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gregisdead121_'s review
3.0
Pulled back to the magical world beneath the staircase the three heros are tasked with helping princess keeha. After the theft of a powerful jewel it becomes imperative that it's returned given the advantage it poses for the imperialist emperor . It's an adequate book for any children 10 and up and provides an orientation into the fantasy genre that can be foundational in engagement with further series.
fyziksgirl's review
adventurous
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
3.75
The kids liked it
ricksilva's review
adventurous
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.0
This was my first introduction to this series, and it's the second book, so most of the introductory stuff has been taken care of. Erik Hinkle has a magical stairway leading to the world of Droon in his basement. When he and his friends all have dreams about the magical world, they know that the staircase will be open for them to travel to a new adventure.
They soon find themselves helping their friend Princess Keeah sneak into the realm of the evil Lord Sparr to retrieve a magical stone.
The format here is a bit like Mary Pope Osborne's Magic Treehouse series, except that the destination for the magical travels is an original fantasy world. This leaves a lot of worldbuilding potential, some of which works well, and other of which results in a species of sentient cushion-people.
The action is fairly good, but I felt like the character development was lacking. Erik and his friends Julie and Neal felt pretty much interchangeable, without much in the way of personalities, and wizard-mentor-figure Galen Longbeard is about as generic as you can get. Keeah, and, somewhat surprisingly, the villain Lord Sparr, are a bit more interesting, although Sparr still resorts to yelling things like "Seize them!" more than anyone written after about 1980 should. The best character is the witch Demither, who has been compelled to serve Sparr, and who will hopefully get a lot more screentime in future volumes in the series, as she appears only briefly here but still totally steals the show.
They soon find themselves helping their friend Princess Keeah sneak into the realm of the evil Lord Sparr to retrieve a magical stone.
The format here is a bit like Mary Pope Osborne's Magic Treehouse series, except that the destination for the magical travels is an original fantasy world. This leaves a lot of worldbuilding potential, some of which works well, and other of which results in a species of sentient cushion-people.
The action is fairly good, but I felt like the character development was lacking. Erik and his friends Julie and Neal felt pretty much interchangeable, without much in the way of personalities, and wizard-mentor-figure Galen Longbeard is about as generic as you can get. Keeah, and, somewhat surprisingly, the villain Lord Sparr, are a bit more interesting, although Sparr still resorts to yelling things like "Seize them!" more than anyone written after about 1980 should. The best character is the witch Demither, who has been compelled to serve Sparr, and who will hopefully get a lot more screentime in future volumes in the series, as she appears only briefly here but still totally steals the show.
avidreader5678's review
adventurous
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
priya_sankaran05's review
4.0
This became a quick read this time.
The 3 friends had a dream about Droon and landed up in the desert at night time. They met princess Keeyah, Galen, max, Leep and Khan the lumpy king of the Lumpland.
Lord Sparr had recently used the eye of dawn to burn one of lumpy villages, so every body were eager to get it back from him. But burning the village had hurt lord sparr in some way and he went hiding to his secret palace in kano. Its a dangerous and dark place, a palace inside a volcano.
The group somehow find the gate and go inside Kano and similar to the dreams of the 3 friends, they faced some danger but were able to retrieve the eye of dawn. Demither the witch (looks like a mermaid) helped them. They also find out Lord Sparr's secret that he has become some kind of monster creature and has to drink from the water inside the volcano (where the Demither lives) to take human form again. Demither also tells Keeyah that her mom is alive, which gives he a lot of hope.
Finally everybody is out and back to safety awaiting many more such adventures and the opportunity to unravel the mysteries of Droon
The 3 friends had a dream about Droon and landed up in the desert at night time. They met princess Keeyah, Galen, max, Leep and Khan the lumpy king of the Lumpland.
Lord Sparr had recently used the eye of dawn to burn one of lumpy villages, so every body were eager to get it back from him. But burning the village had hurt lord sparr in some way and he went hiding to his secret palace in kano. Its a dangerous and dark place, a palace inside a volcano.
The group somehow find the gate and go inside Kano and similar to the dreams of the 3 friends, they faced some danger but were able to retrieve the eye of dawn. Demither the witch (looks like a mermaid) helped them. They also find out Lord Sparr's secret that he has become some kind of monster creature and has to drink from the water inside the volcano (where the Demither lives) to take human form again. Demither also tells Keeyah that her mom is alive, which gives he a lot of hope.
Finally everybody is out and back to safety awaiting many more such adventures and the opportunity to unravel the mysteries of Droon
bookdragon_library's review
4.0
I felt like this series is a little bit of a beginners Harry Potter with a trio of friends. Switching from real world to a magical world. Quests and magic and adventure. Fairly short books great for kids just getting in to fantasy fiction.
vermidian's review
5.0
They're simple little books, but they're such a great adventure. I read these when I was growing up and even now, reading it as someone who's almost 25, the world and the ideas floating around in the background are really fantastic. Like seriously, what other book can you name that puts a mermaid in a lake in the tunnels of a volcanic mountain? Or a gate to a hidden place in the desert that can only be seen when viewed using water, either covered in it or in the reflection of it? They're just such great kids books.