In a Reality Faar, Faar Away... (Pendragon: The Lost City of Faar - D.J. MacHale)

Member Name: shroud

Product:	Pendragon: The Lost City of Faar - D.J. MacHale
Date:	03/12/08 (125 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: well imagined, smoothly plotted

Disadvantages: none really, though for full enjoyment, the first in the series should be read beforehand

I was seriously hoping that the promise shown by the first novel would be more fully realised in later offerings, and boy did MacHale deliver. In just the second instalment of the series, he manages to deliver such a fully realised reality that looking up from this book was a disappointing return to the real world. Forget the laundry, I wanted to read another chapter!

Uncle Press is still teaching Bobby what it means to be a Traveller, and how to handle their responsibilities which basically happens to be saving the universe from penultimate evil. Bobby is still trying to wrap his head around his family's existence disappearing from his own Territory as if none of them ever existed, save for the personal memories of those who knew them, when it's time to take another trip to yet another Territory. Another Territory means another face off with the evil Saint Dane, and having to figure out what his dastardly plot is. But no one can know they are form else where and when, so its time to learn the local customs, blend in, and try to sort out things with this Territory's own Traveller. Piece of cake, right? You have to be joking...

If it all sounds a bit super spy in a sci fi setting, you would be right for, as the publisher itself explains, this is epic fantasy for the Alex Rider generation. Forget fairies and wizards though, this is science fiction with a futuristic water world at the core of the story. Part Atlantean mythos and part pulp sci fi, MacHale breathes a rare realism into this world that makes it as believable as if we saw it with our own eyes. Once again we experience the adventure via both first person journals and third person narration, which is done deftly so that we get both sides of the story weaving together comprehensibly. The teenage angst and deep soul searching are also both realistic for the ages of the protagonists, as well as providing an impetus for the series as the young Travellers develop. The climax was as it should be, quite exciting, though a bit predictable having a Hollywood ending sort of feel, but then these sort of books always do!Overall, it was a great story, well imagined and superbly told.

An incarnation of this review may also be found over on The Book Bag.

Summary: The potential ripens in this sequel.