Kaza Kingsley

I do not care to be impatiently yanked along for an adventure I am not sure I want to be having.

Make no mistake, I love being dropped into the fray from straight out.
But I absolutely loath authors being all rush-rush - the exact thing that happens straight away in this book. It's like I was having my back impatiently pushed to "Go on, go on! NO dawdling! Adventure ahead! GO ON!" Annoying is what it is.

The cloudy thoughts thing? That's enough to put me off reading these books altogether. That's too convenient a device, something that is sure to be most thoroughly abused. Not to mention this implies a very real lack of free will - a big resounding NO.

If the first few chapter are anything to go by, the solutions will magically pop up all on their own, with no real effort put in by the protagonist. That's no way to go. Abysmal.

I would not put this book in the hands of an adult, let alone a child. I find it disturbing that a lack of free will on a person's part can inspire a loyal following. I cannot for the life of me understand how depriving someone of their right to make a choice can be seen as a good thing.

What kind of message does this give you?

I would not want my kids to come away believing that some invisible intangible force shall make them do the right thing. That's not how people work. Our choices define us.

Frodo made a choice to carry the Ring.
Harry Potter chose to fight.
Coraline chose to act.
Alice chose to follow the white rabbit.

Not to mention no solutions magically appear before us on a silver platter in the nick of time.

I have not read far enough into the story to make any comparisons to Harry Potter series - as many of the reviewers are wont to do. There's hardly any need. I have seen enough to draw my own conclusions.

!!!WOULD NOT RECOMMEND TO ANYONE, PLEASE STIR CLEAR!!!… (altro)

I tend to give every book I enjoyed a four star rating and am stingy with the five stars, saving them for my very favorite series. This book is really more of a 4.5 for me, in part because it was so much better than the cover (and some Audible reviews) had led me to expect.

I absolutely adore the young adult fantasy worlds of Harry Potter, Artemis Fowl, and Septimus Heap, as well as those created by Diana Wynne Jones, but many of the "just like ..." books I've read fall short of evoking a similar kind of charming and whimsical world that is nonetheless distinctly original to the series.

The first book in the Erec Rex series surprised me by being charming and whimsical right off the bat -- and the author isn't even British! (Although the publishers wisely decided on a British narrator for the audiobook version.) I'm sure critics can find parallels between the world of Erec Rex and other popular young adult fantasy worlds, and sure some aspects of the "hero's journey" are familiar. But that's less of a case of "ripping off" Harry Potter than it is a case of tapping into fantasy and epic paradigms that existed long before JK Rowling took pen to napkin.

I was thoroughly charmed and immediately bought the next book in the series. I wasn't able to find the audio version through my Scribd subscription, but here's hoping they add it soon!… (altro)