Marcus Sedgwick: The Ghosts of Heaven (2014)

    A cleverly interlinked novel written in four parts by PRINTZ AWARD-winning author, Marcus Sedgwick, about survival and discovery, and about the effect of the spiral, a symbol that has no end, on all our lives (Goodreads).

    Sedgwick creates a cool concept, with the four unique stories and compelling characters, but for all the anticipation of a mind-blowing novel, it doesn't really live up to the hype. Sure, it's mildly thought-provoking, but more like a nice collection of short stories slightly tied together, similar to Bradbury's Illustrated Man. In addition to stretching its connectivity, the possibility of reading the stories in different order is somewhat useless and doesn't really add anything (there is also the matter of there being an obvious conclusion in the final installment, tying the four together, rendering this concept of reading in any order somewhat useless). Other than the wasted potential, Sedgwick successfully builds great suspense in each story, and the use of verse in the opening is also a creative way to narrate, and what is very impressive about that is the way it stays compelling. The third tale is also quite intriguing and original, but the second and fourth, while still interesting, aren't quite up to par with the originality of the others, even though the last two are wonderfully emotional and profound. 6.9/10

Kevin Sands: The Assassin's Curse (2017)

    Wherever Christopher Rowe goes, adventure—and murder—follows. Even a chance to meet King Charles ends in a brush with an assassin. All that’s recovered from the killer is a coded message with an ominous sign-off: more attempts are coming (Goodreads).

     It was going to be difficult to follow up on the fantastic second book, but this third novel in Sands' historical mystery is really quite satisfying on many levels. A new setting is given to readers, this time exploring Paris instead of London, and the winding streets and secrets of the city give a good backdrop for the story. Christopher is, once again, very compelling, as are his two sidekicks, although it's becoming a bit Golden Trio, if you know what I mean. Tom especially branches out in this one, and provides good comic relief throughout. Sally, too, is fleshed out a bit more as well, which is great considering her character was a bit bland in the second book. Sands once again has readers on their toes throughout, giving several candidates for the main antagonist, but still giving a surprising twist at the end. The villains are adequately, well, villainous, but they are not developed quite as much as would be ideal, although the ending message could prove otherwise in the future. 8.1/10

William Goldman: The Princess Bride (1973)

    What happens when the most beautiful girl in the world marries the handsomest prince of all time and he turns out to be...well...a lot less than the man of her dreams (Goodreads)?

Fantastic characters certainly take the spotlight in Goldman's novel, with the Spaniard and the giant stealing the show, with their unusual friendship, from the two main protagonists themselves. Indeed, the two lovers are slightly less dynamic than ideal, as they have much less of a compelling background than either Inigo or Fezzik. However, all characters throughout (Goldman himself included) strut their stuff as an entertaining and humorous plot takes place. Goldman's writing (or perhaps it is S. Morgenstern's) moves so quickly, and readers are thrust from one exciting plot point to another, with Goldman's amusing commentary providing a refreshing pit stop in the midst of fast-paced storytelling (sometimes so fast-paced that one may have to track back a few sentences). The ending is somewhat satisfactory, but readers are still left hunting for a continuation of the tale (part of which is satisfied in the annals of the 30th anniversary edition). 8.4/10

Stephen R. Lawhead: The Warlords of Nin (1983)

    An urgent message summons Quentin to Castle Askelon. The king, who is dying, wishes to name the brave young man his successor. But first, he sends him on an unfathomable mission (Goodreads).

