Merlin's Dragon #3: Ultimate Magic by T.A. Barron

This book is the final book in the trilogy, and I gave it a rating of four out of five. You can see my postings for the first two books below. Ultimate Magic picks up right where the second book left off. Merlin has left Avalon to return to Earth, and Basil is losing hope that he can stop Rhita Gawr's evil by himself. Basil, along with the other creatures of Avalon, fight off an evil army, only to then face a force of Rhita Gawr's evil leeches. Merlin's son helps Basil discover the location of the source of the evil power in Avalon, and Basil realizes that their only hope is to destroy it. However, Rhita Gawr is making plans to leave the Otherworld, so he can conquer Avalon himself. He is soaking up power from unimaginable sources and may become too mighty to overcome. Basil can't defeat Rhita Gawr by himself and receives help from unexpected allies. Will the help arrive in time, and will it be enough?

This book was the best of the trilogy and held my interest throughout. It reunited many of the characters from all three books, and a couple of them sacrificed their lives to save Avalon. Basil also found himself near death before friends came to his rescue. There were a number of enemies to defeat during the plot, but I knew the climax would be a showdown against Rhita Gawr. The resolution had an ironic element to it and left me wondering about the future of Avalon.

Merlin's Dragon #2: Doomraga's Revenge by T.A. Barron

This book is the second in the trilogy, and I gave it a rating of four out of five. Basil has grown into the most powerful dragon Avalon has ever known. However, Rhita Gawr sends messengers of evil into the realms of Avalon in the form of leeches. The leeches influence the residents to spread chaos, panic, and hatred throughout the land and give Doomraga, Rhita Gawr's chief minion, more power. Basil and Merlin travel all over Avalon stopping the uprisings of evil, but it causes Merlin to lose his family. His son disowns him, because he was never around to be a father.; Merlin didn't show his son attention once he discovered his son had no magical powers. The evil has overtaken many of the residents and others have given up hope. The evil power is growing and Basil and Merlin may not be able to stop it.

You need to read the first book before this one; you can see my post for it below. I like the strength and power that Basil has gained in this book, but I miss his underdog character from book one. This books develops more character relationships with Basil as the other people start to notice him. Many young adults may be able to identify with Merlin's relationship to his son. Parents who are too busy to give attention to their kids and parents who have exceedingly high expectations for their kids are common issues in our society. This series is great for fantasy lovers.

Merlin's Dragon #1 by T.A. Barron

This book is the first in a trilogy, and I gave it a rating of four out of five. The setting of this story is in the magical land of Avalon, a land beyond Earth where Merlin has returned to be married. One day, a small creature hatches from an egg and is named Basil due to the fact that he smells like that herb. None of the other creatures can identify his species, and he wants to become someone who makes a difference in the world. Basil dreams that a large beast attacks and kills Merlin, and he becomes determined to warn Merlin of the danger. Basil goes on a quest to eat a piece of soil from all of the realms in Avalon, and there are hints that this will make him something special. However, an evil being invades Avalon, and its presence puts the entire land in peril. Basil must find Merlin and warn him that the being may be gaining strength, but how can this little creature help in saving Avalon?

The plot follows the life of Basil as he grows up in Avalon. He doesn't grow much, so he spends much of his early life trying to survive the predators. I liked how Basil struggled to accept himself, because he seemed so small and insignificant. Some other characters were curious about him and sensed that he was something special. The conflict grew once he left the realm of his birth and attended Merlin's wedding. The plot builds to a climax against a seemingly unbeatable enemy, and Basil does something totally unexpected to defeat it.

Matched by Ally Condie

I gave this novel a rating of three out of five. The setting is sometime in the future where the Officials control almost every part of the citizens' lives. Cassie's best hopes are realized when she is matched to be married to her best friend, Xander. However, the day after the matching ceremony, Cassie sees that she's also been matched with another boy named Ky. The Officials say that Ky's matching was a mistake, but Cassie starts to wonder. She finds herself doing group activities with Ky and starts to have feelings for him. Cassie can't go against the plans of the Officials, so she must keep her feelings secret. She starts to notice some strange things about the Officials and wonders if there is something they're hiding. She also remembers the message shared by her grandfather before he died. How can one girl fight an entire society?

