Review: The Search for the Stone of Excalibur by Fiona Ingram

The Search for the Stone of Excalibur (The Chronicles of the Stone, Book 2)
by Fiona Ingram
Release Date: October 2nd 2014
2014 Biblio Publishing
Ebook Edition; 378 Pages
ISBN: 978-1622492183
ASIN: B00O97QG94
Genre: Fiction / Juvenile
Source: Review copy from Pump up Your Book

4 / 5 Stars

Summary
Continuing the adventure that began in Egypt a few months prior in The Secret of the Sacred Scarab, cousins Adam and Justin Sinclair are hot on the trail of the second Stone of Power, one of seven ancient stones lost centuries ago. This stone might be embedded in the hilt of a newly discovered sword that archeologists believe belonged to King Arthur: Excalibur.

However, their long-standing enemy, Dr. Khalid, is following them as they travel to Scotland to investigate an old castle. Little do they know there is another deadly force, the Eaters of Poison, who have their own mission to complete. Time is running out as the confluence of the planets draws closer. Can Justin and Adam find the second Stone of Power and survive? And why did Aunt Isabel send a girl with them?

Join Justin and Adam as they search not only for the second Stone of Power, but also for the Scroll of the Ancients, a mysterious document that holds important clues to the Seven Stones of Power. As their adventure unfolds, they learn many things and face dangers that make even their perils in Egypt look tame. And how annoying for them that their tag-along companion, Kim, seems to have such good ideas when they are stumped.

My Thoughts
The Search for the Stone of Excalibur is an exciting, action-packed novel, quite similar in style to Tony Abbott's The Copernicus Legacy, and I am a huge fan of those books.  And while this is the second book in the series, and I had not yet read the first one, I never felt like I was missing out, or was lost, because I was reading these books out of order.  The author made it very easy to catch up on what was happening, and also made this book entirely its own, and I liked that.

One of the things I really, really liked as an adult reader was the way the author managed to weave the historical details into the modern thriller.  First of all, we have these children who are trying to discover the ancient stones of power as well as trying to keep these evil men away from them.  Naturally, there were all sorts of trouble that awaited the children, some of which was a bit more risky and dangerous and I rather liked that as the men would do anything to retrieve the stones, which did put everyone in some rather difficult situations; it made it much more realistic in some ways.  It also kept up the suspense ratio for those younger readers who like the adventure and the action.  Even though I found it somewhat predictable, I still found the action to be suspenseful and this was definitely due to the author's writing ability as it kept me turning the pages even though I could guess what would happen next.  

The historical details surrounding the legend of King Arthur were quite interesting, and although I know quite a bit about the legends, I still found myself quite drawn to the story.  I liked how the author focused more on the man himself, rather than just on the legend, displaying her solid research skills, using both archaeological sources and sources from literature.  The dream sequences gave the reader a good idea of how Arthur may have appeared during that time period, and the author notes at the back also give insight to the time period.  

The novel is a bit on the long side for a younger reader, and is very rich in historical details which didn't really interest my twelve-year-old daughter, but really fascinated my fifteen-year-old son;  both of them really enjoyed the action sequences, as did I, and there is really nothing inappropriate anywhere in the book for readers of any age. I asked them to read the novel as I wanted their perspective on it as it was difficult to separate the adult part of me who loves and teaches history from someone who has little knowledge of King Arthur and the legends.  The adults in the novel also take on a secondary role and really have no depth or development to them, but it really doesn't matter as the focus was on Adam, Justin, and Kim, which seems right to me.  I really liked Kim as she was quite feisty and hope she appears again in future novels. 

Verdict
The Search for the Stone of Excalibur was an enjoyable, fun tale that will keep a juvenile reader interested as it contains a lot of action and a twisty, if predictable, plot.  The writing is superb, keeping the reader interested in the story; there are a lot of threads to this story, some of which are not answered in this novel, but it does wrap up nicely where it counts.  I did think the conclusion was a bit lengthy and drawn-out, although the historical facts were interesting, as always, and I was looking forward to the clue to where they were heading next.  

