of it throughout this book. His emotions kept rising and rising and I could feel his blind hatred when it came to him being on that helicopter in that last bit. His whole existence is a question, he’s terrified of what’s at stake beyond just him being real or not, he’s angry at all the friend’s he’s lost and his unfair disadvantage when it comes to this whole war. This is where you really start to see Bobby being screwed over yet again when he comes back to the fight and it’s so hard to see him lose as much as he has with very little complaining. He’s such an amazingly strong and strong-willed person, it hurts to see the way he’s hurt time and time again.
That last bit, the last chapter, I cannot even begin to explain how utterly huge and devastating that chapter was for me. You don’t realize how much you start loving these characters, rooting for them and their mission, hoping that you don’t have to watch them die. They’re all some of the most amazing characters and they’re all so unique compared to each other, he does such a good job making sure they’re all their own people and I love that.
This was an amazing penultimate book and I cannot wait to read the last one to see how everything ends up wrapping up in the end. I already have it sitting next to me and I could not be more excited.
Wow, this was such a crazy ride from beginning to end. My boyfriend only told me one thing when it came to this book and that was that it didn’t really take place in one single territory and now I completely understand why he told me that. It wasn’t like the others where we were introduced to a new world and a new challenge, this one progressed the story line so much and really finalized a lot.
The second half of the book just kind of left me shocked and the book as a whole gave me an eerie feeling of witnessing the world during Hitler’s rise to power. The tattoos, the flags, the sense of “superior” human beings. It honestly kinda left me shuddering on more than one occasion while reading certain parts.
Bobby finally gets reunited with his best friends- Mark and Courtney- only to be ripped away again almost as quickly. He and Alder make a daring journey in an attempt to stop so much bad from happening, only to be screwed at every turn. There were a couple times where I honestly found myself getting lured into believing one way, starting to get comfortable, when something would come up out of nowhere and leave me feeling like a complete idiot for being lured into that false sense of security.
I could feel Bobby’s frustration, his anger, his sadness, all of it throughout this book. His emotions kept rising and rising and I could feel his blind hatred when it came to him being on that helicopter in that last bit. His whole existence is a question, he’s terrified of what’s at stake beyond just him being real or not, he’s angry at all the friend’s he’s lost and his unfair disadvantage when it comes to this whole war. This is where you really start to see Bobby being screwed over yet again when he comes back to the fight and it’s so hard to see him lose as much as he has with very little complaining. He’s such an amazingly strong and strong-willed person, it hurts to see the way he’s hurt time and time again.
That last bit, the last chapter, I cannot even begin to explain how utterly huge and devastating that chapter was for me. You don’t realize how much you start loving these characters, rooting for them and their mission, hoping that you don’t have to watch them die. They’re all some of the most amazing characters and they’re all so unique compared to each other, he does such a good job making sure they’re all their own people and I love that.
This was an amazing penultimate book and I cannot wait to read the last one to see how everything ends up wrapping up in the end. I already have it sitting next to me and I could not be more excited.
July 3, 2008
Wow.
What a weird ending.
This is by far one of my favorite Pendragon books, hands-down. The beginning was, well, not really that much of a surprise, but it still was, um, a little sad. I couldn't put this book down, seriously.
Spoilers:
When Alder died, I effin' sobbed my heart out. He's my favorite character (besides Spader and Siry~), so it was gut-wrenching.
And the giant flume?! Holy cupcakes, that was weird! Awesome to a "T" but pretty scary. How could Naymeer, Saint Dane, and Nevva do that?! The Ravinians are scary people. :/
The ending, though, had to be one of the strangest things I've ever read. Where in Halla were they?! When Spader came back I was like *foam*. It was crazy awesome, seeing everyone alive again! [Meaning Kasha and Press. :D]
But seriously, this book was awesome. Can't wait for the next one!
What a weird ending.
This is by far one of my favorite Pendragon books, hands-down. The beginning was, well, not really that much of a surprise, but it still was, um, a little sad. I couldn't put this book down, seriously.
Spoilers:
When Alder died, I effin' sobbed my heart out. He's my favorite character (besides Spader and Siry~), so it was gut-wrenching.
And the giant flume?! Holy cupcakes, that was weird! Awesome to a "T" but pretty scary. How could Naymeer, Saint Dane, and Nevva do that?! The Ravinians are scary people. :/
The ending, though, had to be one of the strangest things I've ever read. Where in Halla were they?! When Spader came back I was like *foam*. It was crazy awesome, seeing everyone alive again! [Meaning Kasha and Press. :D]
But seriously, this book was awesome. Can't wait for the next one!
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
July 22, 2008
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.
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.
February 5, 2018
My biggest flaw with these books is the promise of answers. The promise of all the answers will be revealed but as the books progressed, we had none. We were still in. The dark about everything and everyone, so let’s see if it can be made up for in the last book. Alder and Spader are my faves
May 11, 2022
For this book, the name itself is a spoiler! And it had some loose ends. One would think, by now Pendragon would be a little smarter, and know about the antagonist well enough, but he couldn't sadly. I wonder what would happened if he could! I really wonder.
