I’ll admit I’m having a hard time coming up with things to say about book three of the Fablehaven series. Perhaps I read it too quickly with a few too many distractions around. Or, perhaps it suffers from “middle of the series syndrome” where events must happen to help support the storyline for the entire series.
Like in the first two books, Mull has created a fun fantasy story that’s clear enough that the YA age group won’t get lost but has enough twists to keep things interesting.
I’m happy to say that the more Mull writes the better he gets. In the first book his main characters, Seth and Kendra, were flat and predictable. He also chose to include a few uncomfortably gross parts of the story. In book two Seth and Kendra came across much more realistic, but Mull struggled with character voice and redundancy.
Here in book three none of the previous issues caught my attention. The only thing I would bother to mention is now the plot comes across as a bit contrived. Problems are neatly lined up for Seth and Kendra to solve and the steps required to solve them present themselves at the right times in the story. Even the surprises, of which there are few, have the feeling of being too convenient.
I won’t go and give away the story, if you want to read about it there is a Wiki link down below. All in all, I liked it. It was an easy read and exactly what I needed to relax. I’m regretting not waiting to read it until after finishing the first book of Goodkind’s “Sword of Truth” series. I need something light and innocent after reading that!
My reviews of the rest of the series:
Fablehaven: Rise of the Evening Star (#2)
Fablehaven: Secret of the Dragon Sanctuary (#4)
Fablehaven: Keys to the Demon Prison (#5)
My Literary Quest 
Sigh. Now I have to add THESE to the leaning tower of “Books to be read”.
Only if you want to! There are reams of literary fluff out there, I chose this series because I think I know the author.
That cover is the most horrendously cliche fantasy art i’ve seen in aaaaages! :S
And even better, it showcases a fairly trivial part of the story. Mull makes noble centaurs into self-centered ego maniacs just to add more drama to a scene.
What kind of “distractions”??? {{wink}}
The kind that crawl into your bed and start poking your eyes at 6am.
beautiful, you are such an amazing writer
Cliche the book cover may be, but YA’s always find centaurs fascinating.
Along with dragons, elves, and Orlando Bloom [sigh]. I refuse to include elves and dwarfs for that reason alone.
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