 

Review: The Copernicus Legacy: The Serpent's Curse by Tony Abbott

The Serpent's Curse (The Copernicus Legacy, Book #2)
by Tony Abbott
Release Date: October 7th 2014
2014 Katherine Tegen Books
Ebook Edition; 496 Pages
ISBN: 978-0062194466
ASIN: B00HU5DUMI
Genre: Fiction / Middle Grade / Fantasy
Source: Review copy from publisher

4 / 5 Stars

Summary
Wade, Lily, Darrell, and Becca may have found the Copernicus Legacy’s first relic—a beautiful blue stone named after the constellation Vela—but they have lost much more than they have gained. Darrell’s mother, Sara, has been kidnapped by Galina Krause, the conniving leader of the Teutonic Order, who hopes that the renowned academic will lead her and her minions to the next relic.

That means the stakes couldn’t be higher for the Kaplan kids, who trek across the cold wilderness of Siberia, along the winding canals of Venice, and through the streets of Moscow’s Red Square in search of their beloved family member and the sought-after relic called the Serpens. In the process, they meet another network of Guardians and discover that Galina’s plan for Sara involves a scientific experiment that could jeopardize her life.

My Thoughts
I really enjoyed the first book in this series, The Forbidden Stone, and couldn't wait for the release of The Serpent's Curse, the second book in the series, and it didn't definitely didn't disappoint.  With the same pulsing action that was in the first one, this one didn't stop from the moment I opened the book until the very end, and I couldn't flip the pages fast enough, something quite interesting in a middle grade novel.  

What I really love about this book is the blend of factual information and research mixed in with the fantastical.  I actually had to go and look up some facts only to realize they were not necessarily real, but the author is so convincing that even an adult with quite a bit of knowledge about Copernicus can fall for some of the tricks in this novel, something I would only admit to on here.  I love the little puzzles that are distributed throughout the novel, and although the children do manage to solve them rather too readily in my estimation considering their ages and their education, they are still fun and I enjoyed them tremendously.  And please don't judge me too harshly on that last comment, but I do teach teenagers and am quite aware as to how much knowledge most of them have on current events and on world geography, and I'm pretty sure most of them would not be familiar with a remote monastery in Russia, or with Konigsberg, as the teenagers in this book were. And it seemed that as soon as something, or someone, was mentioned, at least one of them was familiar with it / them / him / her in some way.  There were times when I did have to suspend my disbelief.  In fact, when Lily went diving for her tablet, it was almost a relief as it felt like such a normal thing to do when someone needed information quickly.

That being said, I did love the rush around the world in search of the Serpens relic, such fun, and quite interesting.  And I really enjoyed the characters.  While there was not a lot of time for character development in this novel as the characters are too busy rushing around the world saving each other, or others, the author definitely does not give the reader too much time to think about it and sends the characters of one one adventure after another.  It's not until afterwards, when it's time to reflect, that you realize how plot-driven this novel is, and while that can be fun, there were times when I would have liked to have known the characters a bit more or emphasized with them a bit more, but the author doesn't give you time to do so, so when they do get hurt, I tended to feel somewhat detached or unsympathetic.  

Verdict
The Serpent's Curse is a great entry in The Copernicus Legacy, and I definitely recommend it to both young and old.  My son read the first one and loved it, and has been waiting for me to finish this one so he can get his hands on it, especially as I have been commenting on some of the the action sequences.  Mr. Abbott definitely has a gift with words, and has the ability to draw you into the story, and I had a hard time putting this one down.  I really enjoyed the blend of fantasy and reality, and I'm sure this series would appeal to any middle grade person who enjoys this type of genre.  I am looking forward to the next book in the series when it is released.