But, all said, this story was slightly different than the others. It didn't start with pendragon, and when he came to the picture, he wasn't always the main focus either. Turn of events felt interesting of course.
Either way, its been a long journey for me with this series, lets hope the final book can reach the expected heights!
But, all said, this story was slightly different than the others. It didn't start with pendragon, and when he came to the picture, he wasn't always the main focus either. Turn of events felt interesting of course.
Either way, its been a long journey for me with this series, lets hope the final book can reach the expected heights!
June 25, 2011
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)
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)
January 16, 2015
حتی نمیدونم چرا دو میدم بهش!
پندراگن مجموعه فوقالعادهای بوده. با وجود حجم زیاد٫ کتابی ـه که با بیشترین سرعت میخونم تا تموم شه. و هیجانش عااالی بوده همیشه.
اما انگار دیگه آخرای کتاب روند کار از دست نویسنده در رفته. :| نُه جلد طرف میگفت فلان ـه و اینا؛ ت��زه دو صفحه آخر کارکتر اصلی میگه هااا گرفتم چی میگی! :/
ولی خب... به هرحال مجموعهایـه که از دوم راهنمایی منتظر تموم شدنش هستم! و واقعا هم دلم کتاب فانتزی میخواست.
+ آقای حسین شهرابی کار سختی رو شروع کرده. اونم ترجمه همچین کتابی ـه که تا به حال دو تا مترجم دیگه -مترجم های عالی :-" - داشته. ولی فکر میکنم سرعت زیاد یهکم باعث ناجورشدن ِ ترجمه شده. و برخلاف نظرات همه -که میان میگن ترجمه عالی بوده و فلان- فکر میکنم ترجمه های قبلی بهتر بودهن. (نه که ترجمه بد باشهها؛ صرفا نسبت به بقیه جلدها ضعیفتره. وگرنه اگر بخواهیم از ترجمه بد بگیم که مورد خییلییی زیاده واقعا :-") و متاسفانه به دلیل فوبیای«فانتزی/تخیلیرابهزباناصلیخواندن» نمیتونم بیخیال ترجمه شم. :))
+ برای ثبت در تاریخ و اینا میگم:
۲۸۰۰۰ تومان. :|
مامانم دست میزنه از رو تخت برش داره گریهم در میاد اصن. :|
پندراگن مجموعه فوقالعادهای بوده. با وجود حجم زیاد٫ کتابی ـه که با بیشترین سرعت میخونم تا تموم شه. و هیجانش عااالی بوده همیشه.
اما انگار دیگه آخرای کتاب روند کار از دست نویسنده در رفته. :| نُه جلد طرف میگفت فلان ـه و اینا؛ ت��زه دو صفحه آخر کارکتر اصلی میگه هااا گرفتم چی میگی! :/
ولی خب... به هرحال مجموعهایـه که از دوم راهنمایی منتظر تموم شدنش هستم! و واقعا هم دلم کتاب فانتزی میخواست.
+ آقای حسین شهرابی کار سختی رو شروع کرده. اونم ترجمه همچین کتابی ـه که تا به حال دو تا مترجم دیگه -مترجم های عالی :-" - داشته. ولی فکر میکنم سرعت زیاد یهکم باعث ناجورشدن ِ ترجمه شده. و برخلاف نظرات همه -که میان میگن ترجمه عالی بوده و فلان- فکر میکنم ترجمه های قبلی بهتر بودهن. (نه که ترجمه بد باشهها؛ صرفا نسبت به بقیه جلدها ضعیفتره. وگرنه اگر بخواهیم از ترجمه بد بگیم که مورد خییلییی زیاده واقعا :-") و متاسفانه به دلیل فوبیای«فانتزی/تخیلیرابهزباناصلیخواندن» نمیتونم بیخیال ترجمه شم. :))
+ برای ثبت در تاریخ و اینا میگم:
۲۸۰۰۰ تومان. :|
مامانم دست میزنه از رو تخت برش داره گریهم در میاد اصن. :|
July 16, 2008
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.
June 29, 2020
3.5/5 it was good, but not anything super special. I really liked the ending though.
January 21, 2009
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:
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!
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!
August 11, 2013
WARNING!!! THIS REVIEW CONTAINS SPOILERS!!!!!!
This is probably my favorite one of the series!! I laughed, cried, and made people slightly scared for my sanity as I yelled "Oh that did NOT just happen!" This the second to last book in the series and holy mamba is it a doozy! As MacHale told me at the BEA Conference, the last 3 books are a series of their own because things really start to go down. I finally see what he means. The fabric of Halla is disintegrating and at the start of the book, Bobby is out of play.
You get to see the point of view of different travelers instead of just Mark, Courtney and Bobby. Things really start to get messed up on the territories as you try to figure out what exactly Saint Dane has planned. Things also get personal for Bobby, Mark and Courtney as the fight is taken to their home, Second Earth.
