The Heir to the Amulet
by S.P. Meijer
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
Reviewed for +Readers' Favorite
The Heir to the Amulet mixes the ideas of Knights and old world, medieval places and areas or countries with futuristic, high-tech places and areas or countries and blends them into a story of mystery and intrigue, kidnapping and sabotage. Raith was success in her attempt to take over the country of Cymnosa, but the Queen and her children managed to escape. Years later, Queen Sarah has vanished in a plan crash, and the heir, Lora is living under a false identity in another country, while Richie is under the control of an evil Uncle. When Raith makes a bid to get the remaining two nations fighting, Lora undertakes the adventure of a lifetime to save her brother, her best friend and new friend, along with the rest of the world, in +S. P. Meijer's fantasy epic adventure.
Lost heir's are a dime a dozen, but Lora is different, she is 16 but packs a powerfulful determination into that body to right the wrongs of the world. You like her from the beginning. Her best friend Stephen is the son of the King of Magoria, although the King doesn't quite like her.+S.P. Meijer focuses on the kids, they are the heros of the book, they are the ones who get out there and make things happen. It's not the King or The Queen or any adult, although at times they help a bit, but it is mainly a group of 16 to 10 year old kids. That is what makes The Heir to The Amulet so good for kids to read. It gives them a sense of empowerment and encouragement, that they aren't too small and their voice matters.
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The Conquered Shore
by Mark Whiteway
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
This book may be the fifth book in the series, but it is the first one that I have read. Normally, I hate to do that. I have this thing about reading books in order. It just happened that I got this book without knowing about the others until it was too late, so I went ahead and jumped in. Let me say this about that, you can do that. This book can easily stand on it’s own very well. I don’t think I missed anything by not reading the others first, although now I want to read them.
Science Fiction has always been a favorite genre of mine. It allows you to think of worlds so far away and so different. That is one of the things I loved the most about this book, the world that it created. This is the story of how the people that live on the planet now actually came to live on the planet and how the planet came to look the way it looks now. It hasn’t always been like this.
You meet Keris and McCann and they are searching for a stolen memory ball, or orb. You will really only see these characters and the now timeline, briefly in the beginning of the book to set up the story, a couple of times in the story and at the end of the story. The rest of the book is what they see in the memory ball of when the people first landed on the planet and what happened to make it what it is now.
I found myself understanding certain characters more than others. Being able to relate to them and wanting them to win out over others. It’s not a typical good vs evil, it is more can two cultures co-exist together on the same planet? I knew pretty quickly where I landed and it was easier to see the reasoning that one side put forth. The beauty of it is that you can take some of the bits of the final ten chapters and apply them to current life. Use them as teaching moments with your teens. I am always looking for books that I can do that with, and I will be able to do that with this one.
It is well-written. The dialogue and descriptions are not too wordy, but give you enough to allow you to picture it in your mind. I would recommend it to adults and teens alike. In fact I have already passed my copy on to my teenage son. This is a great book. If you like science fiction, or even if you think you might like reading about another planet, this is one you should go for.
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