DNF

I know this is a Brandon Mull book, but there are far too many unnecessary descriptions. I read up to page 70, and within the first chapter, it just really bored me. The plot barely appeals to me. Plus, isn't the vocabulary too much for a student less than 12 years old, I presume? Which is the age range aimed at this book, despite me being much older? Just slow down on those boresome, laggy, descriptions, then we'll talk.

overrasket over hvor god den var

This series is bottled nostalgia. I read the first three books in this series when I was around 9-10 years old, and I had a hazy, vague understanding of what I read at the time. I thought the animal bonds were neat, the only thing my little boy mind registered at the time. I was fully expecting to be let down by this. I'm older now, so what could a simple children's fantasy book do to grab my attention that a more meaty, expansive fantasy novel can do in a more nuanced way?

It turns out, simplicity can also work. Of course, you miss out on more grounded character moments, and the plot follows the classic MacGuffin structure of finding the powerful thing before the enemy does, but it is masked by the solid worldbuilding Mull accomplishes throughout the book. The reader is given paced breadcrumbs of info about the Greencloaks, animal bonding, and the different cities that they put together as the book progresses. Even though we can clearly see that Erdas is a clear distortion of the Earth, along with the continents and cultures within, I think that allows children will have an easier time understanding what the different places represent without having to go through more exposition.

There's four main characters in Wild Born, which constantly pass their perspective. This is probably one of the reasons why I like Five-Man Bands, especially those who start separate and have to grow a connection over time. Even though not all the characters are completely fleshed out (my boy Connor was completely ignored until half way though), their relationships are still written well for it to be noticeable. Meilin's fighting spirit clashing with her spirit animal's apparent laziness was the most interesting one, although I hope the future writers strike a fine balance between the two personalities, and Meilin isn't reduced to just a peacemaker.

The fact of the matter is that Mull is setting a foundation for the other books written by other authors to be built upon. I thought this resembled more of a blueprint; a pilot episode rather than what the actual series I remember contained. We'll have to see if they drop the ball.

Still, I wonder why I stopped at book 3...

I have decided that I'm going to give this a DNF. I just couldn't get into it, just wasn't my cup of tea.

http://imoox.blogspot.cz/2015/08/chcete-i-vy-spiritualni-zvire.html

If you like the Warrior cats, try this one - I'm loving Spirit Animals for ages 8 to 11. Four kids learn that they're needed to save the world - done very nicely, with subtlety and respect for the kids' individual personalities.

Older than Warrior cats, younger than Ranger's Apprentice.