The only thing I didn't quite understand was how Tello could be Nevva when Nevva took Mark's ring on First Earth and the entrance to the flume to Ibara was closed off. The only thing I could think of was that Saint Dane had the flume dug up long before we thought (or he did it faster than we thought since I don't think Tello went missing for a while). Overall, it wasn't really clear how this happened.
Overall, this book gets 5/5 for me. Even with the confusion, this books was packed full of action, shock and awe! The ending, especially, will leave you in shock and awe. There is so much that happened but to keep from blathering on I will just say read the book and have the 10th handy, because you are just going to want to jump right into the next book :)
This is probably my favorite one of the series!! I laughed, cried, and made people slightly scared for my sanity as I yelled "Oh that did NOT just happen!" This the second to last book in the series and holy mamba is it a doozy! As MacHale told me at the BEA Conference, the last 3 books are a series of their own because things really start to go down. I finally see what he means. The fabric of Halla is disintegrating and at the start of the book, Bobby is out of play.
You get to see the point of view of different travelers instead of just Mark, Courtney and Bobby. Things really start to get messed up on the territories as you try to figure out what exactly Saint Dane has planned. Things also get personal for Bobby, Mark and Courtney as the fight is taken to their home, Second Earth.
The only thing I didn't quite understand was how Tello could be Nevva when Nevva took Mark's ring on First Earth and the entrance to the flume to Ibara was closed off. The only thing I could think of was that Saint Dane had the flume dug up long before we thought (or he did it faster than we thought since I don't think Tello went missing for a while). Overall, it wasn't really clear how this happened.
Overall, this book gets 5/5 for me. Even with the confusion, this books was packed full of action, shock and awe! The ending, especially, will leave you in shock and awe. There is so much that happened but to keep from blathering on I will just say read the book and have the 10th handy, because you are just going to want to jump right into the next book :)
November 16, 2012
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 extremely evil man, Saint Dane, who is trying to merge all of the worlds into one.
Saint Dane is not only trying to mix territories, which is something that Travelers are not supposed to do, but he is also trying to create the perfect group of people who will follow under him. What will he do with the "not perfect" people? He will take care of them.
Saint Dane plans on controlling all of Halla, and he will decide what he thinks is right for the people of the territories. He believes he is doing right by deciding people's destinies for them and not letting them make their own decisions. Pendragon, on the other hand, thinks that people should make the decisions of their lives on their own.
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.
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 extremely evil man, Saint Dane, who is trying to merge all of the worlds into one.
Saint Dane is not only trying to mix territories, which is something that Travelers are not supposed to do, but he is also trying to create the perfect group of people who will follow under him. What will he do with the "not perfect" people? He will take care of them.
Saint Dane plans on controlling all of Halla, and he will decide what he thinks is right for the people of the territories. He believes he is doing right by deciding people's destinies for them and not letting them make their own decisions. Pendragon, on the other hand, thinks that people should make the decisions of their lives on their own.
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.
March 8, 2024
I’m so SICK IM SO SICKKKKK
July 24, 2024
Note: This is a rereading.
As D.J. MacHale puts it this is the penultimate book(2nd to last book in a series). This may be my favorite one. There was constant reminders of previous territories and new threat of Halla(everything in the universe). Boy oh boy such a good story. 1 more book left.
As D.J. MacHale puts it this is the penultimate book(2nd to last book in a series). This may be my favorite one. There was constant reminders of previous territories and new threat of Halla(everything in the universe). Boy oh boy such a good story. 1 more book left.
February 28, 2009
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??
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??
June 13, 2022
I'm honestly not sure how to feel about this installment of the series. As MacHale says in his intro, this is the penultimate Pendragon book. It's almost the end of the series. And the stakes are ramping up pretty high, because while Bobby has trapped himself on Ibara, there's still a lot of bad stuff happening across Halla.
Based on the blurb for this installment, I expected that it would be strongly focused on Mark and Courtney and give them a chance to really shine. And it does that, but only a little. Having failed to stop history from being changed, Mark and Courtney are still on First Earth, trying to figure out where to go from here, when Patrick from Third Earth shows up to warn that it's changed yet again. It seems that the future has gone from utopia, to utopia with creepy robots that look like Mark, and has now landed at dystopia. In fact, it reminds me of the alternate Nazis win World War II timeline that was discussed in book 3, as Patrick wakes up to the knocked over Statue of Liberty staring at him through his apartment window.
Mark and Courtney travel to Second Earth to discover the titular Raven Rise - the ascension of a cult whose leader promises the elite the chance to rule Halla. I do appreciate the way this whole thing is depicted, with the enemies of the cult rightly calling it out as fascism. And there's a neat touch where even Courtney's parents have joined up. In fact, the whole thing feels a lot like one of those evil Satanist one world religion deals from terrible Christian rapture fiction, down to a Mark of the Beast style tattoo of the flume star to mark membership in the cult.
