Kendra and her younger brother Seth couldn't be much more different. She's an advanced student, afraid to take chances and afraid to fail. Seth
stints on classwork and sees warning signs as invitations. No wonder he has all sorts of friends and she has next to none. Normally, they wouldn't
hang around together, but for the next seventeen days of their summer vacation they're stuck with each other. Mom and Dad are going on a cruise, so
the kids have to stay at their reclusive grandparents' home in the hills of Connecticut, in the middle of miles of woods (which Seth thinks sounds
cool, but which Grandpa won't even let them explore.) It's not like they know much about their father's parents, either; they rarely attend family
gatherings, and don't seem to leave their estate much at all. Soon, Kendra and Seth learn that there's more to their grandparents and the estate
grounds than initially meets the eye. Keys, puzzles, and forbidden adventures in the woods soon reveal a centuries-old secret, a sanctuary for
magical beings... and a great danger from another age, about to break free. Now, the question isn't how they'll keep themselves busy during their
stay - it's whether or not they'll survive it.
Review
When all is said and done, Fablehaven is fairly typical of this kind of story: kids dropped off with "eccentric" relatives, kids snoop
about and discover a magical world which adults may or may not know about, kids get caught up in a life-or-death struggle to save said world (and
usually our own), and kids survive for the ending and, more often than not these days, a sequel or ten. Given that, Mull actually manages to make his
characters somewhat distinct and - for the most part - reasonably intelligent, and while he goes out of his way (almost impossibly so) to reduce the
body count at the end, he manages to keep enough of a threat going to make things interesting. He also creates some nice mental images, and paints
the denizens of Fablehaven in a memorable manner. I can't really get angry with it for being what it is, as I can't really blame it for the fact that
I've read so many other, roughly similar tales of varying quality. So ultimately, while this isn't the most original story I've read, I was fairly
satisfied, and didn't want my money back. I might even read the next book, if I find it out in paperback.
Last summer, Kendra and her kid brother Seth went to visit their grandparents out in the country, and stumbled into an adventure filled
with fairies, imps, monsters and more. To save the magical sanctuary of Fablehaven from a terrible threat, Kendra turned in desperation to the
Fairy Queen for help, and was marked forevermore. Normally, her fairy gifts don't bother her much in the ordinary world... until a new student
joins her in the eighth grade, one week before summer break. Everyone else thinks he's the cutest boy on campus, but Kendra's fairy-gifted
sight sees through to the hideous hobgoblin within. Worse, he seems to know that she's aware of his true nature. Kendra knows this can't be a
good sign.
The Society of the Evening Star, a dark group which seeks the exploitation of magical beasts and subjugation of mankind, is on the move, and has
targeted Fablehaven. Somewhere on the grounds, a powerful artifact lies hidden, one of five keys to a demonic prison. With the help of the
enigmatic Sphinx, Grandma and Grandpa have brought in three new allies to find and retrieve the artifact for relocation to a new, more secure
sanctuary - but from the start, trouble and betrayals dog their efforts. A traitor is in their midst, and with the Society gathering to strike,
time is running out.
Review
I read Fablehaven some time ago, and while I enjoyed it, I never foresaw myself following the series further. After reading an abyssmal
book, however, I found a renewed appreciation for what Mull did with the generic "modern-kids-find-magical-world" formula, and vowed to read the
second Fablehaven book if I ever found it cheap enough. So, when I saw this book for sale at a thrift store for under a buck, I grabbed
it.
Unlike some series authors, Mull doesn't spend much time on recaps, plunging right into Kendra and Seth's new adventures; new readers will likely be
disoriented at times. The children were both changed to some degree by their first visit to Fablehaven, but still have more growing up to do. Bookish
Kendra is more willing to take risks and bend rules, and even Seth's seemingly self-destructive adventurous streak is tempered, if slightly, by past
experiences. The action picks up quickly. Mull always has at least one ball in the air, but manages to juggle them adroitly, making for a fast read
with few, if any, lulls. While some elements of the plot prove predictable, other parts are pleasantly original. Fablehaven remains, as it was in the
first book, a domain of both wonders and dangers, where even the most beautiful and innocent-seeming magical creatures almost invariably have a deadly
side. Once in a while the dialog feels awkward, and the humor leans toward the low-brow. On the whole, though, it's a worthy and entertaining sequel
to the first volume. I expect I'll track down the next book eventually, to see how things go from here.
The Fablehaven series, Book 3 Brandon Mull Aladdin Fiction, MG Fantasy Themes: Fantasy Races, Fairies and Kin, Girl Power, Hidden Wonders, Plagues ***+
Description
Sometimes, Kendra and Seth can hardly believe how their lives have changed in two short years, ever since that fateful summer when they
discovered the secret, magical sanctuary of Fablehaven on their grandparents' wooded estate. Kendra, granted strange powers by the Fairy
Queen herself, becomes a potential pawn in the growing power struggle between the Knights of the Dawn and the dark Society of the Evening
Star. Her reckless brother Seth has faced down undead revenants and been swallowed by a gluttonous demon... activities which, he soon
discovers, have left their own mark upon him. But the summer draws to a close, and their parents are starting to wonder why the kids haven't
come home to prepare for the new school year. Firm disbelievers in all things magical, they cannot understand the dangerous forces working
to topple Fablehaven... and the dangerous eyes that would fall upon Kendra and Seth as soon as they leave the sanctuary's borders.
Earlier this summer, one of the artifact keys to the demon prison realm of Zzyzx was removed from Fablehaven by the Sphinx, an immortal ally
of the Knights since before remembrance - but an unlikely informant has left dark hints that he may in fact be working toward the Society's
evil interest, seeking to open the prison gates instead of keeping them closed for eternity. When word comes of a Knight mission to retrieve
and relocate another artifact, Kendra and her fairy gifts must be there to help... and to make sure that Society agents - or the
potentially-traitorous Sphinx - doesn't get there first. Meanwhile, at Fablehaven, Seth and his grandparents find a plague spreading through
the magical populace, turning beings of light into beings of dark and friends into deadly enemies. Is it the work of the Society of the Evening
Star, or the Sphinx - and can they root out the source in time to keep the magical sanctuary from falling into chaos and ruin?
Review
Full of imaginative settings, creatures, and situations, this third installment nevertheless sags under its own weight, with two previous
action-filled volumes pressing firmly upon its back. Catch-up notes are few and far between; Mull throws the reader back into the story as though
no time had elapsed between reading the first two books and this one. For some readers, that's likely true, but for those of us trying to get back
into Fablehaven after some time away it wasn't so easy. The dialog and narrative sometimes feel stilted and forced, pushing the
characters and their thoughts where they need to go instead of letting them move freely. Dark undertones continue to add depth and weight to the
story, as even the most frivolous-seeming magical being is shown - quite literally - to have a dangerous shadow just beneath the surface. Kendra
shows signs of growing up, while Seth, despite some hard lessons learned in previous adventures, still seems prone to backsliding and putting
himself in needless danger. The climax requires both of their skills, and even then exacts a greater toll than either one could have
anticipated.
Overall, I found this volume less immersive and somewhat more tedious to get through. Still, having come this far, I expect I'll eventually read the
final two books of the Fablehaven saga... provided I can find them cheap enough.
