Heather

Basically these are two stories that take place in the same world but the two stories never connect to each other. The Alchemist is a pretty pointless story and doesn't really come to a conclusion. You'll think they will come back to the ending - they won't. The writing isn't very good either. The Executioness was exciting and well-written. It doesn't really have an ending either but much more acceptable than the first book. It's neat to hear a bad ass woman fighting story. So if you really want to enjoy it, just skip to the second book. Honestly, you'll find so much better fantasy out there than this book though. Oh yes, and the second book's narrator is much better too.

I was impressed that the author went for a different style with his new series. I honestly didn't like the story from three perspectives as much (the new style). But it's nice to see something different. It is also nice to have different gods involved so we can see more of "the world" of these books. This seems more targeted towards the teens with there being more love interest material. The ending makes it clear that things will be expanding for the series which hopefully means more interesting additions. I would rate this book about as good as Lightning Thief, Sea of Monsters, etc. Not as good as Battle for the Labyrinth or Last Olympian. I will add my voice to the complaint that this narrator isn't nearly as good as Jesse from the first series. Still tolerable, though.

Of all the books of the series, this was my favorite. I love how we see more and more of Luke slowly transforming. It adds an interesting twist to the story to have their friend become an evil god! The new character of the architect was a great addition as well. Also, I love an author willing to kill off his characters.

This book was a fun listen and the reader was great. Interesting premise that the gods are still around and having kids. If anything listen to it because it has a whole series that covering demi-god adventures. I think it's a great guilty pleasure for kids and adults. Pretty predictable plot and not amazing writing but I think it's worth listening.

This book, like the second book, is basically also about morality. However, this time we are talking about people taking their religious beliefs to extreme and using it to control others. I found this much more interesting to think about than bigotry and immigrant issues. In any case, it's not a great story but it is interesting and has suspense and kinda mystery like the first and last books. Don't expect to find out much about Ember but the author does link this book to the original story in the last book which is neat. I will warn you not to get too excited by the physics stuff though. There isn't anything like "His "Dark Materials" in this book. Probably just as well as I don't think the author could be quite that imaginative.

This book was a fun and unique idea compared to a lot of adolescent books out there. It is completely non-sci-fi (in this book) and completely clean. Neat idea to think of growing up not knowing you're underground. You will need a bit of suspension of belief to imagine they could survive underground that long but it's all do-able. Enjoyed the whole puzzle that kids go through too. Definitely recommend this book to adolescent readers and I think some adults will enjoy it as a fun distraction.

This book was very interesting and engaging. Being from Wisconsin, I got a kick out of all the references. But even beyond that, intriguing idea of the gods still being around and being just as flawed as all of us. The adventures of the main character were engaging and I really never felt like I really knew what would happen next. Great twists in the story too that were backed up through the storyline. Neil Gaiman is such an imaginative and engaging author. Loved this book.

You'll be happy to hear that in this final book we get to go back to the original action and locations. There are many many holes in this story. It goes beyond suspension of belief (how can canned food last that long, for one). However, we get to see Ember again with the old gang and more new discoveries from the builders which was a relief. The ending is oh so lame I'm afraid. She tries to wrap it all up neatly and it goes off as a....huh? However, I think if you liked Ember (the first book) you'll enjoy this one well enough.

The first book in this series was very imaginative and a unique idea. This book isn't. It is simply a way to get an idea of ethics and morality dealing with immigrants and those being invaded by immigrants. To what extent should you help your fellow man? To what extent should you tolerate the bigotry of those who have taken you in? If you know the answer, you don't need to read this book. However, if you really want to try to enjoy it, just remember it's written for kids.

This book is just as good as what you expect from Christie. She always keeps you just short of actually knowing who did it. It's not an amazing book but if you're a Christie fan you won't be disappointed. Very good audio reading as well.