But one of the problems with the story is that the protagonists figure the best thing they can do is to fight this on Second Earth, when it's already strongly established to the point the UN is about to vote to make the cult the official spiritual advisors of Earth (a concept that is completely ridiculous and probably bugs me more than it should for this kind of book). Even though previously we've changed the future by messing repeatedly with the 1930s, apparently now the sensible thing to do is to fight in the 2000s when the cult is established, rather than try to take it out when it's still just getting off the ground? Really, I think this is where the series is really running up against the fact that it sometimes does time travel plots, but not always, and the heroes are frankly pretty bad at being time traveler heroes for some reason.
But also, the book doesn't actually sideline Bobby as much as I expected. In fact, he manages to get in his full complement of four journals and they take up most of the book. The first one and a half are about his idyllic life rebuilding Ibara, and I actually enjoyed that. It's a nice way to give him some long term character growth in a shorter span of pages, and it's interesting seeing him being able to accept the position of leadership on Ibara rather than having the status of lead Traveler thrust upon him. And I like how he navigates Telleo's obvious feelings for him and the way he doesn't share them.
But of course things can't last, as one of the Jakills returns to the island and reveals Saint Dane has been using the scavengers on the mainland to dig up the other flume, freeing him to travel across space and time again. So Bobby's retirement has lasted all of a third of a book at best. He's soon rushing around Halla, first to try to stop things from getting bad on Denduron and then running off to join the fight on Second Earth.
Oh, and the Traveler rings and the flumes are made of dark matter, which is apparently the base material of the universe? Somehow?
This book is a bit frustrating because a lot of the action and adventure stuff is still pretty well written. And the climax feels like a suitably big one, and isn't a wet squib like book 4 was. But the stakes never quite feel real, and all the questions without answers are really making me suspect that the emperor has no clothes. I'm really not sure what rating to give this, as I'm torn between 2 and 3 stars, but I think in the end erring on rounding down probably makes the most sense. I'm going to read the last book because I still want to find out what happens, but I'm no longer confident that I'll actually find it to be a satisfying ending.
Based on the blurb for this installment, I expected that it would be strongly focused on Mark and Courtney and give them a chance to really shine. And it does that, but only a little. Having failed to stop history from being changed, Mark and Courtney are still on First Earth, trying to figure out where to go from here, when Patrick from Third Earth shows up to warn that it's changed yet again. It seems that the future has gone from utopia, to utopia with creepy robots that look like Mark, and has now landed at dystopia. In fact, it reminds me of the alternate Nazis win World War II timeline that was discussed in book 3, as Patrick wakes up to the knocked over Statue of Liberty staring at him through his apartment window.
Mark and Courtney travel to Second Earth to discover the titular Raven Rise - the ascension of a cult whose leader promises the elite the chance to rule Halla. I do appreciate the way this whole thing is depicted, with the enemies of the cult rightly calling it out as fascism. And there's a neat touch where even Courtney's parents have joined up. In fact, the whole thing feels a lot like one of those evil Satanist one world religion deals from terrible Christian rapture fiction, down to a Mark of the Beast style tattoo of the flume star to mark membership in the cult.
But one of the problems with the story is that the protagonists figure the best thing they can do is to fight this on Second Earth, when it's already strongly established to the point the UN is about to vote to make the cult the official spiritual advisors of Earth (a concept that is completely ridiculous and probably bugs me more than it should for this kind of book). Even though previously we've changed the future by messing repeatedly with the 1930s, apparently now the sensible thing to do is to fight in the 2000s when the cult is established, rather than try to take it out when it's still just getting off the ground? Really, I think this is where the series is really running up against the fact that it sometimes does time travel plots, but not always, and the heroes are frankly pretty bad at being time traveler heroes for some reason.
But also, the book doesn't actually sideline Bobby as much as I expected. In fact, he manages to get in his full complement of four journals and they take up most of the book. The first one and a half are about his idyllic life rebuilding Ibara, and I actually enjoyed that. It's a nice way to give him some long term character growth in a shorter span of pages, and it's interesting seeing him being able to accept the position of leadership on Ibara rather than having the status of lead Traveler thrust upon him. And I like how he navigates Telleo's obvious feelings for him and the way he doesn't share them.
But of course things can't last, as one of the Jakills returns to the island and reveals Saint Dane has been using the scavengers on the mainland to dig up the other flume, freeing him to travel across space and time again. So Bobby's retirement has lasted all of a third of a book at best. He's soon rushing around Halla, first to try to stop things from getting bad on Denduron and then running off to join the fight on Second Earth.
Oh, and the Traveler rings and the flumes are made of dark matter, which is apparently the base material of the universe? Somehow?
This book is a bit frustrating because a lot of the action and adventure stuff is still pretty well written. And the climax feels like a suitably big one, and isn't a wet squib like book 4 was. But the stakes never quite feel real, and all the questions without answers are really making me suspect that the emperor has no clothes. I'm really not sure what rating to give this, as I'm torn between 2 and 3 stars, but I think in the end erring on rounding down probably makes the most sense. I'm going to read the last book because I still want to find out what happens, but I'm no longer confident that I'll actually find it to be a satisfying ending.
October 3, 2009
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's home as the battleground.