Readers who enjoy romance will probably love this book, but I needed more to the plot. The main conflict was Cassie and Ky's relationship against the Officials. The plot of this novel seemed to move slowly as the relationships between Cassie and Xander and Ky developed. The book has some strong feelings about the future of society, but it didn't interest me enough. Other novels like The Hunger Games and The Barcode Tattoo had similar messages about future societies, but they had more action to keep the plot flowing.

Incarceron by Catherine Fisher

This book has a rather unusual setting, and I gave it a rating of five out of five. Incarceron is a prison with a life of its own, literally. Finn is the main character living inside the prison, while Claudia is the main character living on the Outside. Finn believes he's from the Outside and has visions of past memories, but most people doubt that he came from somewhere else. He receives a crystal key as part of a ransom and hopes to use it to escape Incarceron. However, the band of thieves ruling inside the prison, the warden and queen living on the Outside, and Incarceron will not let that happen. Meanwhile, Claudia's father oversees Incarceron, although they live on the Outside. He's not a kind man and has arranged for Claudia to marry the son of the queen. Claudia was originally supposed to marry the queen's stepson, but he died unexpectedly. Claudia suspects murder, but she has no evidence. She finds a crystal in her father's study and discovers she can see and communicate with Finn. Little do they know how closely their past and futures are joined.

I had some trouble early on as I tried to grasp the meaning behind the setting of Incarceron. It's location should surprise you! The conflict and plot became clearer as Finn made plans to escape, and Claudia's wedding day drew nearer. I liked how the author kept me wondering about what was really going on even as Finn made his way through the prison. There always seemed to be lingering, unanswered questions. The questions are answered as the plot nears the climax, and a sequel seems likely with the way things were left during the resolution. The themes of friendship and trust are strongly demonstrated.

The Boy at the End of the World by Greg van Eekhout

Apparently, this book hasn't been published yet, but I gave it rating of four out of five. The setting is many years in the future after Man has managed to destroy himself. However, a young boy survives in an ark and is awakened by his robot protector when the ark comes under attack. The boy, Fisher, is accompanied by the robot, Click, and a small woolly mammoth, Protein, as he searches for other humans. Fisher discovers the existence of a second ark, but must survive attacks by deadly machines, mutant crocodiles, and giant parrots. He travels along what used to be the Mississippi River in search of other human survivors. The human race will become extinct if Fisher is unable to complete his quest. However, the whole quest may be useless if no other humans remain.

The conflict is interesting, and the author has a good amount of action to keep readers interested. Fisher's group is an unusual blend of characters as Click keeps trying to stop him from taking risks, and Protein leads the way while eating and pooping most of the time. I like how the author had the three characters bond even though they were so different. Fisher risked his life several times while trying to save the robot. The conflict became more and more difficult to resolve, and the climax was suspenseful and unexpected. It's a good read for people who enjoy science fiction.

The Undertakers: Rise of the Corpses by Ty Drago

The book I read was an advanced copy, and I gave it a rating of five out of five. This book is also the first in a new series. Our world is full of Corpses, an army of dead bodies that have been taken over by some type of beings, but most humans cannot see them. The corpses can be slowed down with salt water, swords, and other weapons, but they can't be killed. However, a small group of Undertakers, young teenagers who can see the true forms of the Corpses, have created a force to stop them. Will learns that his dead father was the founder of the Undertakers, and he was the only adult known to have the ability to see corpses. Will trains with them and learns about the history of the war, but there's a sense that something is different about him. He seems to have natural instincts, and the Corpses have made his capture their number one priority. He has visions of a woman speaking to him, and leaving "gifts", but who is she? Will goes on a couple of missions without permission from Tom, leader of the Undertakers. The missions almost end in disasters as friends are killed, and Will falls into the hands of the enemy. Will's antics may cost all of the Undertakers their lives.

The corpses make an interesting conflict for the plot. They are not slow-moving zombies; they are swiftly-moving warriors. The fact that they can't be killed makes the problem even larger; how can the Undertakers stop them? The plot jumped right into the action as Will gains the ability to see the corpses, and an undercover Undertaker saves him from them. Will's training took a little longer than I would have liked, but there was still some action along the way. The author did a nice job of keeping the Corpses/Undertaker war as the main conflict, but there were several subplots mixed in too. For example, Will's missions constantly challenged the authority of the Undertaker's leader which could eventually lead to its downfall. Also, who was the mystery woman who spoke to Will while he was unconscious? How did his broken arm heal so quickly? Can the Undertakers stay organized if Will's disobedience to Tom's orders causes others followers to disobey?