Charlie Bone and the Red Knight
by Jenny Nimmo
Children of the Red King, book 8
Charlie and his friends take on the most powerful and dangerous magic in book eight of this extraordinary series. As wicked forces come to a head at Bloor's Academy, Charlie and his friends must use all their magic and all their might to fight the evil and save Charlie's parents.
In his greatest adventure yet, Charlie must discover the fate of his family, the evil intention of the Bloors, what has become of Septimus Bloor's will, and most important, the destiny of the Red Knight's heirs. But are the Children of the Red King strong enough to defeat the darkness and find their answers?
Join Charlie and his friends as they race to unlock the mystery of the Red King in this final chapter...
(description taken from Amazon.com)
It was hard to see this series finally come to an end. When I was in my post-Harry slump, Charlie came along and took me on another magical ride. Nimmo was able to create another hero that I was wholeheartedly rooting for, with great family and friends, and intriguing enemies to battle!
I loved the first few books in the series, enjoyed the ones in the middle, and overall liked the final book. I did feel like, however, that maybe parts of this book could have been fleshed out and it could have been split into two books.
There were some really awesome twists (*no spoilers, I swear!) and awesome new magic, like a giant floating globe made of the world's oceans, and Charlie discovers some whopping secrets. Allegiances change, new friendships are forged, and the battle lines are finally, firmly drawn...and then it wraps up in one chapter.
One. One chapter. That was my only real issue. It just ended so abruptly! I wasn't prepared. There was a lot of set up, then BAM. There you go. The end. It almost hurt a little!
Has anyone else read these? Did you have the same reaction?
I gave up on this series after the second book. All the way through, I just wanted to yell at Charlie to go talk to the man playing the piano already. It felt like a cheap Harry Potter knock off to me, though I did read something that made me think perhaps I wasn't being fair to Nimmo.
ReplyDeleteWhen they first came out, it was close enough time-wise, that it was very comparable to "Harry Potter," but these books did have a charm of their own. I was just a little disappointed with the actual execution of the last book. The way the storyline went was actually very good.
ReplyDeleteI've read them all the way up to no.7- I didn't know number 8 had come out. I'm not desperate to read it, but I found the first few very good, and then the rest sort of middleish. But I love Jenny Nimmo's books, so I kind of feel obliged to.
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