A terrifying cult leader named Alexander Naymeer brings millions under his sway, pointing Second Earth toward a vision of utopia with a horrifying dark side. Mark and Courtney struggle to keep their heads in the game even as their ties to Bobby pull them into the center of the conflict. Saint Dane and his accomplice Nevva Winter come up with the most brutal and fiendishly intelligent plans yet. And Bobby, fighting with the pain of his own duty, ethics, choices, and responsibilities, will either triumph or shatter beneath it all.
Everything in this book is bigger. The series gets progressively darker, scarier, more suspenseful, more wrenching, more intense. Strange new twists get thrown in, things you weren't expecting at all. And the ending leaves you at the edge of a cliff at the end of all things, waiting to see what the final fight for Halla will bring. I am really counting on MacHale not to fumble this ending, and to take some of the strange concepts he's introduced and make them work well instead of fall flat. I can't wait!
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's home as the battleground.
A terrifying cult leader named Alexander Naymeer brings millions under his sway, pointing Second Earth toward a vision of utopia with a horrifying dark side. Mark and Courtney struggle to keep their heads in the game even as their ties to Bobby pull them into the center of the conflict. Saint Dane and his accomplice Nevva Winter come up with the most brutal and fiendishly intelligent plans yet. And Bobby, fighting with the pain of his own duty, ethics, choices, and responsibilities, will either triumph or shatter beneath it all.
Everything in this book is bigger. The series gets progressively darker, scarier, more suspenseful, more wrenching, more intense. Strange new twists get thrown in, things you weren't expecting at all. And the ending leaves you at the edge of a cliff at the end of all things, waiting to see what the final fight for Halla will bring. I am really counting on MacHale not to fumble this ending, and to take some of the strange concepts he's introduced and make them work well instead of fall flat. I can't wait!
August 18, 2015
All right, so this Pendragon was quite the ride. With countless riveting twists and turns, it kept me on the edge of my seat for its entirety. Raven Rise is, I believe, one of my favorite installments in this series, because it pulls you in and doesn't let you go.
Some people say they were quite disappointed with Raven Rise; it was all over the place, too much was happening at once, and Bobby kept making the same arguments and excuses over and over. I just picked this book up after having started the series several years ago, so I came into this installment not totally prepared for its intensity. Raven Rise is nothing like the other Pendragon books, and everything you may think you have learned throughout the series is uprooted and crushed to smithereens. It's sort of frustrating, and a little disconcerting, but it makes you feel exactly how Bobby feels, and I love that about this book.
One of the highlights of reading this was, for me, acknowledging how different it is from the previous books in the series. Bobby has grown up, there's no way around it. He is no longer a naïve and somewhat volatile 14-year-old, he's eighteen, and he's got a lot on his plate. All of his friends do. That is what was so satisfying for me about this book; to see Bobby, Mark, Courtney and all the others starting to learn exactly what this whole crazy escapade is about. I'm definitely looking forward to running to the library (or the bookstore) and finding the tenth one - it's about time I finished this series!
Some people say they were quite disappointed with Raven Rise; it was all over the place, too much was happening at once, and Bobby kept making the same arguments and excuses over and over. I just picked this book up after having started the series several years ago, so I came into this installment not totally prepared for its intensity. Raven Rise is nothing like the other Pendragon books, and everything you may think you have learned throughout the series is uprooted and crushed to smithereens. It's sort of frustrating, and a little disconcerting, but it makes you feel exactly how Bobby feels, and I love that about this book.
One of the highlights of reading this was, for me, acknowledging how different it is from the previous books in the series. Bobby has grown up, there's no way around it. He is no longer a naïve and somewhat volatile 14-year-old, he's eighteen, and he's got a lot on his plate. All of his friends do. That is what was so satisfying for me about this book; to see Bobby, Mark, Courtney and all the others starting to learn exactly what this whole crazy escapade is about. I'm definitely looking forward to running to the library (or the bookstore) and finding the tenth one - it's about time I finished this series!
June 28, 2008
The Pendragon series has been a favorite of mine ever since my mom sent me the ARC of Merchant of Death my freshman year of college. I remember picking it up to kill the morning and getting sucked in from page one. Needless to say, I stayed in most of the day reading it. Expectations were high for Raven Rise, for I think the two books before this were very well done. I'm happy to say that Raven Rise went beyond my expectations.
We all knew that Bobby's actions at the end of the last book were going to royally mess up Halla, but, never did I think they would impact the whole of Halla as much as it. In Raven Rise we travel along with multiple travelers to different territories, seeing the vast changes in Halla from many different point of views.
The only problem that I had with the book, which might be a personal thing, was that there were some times where the constant narration grated on me. I wanted dialogue or some interaction between someone during some of the journal entries. That was only a minor problem, though.
Raven Rise is action packed, as always, but also has moments where it really gets to you at an emotional level, or at least, it got to me. DJ has again written a book where you could laugh and cry and throughly enjoy the entire ride.
4 stars from me. I hope you enjoy it as much as I did.
