Tuesday, January 31, 2017

Five Elements #1: The Emerald Tablet by Dan Jolley

The Emerald Tablet (Five Elements #1)My name is Brett, and I control Water. Gabe's going to move away, so my twin sister Lily and I did a friendship ceremony in an underground chamber. It turns out we each bonded with a different element, and we didn't find out until later that magick is the fifth element. I also didn't tell the others that a mysterious voice has been talking to me in my dreams and telling me what to do. It's my fault that my brother died last year, and the voice says I can still save him. The voice neglected to tell us that a psycho cult wants to get their hands on us now to unite our world with Arcadia, a world of pure magick. That's probably a bad idea based on the terrifying monsters that have already escaped Arcadia and are now hunting us. 

This book is similar to others in which characters develop powers and must save the world. Having the powers arise from a seemingly innocent friendship ceremony is unusual, and having one of the main characters manipulate his friends makes it more so. Kaz is an interesting character to follow. He is the character who reluctantly participates in the adventure but knows that they're in over their heads. He's also the character who fully embraces his powers when he discovers he can control the Earth. Quite a transformation! It was a little sad to see how the voice used Brett's despair for his brother to make him do things. Readers will know that all of his decisions have secrets behind them. This book is the beginning of the series, and I'm curious to know how the next one begins. Arcadia was introduced, but I imagine it will become a much bigger factor. The question is, how much bigger?

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