Lisa Chaddock

The characters are growing up, as you would expect through a series like this.

Septimus Heap book series, Artemus Fowl book series, these are adventures with the "growing up" theme and beginner romance interspersed.

Amy finding out about the mole in the group/family. And the Voynich Manuscript!

Around the world again and again

This is a Young Adult offering, so one should expect a fun romp around the world that goes non-stop from start to finale, which is to say, the set up for the next book in the series. The 39 clues series is altogether one of this geography teachers favorite books series, because it gets my students to look up places and history.

Different. I don't like to say better, because the book was amazing when I read it back in 2009. However, that said, Dave Thompson does a wonderful job bringing the characters to life.

The imagery of Southern California, the action, the sideways story line. And, the fact that this is fantasy for adults who want some depth to the characters. I love having a Hispanic Norse character. It's just so modern and fresh!

Dave Thompson's work is stellar. He has a nice baritone quality that is comfortable to listen to. and he doesn't overact the characters or make them more or less than the author would want. This reading is similar to his reading of Briarpatch.

There were moments of incredible beauty in this book that I will never forget. Some of the description is so spot on that I could see the image in my head. Wonderful stuff.

This book is maybe in the top 100, but not the top 10.

The second half of the book is exciting and gripping.

The narrator needed to read this less ponderously (many of you know exactly what I mean - that bad Shakespeare kind of thing) and more like an actor would portray an active story. Terms like "he said" should not be drawn out, but almost throw-away phrases, yet this narrator drew these out as if exhausted by the text. It started to drive me nuts.

Another reviewer said that it was like being read to, but I would also add that it is like being read AT. I am hoping that it gets better on the next book in the series.

The second half of the book definitely got better, but there was still places that felt like I was slogging along with what seemed to be a roaring race of a story.

The last 15 minutes. I don't want to spoil it for others.

If you enjoyed "Master & Commander" or "The Darwath Series", buy this book and continue with the series.

The writing is beautiful without being forced, and the narrator is absolutely perfect in his performance. This story takes place in the Napoleonic era, however it portrays the use of a Dragon force in addition to the Navy and ground forces.

The history is a backdrop to many universal types of questions, not the least being that of the relationship of humans to animals of any intelligence level. It is great for high school or older reader/listeners.

It's definitely been written with a film in mind. Lots of chase scenes, lots of intrigue, and definitely fiction. A fun mystery.

This is a wonderful mystery that is both clear and easy to listen to and keep up with. I'm a big fan of Hillerman, and hope that many more of his books will be available on Audible!