We all knew that Bobby's actions at the end of the last book were going to royally mess up Halla, but, never did I think they would impact the whole of Halla as much as it. In Raven Rise we travel along with multiple travelers to different territories, seeing the vast changes in Halla from many different point of views.
The only problem that I had with the book, which might be a personal thing, was that there were some times where the constant narration grated on me. I wanted dialogue or some interaction between someone during some of the journal entries. That was only a minor problem, though.
Raven Rise is action packed, as always, but also has moments where it really gets to you at an emotional level, or at least, it got to me. DJ has again written a book where you could laugh and cry and throughly enjoy the entire ride.
4 stars from me. I hope you enjoy it as much as I did.
December 10, 2009
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 because of the utter... well, I'd say failure, but that might spoil things ;) It was so great and awesome and adventurous and shocking. Just not as amusing :(
It's rating... Well, I think PG13. I don't remember WHAT was violent, really, but I remember thinking that it got a bit violent again. It had some... OH! I remember now. Ok, in one scene, there is a lot of blood/broken bones mentioned. It's not horrible exactly... but it's disturbing. Anyway. There does appear to be actual language. FOR THE FIRST TIME!! Sheesh! It wasn't awful at all, but I was shocked to see any at all. It didn't even feel natural. I think he just felt the need to add swear words. Nasty.
So... not to spoil anything... but the end was good.
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 because of the utter... well, I'd say failure, but that might spoil things ;) It was so great and awesome and adventurous and shocking. Just not as amusing :(
It's rating... Well, I think PG13. I don't remember WHAT was violent, really, but I remember thinking that it got a bit violent again. It had some... OH! I remember now. Ok, in one scene, there is a lot of blood/broken bones mentioned. It's not horrible exactly... but it's disturbing. Anyway. There does appear to be actual language. FOR THE FIRST TIME!! Sheesh! It wasn't awful at all, but I was shocked to see any at all. It didn't even feel natural. I think he just felt the need to add swear words. Nasty.
So... not to spoil anything... but the end was good.
September 4, 2008
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 it denial, but I refuse to believe it. I honestly do not think that they are dead. I. Do. Not.
The end... it's confusing. What are the Travelers? Are they really illusions like Saint Dane said? Or something else? It wouldn't be the first time that dude lied. And in the end... What was Press doing there? He's DEAD! Well I guess Alder and a bunch of the others are dead too, but Press sint' one of the final Traveler peoplez so...
Even with all the sadness and confusion, I still loved this book. It was brilliantly written with witty humor just the right amount of comic relief and suspense. I can't wait for more!
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 it denial, but I refuse to believe it. I honestly do not think that they are dead. I. Do. Not.
The end... it's confusing. What are the Travelers? Are they really illusions like Saint Dane said? Or something else? It wouldn't be the first time that dude lied. And in the end... What was Press doing there? He's DEAD! Well I guess Alder and a bunch of the others are dead too, but Press sint' one of the final Traveler peoplez so...
Even with all the sadness and confusion, I still loved this book. It was brilliantly written with witty humor just the right amount of comic relief and suspense. I can't wait for more!
January 19, 2009
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 a lot of page-flipping....Unfortunately, Third Earth changed for the worst and is no longer high-tech. Anyhow, after receiving all the disturbing information he can handle, Bobby first goes to Denduron and rounds up Alder, and then goes back to Second Earth where he meets with the 'new' Traveler from Second Earth, (impossible, I know,) who is bent around Saint Dane's finger so much that it's disgusting. That's what you get when a demon saves your life...Well, Bobby and Alder do everything they can to save the people who haven't gone crazy on Second Earth, but to no avail. They find out soon enough how fast Halla can unravel...
May 30, 2016
Reread 2016
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
I literally don't have coherent words at the moment for how epic that ending was and how incredibly intense this entire book was.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
I literally don't have coherent words at the moment for how epic that ending was and how incredibly intense this entire book was.
Read
June 2, 2019I had to change my initial rating since I didnt actually finish it but now that I have I cant wait for the last book in this series.
March 5, 2018
I am SO conflicted. On one hand I love it because the Saint Dane/Bobby stuff is really getting funny (they sound like old friends it's amazing) and Bobby's going insane, but on the other I'm just baffled at how stupidly easy it was for Nazis to take over the world.
NAZIS. True, honest-to-god NAZIS, master race, concentration camps and all. AND THEY TOOK OVER THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA.
AND THE UNITED NATIONS.
HOW??????
I know this book is old. I know that. But the author never says the Second Earth year. That's a trick to make things timeless. So the logical thing is that he wanted me to imagine this is going on right now.
And right now what's going on is that Western nations have become so thin-skinned that a white person wearing dreadlocks is considered racist, people imagine that unless you're a black lesbian there's no way you can write a black lesbian, and vice-versa, and the term 'nazi' is thrown at anyone remotely talking about minority crime rates and missing black fathers.