As verbose and dense as it is, Lawhead's second advancement into universe-building is, well, alright. The dialogue is dry and stretched out, but what action there is is well described and somewhat entertaining. A select few scenes are particularly well done, but the rest of the novel is so extremely over-described that these scenes are almost not worth it. Similar to the first installment, the character development is unrealistic and the entire plot, almost every aspect, is highly anticipated and, yes, cliche. Lawhead obviously tries to keep pace with other, more renowned world-builders such as Tolkien and Lewis, but his attempts fall rather flat in nearly every area. The main antagonist is once again extinguished extremely weakly, after having no interactions with the protagonists. The one main addition to the protagonist's side completely vanishes after only a short time in the plot, while the climax is one of least suspense, as the very element of salvation for the seemingly doomed heroes is introduced before they are even at their most underdog-like status, therefore rendering the hopelessness that is woven throughout the novel (which might have been a good element otherwise) completely useless. Lawhead switches between points of view rather smoothly, but scenes that don't really lead to anything and almost no plot twists make the novel similar to a flat soda. 6.6/10

Rick Riordan: The Ship of the Dead (2017)

    Magnus and his crew must sail to the farthest borders of Jotunheim and Niflheim in pursuit of Asgard's greatest threat. Will they succeed in their perilous journey, or is Ragnarok lurking on the horizon? (Goodreads).

    Look, Riordan writes an entertaining novel. I won't deny that. If he wrote entertaining novels with some variety, I would be really on board. YET AGAIN, we are given a predictable and overused plot, this time Riordan using his 'motley crew on board a magic ship' card that he has used before. To round it all off, the Argo III-I mean, the Big Banana-has a shapeshifter, a blonde guy, and someone who doesn't understand modern cultures. All of whom, I might add, are far more interesting than Magnus himself, making me wish that it was written from their perspective instead. There is an absolutely fantastic scene in Hearthstone's story that almost redeemed the book, but unfortunately is a small part in building up to a, frankly, cheesy climax. Maybe Percy could have redeemed it, I don't know. But whatever the case, his involvement in the plot was pointless, to say the least. To top off this cake of cliches and dull narration, there is the LITERAL CHOCOLATE SYRUP of a stupid romance subplot. Not because one character is gender-fluid, mind, but because it is stupid. 5.7/10

Stephen R. Lawhead: In the Hall of the Dragon King (1982)

    Carrying a sealed message from the war-hero Dragon King to the queen, Quentin and his outlaw companion, Theido, plunge headlong into a fantastic odyssey and mystic quest (Goodreads).

    What starts out as a cliché, slightly dull fantasy actually evolves into an entertaining and well-written novel (although still fairly cliché). The plot jumps right into the action, and although this may be a positive, it gives no background for our protagonist, and we are not able to connect with him as much as we would like. Boring exposition in the first half gives way to much more exciting and intriguing details, although the main character disappears slightly during the climax. His character development, while interesting, is slightly unrealistic and dull, although the rest of the characters are interesting enough. A well-executed and exciting climax (still cliché) is, unfortunately, followed up by a somewhat lame resolution, where the villain, living up to his unexciting and lethargic character, is put down almost as weak as movie-version Voldemort. 6.7/10

Kevin Sands: Mark of the Plague (2016)

    The Black Death has returned to London, spreading disease and fear through town. A mysterious prophet predicts the city’s ultimate doom—until an unknown apothecary arrives with a cure that actually works. Christopher’s Blackthorn shop is chosen to prepare the remedy. But when an assassin threatens the apothecary’s life, Christopher and his faithful friend Tom are back to hunting down the truth, risking their lives to untangle the heart of a dark conspiracy (Goodreads).

    Rarely is the sequel superior to the original, but the second installment of the Blackthorn Key series is just that. Instead of a simple, mildly engaging plot, readers are given a mystery that finds our protagonist (retaining his compelling and entertaining traits of the previous novel) working through a horrifyingly brilliant setting. Having two possible candidates for an antagonist throughout the story is a wonderful strategy to keep readers on their toes, and Sands is still able to shock readers with a surprising plot twist amidst an exciting and emotional climax. The characters, both good and evil alike, are interesting (although one addition to the protagonist's side falls a bit flat) and the plot is extremely entertaining, while still retaining humorous and dark aspects alike. 8.4/10