The Ruins of Gorlan by John Flanagan - 2 stars from someone in the wrong audience

[Amy N.]

This was a fun story that did I enjoy, but I doubt I'll read more in the series. It siphoned a few too many images and themes from Lord of the Rings for my taste (Rangers, camouflage cloaks with leaf pins, dark lords, I could go on), and is very much meant for the boys 10 and up it mentions right there on the back cover and not really anyone else.

I was also disappointed to find that the author engages in head-hopping, which I've been told over and over is a cardinal sin despite Stephen King being allowed to indulge in it. It did throw me out of the story, but mostly because I've been trained not to expect it and have disdain for it when I see it, which got me wondering why exactly head-hopping is so vilified.

However, whether or not head-hopping is really so bad in general, here it was simply used as a way to tell instead of show. We are never allowed to discover for ourselves that Will is maturing or the Baron is concerned about him despite seeming stern. We are told these things, in exactly so many words, sometimes even by hopping, not into another character's head, but simply into third-person omniscient POV for one sentence where the narrative itself informs you of things.

It's more than a bit lazy, and I dislike the excuse that laziness is justified in children's stories. If anything, that's where it's least justified, because if children are not challenged, what kind of adults will they become?

All in all, not a bad thing to hand to a ten-year-old, but I'd probably just hand them Hatchet or Lord of the Rings instead.

[annapi]

I tried reading this some time ago but could not get into it. I kept meaning to try again because my nephew liked it, but your review has decided me in the opposite direction. Thanks!

[Susie]

My son loved it when I read it to him and he gave it the star rating on my profile. I didn’t find it overly exciting. I would be happy to discontinue the series but Will wants to keep going. Sigh.

[NancyJ]

It doesn't sound like something I would like as I didn't love Lord of the Rings.

What is head hopping? From your comments I'm going to guess it's related to multiple perspectives, but perhaps done in a clumsy or inconsistent way?

[Amy N.]

NancyJ wrote: "It doesn't sound like something I would like as I didn't love Lord of the Rings.

What is head hopping? From your comments I'm going to guess it's related to multiple perspectives, but perhaps don..."

The way it's been explained to me is that head hopping is when the author changes perspectives mid-scene instead of waiting until the next scene to switch the point of view. Technically there's nothing about it that's inherently bad, but I think it's so often used unskillfully that it has gained a reputation as lazy or confusing. I've been looking around more and it looks like there's a bigger debate about it than I thought, but it also seems like the prevailing wisdom is that it's sloppy, confusing and bad. It certainly wasn't used to great effect here.