NAZIS WOULD NEVER TAKE OVER. NEVEEEEEEER
Even if we weren't in a SJW-infested era, do you honestly believe that Christians, conservatives, middle-class citizens, atheists, TEENAGERS, will just adhere to something that's more akin to Scientology, which is already a joke by itself, plus concentrations camps????
NEVER HAPPEN
THIS IS IDIOTIC
WHY DIDN'T BOBBY TAKE BACK MARK'S RING???? IT WOULD'VE SOLVED EVERYTHING.
AAAAHHHHH
Like Hitler got were he was because Germany was already deep in the shithole after WWI and they had very little to lose. If Germany had been fine, WWII'd never have happened.
But I still REALLY like this because it's the end of Bobby's rope. HE'S SO ANNOYED MY GOD GIVE HIM A SNACK ALREADY. And Saint Dane is just ???? FINALLY MORE TALKING. I want them to get stuck in a room together and argue all day. Give me just one frenemy episode and I will love you forever.
So yes, still good except for the way Second Earth falls.
WOULD NEVER HAPPEN EVER ARRRGGGHHHH
Courtney was cool but whenever she cracked a joke I wanted to hit her. And couldn't Mark tell Nevva that if she went back and let his parents get on the plane, it would create a time paradox because if his parents aren't saved, he never goes to First Earth with Forge, the dados don't happen and the Convergence falls flat? Like bitch she got you so good. And I mean he leaves his parents anyway so I would've let it happen. I love my parents but the universe is more important you know?
SHITS GETTING REAL AAAAHHHHH
Gimme more Bobby/Saint Dane
NAZIS. True, honest-to-god NAZIS, master race, concentration camps and all. AND THEY TOOK OVER THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA.
AND THE UNITED NATIONS.
HOW??????
I know this book is old. I know that. But the author never says the Second Earth year. That's a trick to make things timeless. So the logical thing is that he wanted me to imagine this is going on right now.
And right now what's going on is that Western nations have become so thin-skinned that a white person wearing dreadlocks is considered racist, people imagine that unless you're a black lesbian there's no way you can write a black lesbian, and vice-versa, and the term 'nazi' is thrown at anyone remotely talking about minority crime rates and missing black fathers.
NAZIS WOULD NEVER TAKE OVER. NEVEEEEEEER
Even if we weren't in a SJW-infested era, do you honestly believe that Christians, conservatives, middle-class citizens, atheists, TEENAGERS, will just adhere to something that's more akin to Scientology, which is already a joke by itself, plus concentrations camps????
NEVER HAPPEN
THIS IS IDIOTIC
WHY DIDN'T BOBBY TAKE BACK MARK'S RING???? IT WOULD'VE SOLVED EVERYTHING.
AAAAHHHHH
Like Hitler got were he was because Germany was already deep in the shithole after WWI and they had very little to lose. If Germany had been fine, WWII'd never have happened.
But I still REALLY like this because it's the end of Bobby's rope. HE'S SO ANNOYED MY GOD GIVE HIM A SNACK ALREADY. And Saint Dane is just ???? FINALLY MORE TALKING. I want them to get stuck in a room together and argue all day. Give me just one frenemy episode and I will love you forever.
So yes, still good except for the way Second Earth falls.
WOULD NEVER HAPPEN EVER ARRRGGGHHHH
Courtney was cool but whenever she cracked a joke I wanted to hit her. And couldn't Mark tell Nevva that if she went back and let his parents get on the plane, it would create a time paradox because if his parents aren't saved, he never goes to First Earth with Forge, the dados don't happen and the Convergence falls flat? Like bitch she got you so good. And I mean he leaves his parents anyway so I would've let it happen. I love my parents but the universe is more important you know?
SHITS GETTING REAL AAAAHHHHH
Gimme more Bobby/Saint Dane
October 18, 2018
McHale knows exactly when the whole go-to-territories-find-the-turning-point-meet-Saint-Dane-and-then-save/fail-the-territory thing gets tedious. And after 9 books, I'd say it was getting there. To be fair, each book has set itself apart from its' predecessor by increasing the stakes. Some books were hit-and-miss for me, as I found some more tedious than interesting because it was formulaic, and either I had little interest in the territory Bobby was on (I'm looking at you, Eelong -- and world-building plays a BIG role in this series, mind).. or the book had way too much action, not enough plot (looking at you too, Quillan), and it just felt like mindless padding. I did really like Pilgrims of Rayne though .
This book though. This book was faaaaaar from tedious, and I could barely put it down. Not only are the stakes increased, but the whole formula practically changes (not really, but it felt like it). All the previous books has led to this. Stakes were high form the get-go. Things were beyond bleak after the end of "Pilgrims of Rayne", and this book did not once let you, or the characters, take a breather. It just got bleaker and more desperate as it went on; pushing all the characters to their limits. Since it's set in practically our-Earth, there was little world building to be done, as it was already established. That meant McHale was able to pump this book with plot and motion. There was barely any action in this, which I loved, honestly. Things were HAPPENING.
