Latest Pendragon Book: "Raven Rise"

[Shaggy]

I hope I am not alone in saying that the ending of "Raven Rise" made the entire book almost completely pointless. So they almost beat the bad guys, they almost save the world, but in the end…they fail and they all get killed. !!! I mean, come on. It's obvious. You say there's going to be at least ten books. Then you kill all the good guys in the ninth. Of course they're going to come back to life! If they didn't, who else is gonna destroy Saint Dane? Dewey? So everyone's all fine and dandy.

In all the other books in the series, in each one, something important happens. A Territory is saved. A Territory is lost. A Traveler dies. Bobby learns more of the truth about the Travelers. But in "Raven Rise"…none of that. They fail to save the Territory, but they don't die (well, they do, but only for like five minutes). So what's the point? To show how evil and amazingly cruel Saint Dane is? Believe me, that point has been stressed enough in the other eight books. Yeah, yeah, the good guys learned a lesson, but come on. Was it really worth an entire book??

Any other opinions?

(Oh, by the way, I'm not saying the series is bad. Far from it. The first eight books I have truly enjoyed reading–they're funny, captivating, fairly well-written stories. The ninth one just wasn't up to par to me.)

[The Holy Saint, Grand High Poobah, Master of Monkeys, Ehlers]

so I haven't read this series. But well, if you're familiar with Arthurian legend, that's kind of how it ends. (and "Pendragon" is a reference to Arthur, no idea how much of  a point the book makes of that).

In Mallory, widely viewed as the closest thing to an "authoritative" version of the story of Camelot, due to fractures within the Round Table, Arthur is at war with Lancelot (over Gwenivere). He is pulled back when he learns that his bastard son is taking over the kingdom (due to the pleadings of the ghost of Gawain). He fights Mordred and they are actually about to sign a truce when a knight is bitten by a snake, which he then chops with his sword. The flash of steel is enough to set the tensions, already on the edge, to bloody, and the two armies destroy each other. Leaving Britain open to invasion from those dirty Saxons.

[Shaggy]

I see what you are saying, but there are several things you must consider if comparing the Pendragon series to Arthurian legends. First of all, considering "Raven Rise" is the ninth book in a series, reading the other eight leave you expecting certain things in the ninth. (You may not understand this not having read the book, but whether the good Travelers succeed in saving the Territory from Saint Dane, often a Traveler dies, etc.) Secondly, Arthurian legends are legends (obviously). And, although this is not always the case, legends often grow out of truths. It may be grossly exaggerated, distorted, and completely mixed up, but it often has a center of truth. If that is the case with Arthurian legend, you cannot compare. Those men (King Arthur, Lancelot, Knights of the Round Table, etc.) were not living their lives for the entertainment of others. When I pick up a book, most often I read it for entertainment–I take pleasure in it (and often learn something along the way). Along the same vein is the fact that authors create stories not only for the pleasure they get from it but to entertain their readers. A disappointing book is very different from a disappointing life story. Lastly, (please correct me if I'm wrong; I am not as familiar with Arthurian legend as I should wish to be) those who are killed do not ALL come back from the dead and have another go. In the Pendragon series, the good Travelers have a definitive goal: to save Halla (everything that ever was, is, or will be) from the evil clutches of Saint Dane. Each book is set on a different Territory (or "world" ). On each of those Territories, Saint Dane uses his supernatural powers and extreme knowledge of each world to bring the place to ruins. And in each book, he either succeeds, or his plans are foiled by Bobby and the good guys (this is most often the case). But in "Raven Rise" he succeeds in taking over the Territory and kills Bobby and his entire team. Then they come back to life and try again. Doesn't that make most of the book seem pretty pointless to you, if everyone's able to just try again?

[Reaves]

I read the first book, and it was alright. It was geared toward a younger age group than I had expected, but otherwise decent, until around a quarter of the way through when the author started beating me over the head with her ideas (it is a her, right?) that technology is evil in a less industrial world.

Also, I've only read the first book, but there was no connection at all between Arthur of the Round table and Bobby Pendragon, besides the last name. I guess its just the Rule of Cool.

Shaggy, does the series move towards an older age group, kind've like Harry Potter does? Or does it just stay in that early middle-school area?

[Shaggy]

Yeah it's about as far from Arthurian legend as you can get.

I think a big difference between Pendragon and the Harry Potter books is that throughout the Pendragon series, Bobby is constantly making jokes (and sometimes they're pretty funny). He's sort of a "roll-with-the-punches" kind of guy, and this creates a lighter atmosphere (in parts of the book) that is extremely different from the Harry Potter series. Although the book does progress a lot, in my opinion, it remains geared towards the young-teenage age group. But others may not necessarily find it so.

I think it's a man, actually.