Review: The Forbidden Stone by Tony Abbott

The Forbidden Stone (The Copernicus Legacy, Book #1)
by Tony Abbott
Release Date: January 7th, 2014
2014 Katherine Tegen Books
Ebook Edition; 432 Pages
ISBN: 978-0062194473
ASIN: B00DB32QBE
Genre: Fiction / Juvenile / Adventure / Series
Source: Review copy from publisher

4.5 / 5 Stars

Summary
It all began when four friends-Wade, Lily, Darrel, and Becca-received a strange, coded email from Wade's uncle Henry shortly before the old man's sudden death. They set off for Germany to attend the funeral with Wade's father, Roald, and discover that Uncle Henry left them yet another baffling message that they suspect is the key to figuring out how and why he died.

The message leads to a clue, and the more clues they discover, the farther they travel down a treacherous path toward an ancient, guarded secret. Soon they are in a breathless race across the globe, running for their lives as a dangerous shadow organization chases them around every corner. Their only hope of saving themselves-and the world that they know-is to find twelve magical relics from a hidden past that will unlock the Copernicus Legacy.

My Thoughts
The Forbidden Stone is the first book in what is going to be an extensive journey over the next four years, covering six novels and six novellas for each of the novels.  I went and took a look at the blog site for this series and readers have an opportunity to enter for a chance to win a trip to New York to participate in your own relic hunt, based on the events in the first book.  There are a few other extras on the site including teaching ideas if you're a teacher and wish to introduce this to your students in the classroom, a game, and a character guide.  I spent quite a bit of time looking up information on this site.

I am more familiar with Tony Abbott's work in his series, The Secrets of Droon, which is more at the second and third grade levels, so it was nice to read something that was more at the Intermediate level from him.  And I have to say that The Forbidden Stone grabbed my attention right away, to the point where I had to force myself to put it down and go do bed.  The short chapters easily sucked a reader right into the action, and I was always "One chapter more" until I realized I had read another fifty pages and really needed to put it down.   Mr. Abbott also has a way of writing that captures your attention and imagination and you just want to keep on reading to find out what happens next.  The plot had a lot of twists and turns, even if slightly predictable to an older reader, and you never really had a chance to catch your breath until the end.  My son is currently reading it at the moment and he is finding it just as action-packed as I did, to the point where he wants to read through dinner.  I'll be curious to know his take with regards to the predictability (he's thirteen) when he's finished.

I thought the characters were delightful and fun for such a novel.  Darrell made me laugh as he was always looking for spies and such around him and his constant obsession was fun to watch.  I do have to hand it to him though, as he was right more than once in this novel as some of the other characters were somewhat naive about being chased and the use of electronics out there. Darrell was hilarious in Berlin as he had this idea that the whole spy network originated in Germany because of the Berlin Wall - such fun.  The banter between them all was interesting and I enjoyed it immensely.  Lily should have shut off that tablet days earlier though, and I wondered how long it would take before someone took it away from her. And where did she find that never ending battery as my own tablet would never have lasted that long.  Amazing!! 
  
My only concern would be the level of knowledge a reader should already have about Copernicus and Ptolemy, and while the author does a credible job of explaining these historical figures to readers, it is still done in riddles and clues, and I know my own son was confused over certain concepts that I needed to explain to him.  I had already read a couple of biographies on Copernicus and Ptolemy, so I came into these novels with a rather high level of knowledge so my take on this is quite skewed. However, what it did do was open up some interesting discussions over the dinner table that were quite enjoyable so if reading continues to lead to that, I am all for it.  My son had never heard of Copernicus until this novel, and he is finding the research quite fascinating.  But would all readers be the same?  Not sure. 

Verdict
The Forbidden Stone was an enjoyable start to a new series by an author I have long admired for his children's series.  It was action-packed, full of suspense, had the secrets and riddles and clues that I love, was fun, and the characters were interesting.  There is a lot of room to grow and develop and I am really curious as to what happens next, especially as the author left off this book with quite an ending.  I am definitely looking forward to the release of book 2, The Serpent's Curse, coming in October 2014.