I loved how, the first third of the book, was everybody freaking out about how bad everything had gone thanks to Bobby after the previous book... all while Bobby was living out the dream retirement life in obliviousness. The focus on other characters aside from Bobby is something I've grown to love about the series. And when Bobby finally gets himself together to join the main plot, the story flows so good. It just keeps going and going, one thing happening right after the other. The best part is Pendragon finally got himself together, and I finally start seeing why he's the Lead Traveler. Yes. YES. He's finally somewhat adept, and his flow with Alder (Denduron Traveler) is great. Heck, Alder is great. I love Alder. And Patrick (Third Earth Traveler) also gets pumped up, and does his part as a Traveler.
And the ending, hobey, the ending. Let's just say I'm glad I'm reading this after the book series is completed, because I'm gonna dive right into the next one.
And so we go.
This book though. This book was faaaaaar from tedious, and I could barely put it down. Not only are the stakes increased, but the whole formula practically changes (not really, but it felt like it). All the previous books has led to this. Stakes were high form the get-go. Things were beyond bleak after the end of "Pilgrims of Rayne", and this book did not once let you, or the characters, take a breather. It just got bleaker and more desperate as it went on; pushing all the characters to their limits. Since it's set in practically our-Earth, there was little world building to be done, as it was already established. That meant McHale was able to pump this book with plot and motion. There was barely any action in this, which I loved, honestly. Things were HAPPENING.
I loved how, the first third of the book, was everybody freaking out about how bad everything had gone thanks to Bobby after the previous book... all while Bobby was living out the dream retirement life in obliviousness. The focus on other characters aside from Bobby is something I've grown to love about the series. And when Bobby finally gets himself together to join the main plot, the story flows so good. It just keeps going and going, one thing happening right after the other. The best part is Pendragon finally got himself together, and I finally start seeing why he's the Lead Traveler. Yes. YES. He's finally somewhat adept, and his flow with Alder (Denduron Traveler) is great. Heck, Alder is great. I love Alder. And Patrick (Third Earth Traveler) also gets pumped up, and does his part as a Traveler.
And the ending, hobey, the ending. Let's just say I'm glad I'm reading this after the book series is completed, because I'm gonna dive right into the next one.
And so we go.
July 20, 2025
I think this is a 3.5 - 4/5 for me.
I have a little bit of a gripe with how Nevva and Saint Dane get to travel and everything puts them at the right time. That doesn't really happen with Bobby. Also, we're nine - nine - books into this series and the abilities of Travelers is still so vague. Maybe I didn't notice or I just didn't hate it as a teenager, but I absolutely hate it now.
Bobby's lack of knowledge and understanding of Halla, Travelers and their abilities, and Saint Dane (imo) puts him at a significant disadvantage plot-wise. This isn't even the fault of the plot. It's the fault of the writing. When Press was alive, he could've explained more, but didn't. And every time Bobby and Saint Dane has a chat, Bobby attempts to ask and Saint Dane just goes "Wouldn't you like to know, weather boy."
In this book the Travelers and acolytes also just start yelling out Territory names to their rings which I don't recall that being the way those worked. For flumes it makes sense. But for the rings? There could be at least two people on each Territory with a ring. In the early books, I could've sworn that they had to specifically call out someone's name and that's how the journals and other notes got delivered.
The series is still quite good though overall. I really used to remember this book series being more Young Adult, but it comes off mostly Middle Grade to me upon this re-read.
I'm verrrrry glad that this journey is almost over. Before it was because of the cringe/second-hand embarrassment, but now it's just because 10 books is a lot of books for a single series with just one antagonist.
Highkey I don't remember this book being so... Nazi-like. I remember (and just by looking at the cover) it being cultish but I really did not remember how much... eugenics was part of the sorta-Naymeer-sorta-Saint-Dane philosophy.
I have a little bit of a gripe with how Nevva and Saint Dane get to travel and everything puts them at the right time. That doesn't really happen with Bobby. Also, we're nine - nine - books into this series and the abilities of Travelers is still so vague. Maybe I didn't notice or I just didn't hate it as a teenager, but I absolutely hate it now.
Bobby's lack of knowledge and understanding of Halla, Travelers and their abilities, and Saint Dane (imo) puts him at a significant disadvantage plot-wise. This isn't even the fault of the plot. It's the fault of the writing. When Press was alive, he could've explained more, but didn't. And every time Bobby and Saint Dane has a chat, Bobby attempts to ask and Saint Dane just goes "Wouldn't you like to know, weather boy."
In this book the Travelers and acolytes also just start yelling out Territory names to their rings which I don't recall that being the way those worked. For flumes it makes sense. But for the rings? There could be at least two people on each Territory with a ring. In the early books, I could've sworn that they had to specifically call out someone's name and that's how the journals and other notes got delivered.
The series is still quite good though overall. I really used to remember this book series being more Young Adult, but it comes off mostly Middle Grade to me upon this re-read.
I'm verrrrry glad that this journey is almost over. Before it was because of the cringe/second-hand embarrassment, but now it's just because 10 books is a lot of books for a single series with just one antagonist.
Read
January 23, 2013“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!
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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