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Teenage Jack is thrust into an ancient grudge match between two sorcerous clans. He was born into the Warrior guild, which means that as soon as the Wizard guild finds him, they will force him to fight to the death in their magical arena. The world building, sadly, just does not make sense. I just didn't believe any of it. Additionally, Jack is frustratingly boring. Luckily his friends are great: strong, stout-hearted Will, clever and loyal Fitch, and athletic and self-controlled Ellen. The well
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Having tried this book and The Demon King, I feel comfortable saying that Chima’s writing just doesn’t work for me. This is reminiscent of Garth Nix’s Keys to the Kingdom series and Diana Wynne Jones’ The Homeward Bounders. But it’s not quite as well-paced as either. Nothing has happened in this book by the first eighty pages and there’s no hint of anything to come despite what the plot summary suggests. The cast is a bit bloated and often indistinguishable with too many similar or just flat cha
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A great start to a new fantasy series. Though I did read the second book first, this was a great beginning and gave me a lot of insight into parts of the second book that were merely brushed upon. I loved all the politics the author brought to the story, it wasn't just about the people or the plot, but about the inner-workings of this world. The ending was great, and very fitting I thought. It left it finished, but also nicely open-ended for the next book. I can't wait to read the third one when
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So, if you have a child who is probably going to be taken from you in his teens, and turned into a gladiator of some sort, you would make sure he learned to fight, survive, etc. wouldn't you?
Not here. Here his guardians decide to treat him like a feeble invalid mushroom princess. He is basically kept in the dark and fed manure.
I gave up several hours into it. ...more
Not here. Here his guardians decide to treat him like a feeble invalid mushroom princess. He is basically kept in the dark and fed manure.
I gave up several hours into it. ...more
Jul 27, 2008
Daniel
marked it as to-read
Oct 27, 2008
Holly
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Dec 05, 2008
Bette
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May 01, 2010
Liz
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Oct 12, 2010
Colleen
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Nov 14, 2012
Tara
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Feb 27, 2013
Destiny
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