The Pendragon Series by D.J. MacHale ~ Review by Austin

 


The Pendragon Series by D.J. MacHale


Amazon.com Review


In Pendragon: The Merchant of Death, D.J. MacHale, the creator of several popular television series and After school Specials, transplants the Pendragon name from Arthurian legend to modern-day junior high school. Fourteen- year-old Bobby Pendragon has it all; he's smart, popular, and a star basketball player in quiet Stony Brook, Connecticut. But a visit from Uncle Press soon topples all of that as Bobby learns that he is a Traveler, someone who can ride "flumes" through time and space. 


Bobby lands in Denduron, a medieval world where the gentle Milago are enslaved by the Bedoowan, and it's Bobby's job to free them. He reluctantly teams up with Loor--a girl his age from the warrior-territory of Zadaa--and other Travelers, recounting his adventures in journals that are magically transported back to his friends Mark and Courtney in Stony Brook. These first-person journals at times feel contrived--they're riddled with terms like "coolio" and "bizarro" and gnarly descriptions of vile sights and smells--but the book's thumping story soon scrubs away all such concern.
 
My Review

These are just the first four book of ten in the series of books. I will post another review soon on the rest as I read them. Of all of the books I have read so far, I believe they are very good. 
 
In the books there are ten different territories. Each territory is a different universe. Each universe is so different and so imaginative. It's either technology that is so advanced, or in pre-historic times. Sometimes it is a mixture of both. Each territory has diffrent culturews and ways of living. I find it very original. Especially in the third book The Never War , I was so tense and the series had built up so much that I kept sneaking away from my chores to read. Shhhhhhh, don't tell my mom (Aaronswoman ). D.J. MacHale in the third book took an historical tragedy The Hindenburg and put his own twist on it and his own version of how it crashed. Yet, it still fit perfectly in the book. His way of telling a story can make you believe almost anything. You will definitely feel like you are on a journey.

All of these things make this one of the most original and imaginable series I've ever read. MacHale is an excellent story teller. I applaud him and give this series an 8.5 out of 10. That is pretty much perfection in my book. Also a clean read. Cool.

~ Austin


Parents should know:  This is a pretty clean read, but it has some minor cuss words.  For more information, go to The Pendragon Series on Parental Book Reviews.