Book Review – Chronicles of the Red King: The Secret Kingdom by Jenny Nimmo

Title: The Chronicles of the Red King: The Secret Kingdom

Author: Jenny Nimmo

Format: Hardback

Written: 2011

Published: 2011

Having read the entire series of Charlie Bone and his adventures as he learns to understand his special powers and the powers of those who go to school with him, it was perfectly logical to want to read about his predecessor, the man from whom all endowed children of the series came from.  I admit when I approached this book I was a little cautious considering I had only recently finished reading another book by Jenny Nimmo and was less than enthralled by it.  Yet with this book, I was not disappointed.

 

After reading and enjoying the story of a small African boy named Timoken and his flying camel Gabar, I have concluded that Jenny’s earlier words are not as good as her later works.  I’ve heard it said that an author’s first published work is quite possibly their best as they had to prove themselves to be published and once there the effort to do better is not much.  Jenny Nimmo though is the opposite of this adage and her work has vastly improved over time.  The characters are amusing and have depth and the story is just fun to follow as Timoken learns of the magic he had had since shortly after birth as he quests for several hundred years trying to find a home as he had lost his.

 

One of the best parts of the story was how well it tied in to the series that it was designed to precursor and when it came to a long span of time Jenny would recap and move on which was nice to keep the pace of the book going without rushing things too much that I felt lost.  The progression of relationships and interactions made sense and flowed very well and I would have to say that I would happily recommend this book, particularly if you are a fan of the Charlie Bone series that was written before this book.  Overall, I would give this book a 4 out of 5 page rating.

Book Review- Alice in the Country of Hearts vol 4

Book: Alice in the Country of Hearts vol 4, first edition

Author: QuinRose

Illustrator: Soumei Hoshino

Published: 2009

Publisher: Tokyopop

Translated into English: 2010

 

The fourth book in the Alice in the Country of Hearts series picks up where the last left off, with Alice both horrified and frustrated at the total disregard for life. She is found by Boris, who takes her to the amusement park in order to get her mind off of the horrors she witnessed, and she tries to convince him how important he is to her. Meanwhile, we begin to find out the motives of some, and a few more rules in the mysterious Wonderland.

Okay, I admit it. I totally fan-girled over the fact that Boris showed up in over half this book. He is one of, if not my absolute, favorite character in this series, and to see so much of his personality come through was just awesome! Yes, I know I am a full on geek for this, but I can’t help loving such a sweet character. As for Ace, well, after what happened in the last book and what came to light in this one, I was a bit disappointed with him initially, until I started really looking at it. I felt strangely sad over how much he wants to be different, wants to feel something, and it leaves you hoping he finds what he is looking for. Other than that, there really was not too much that was remarkable about this book. The graphics were awesome as usual, the story decently interesting. Overall, I give it 3 pages.