The Source of Magic

Title: The Source of Magic
Author: Piers Anthony
Rating: Three Guitars

Sizzilin' Summary:
Bink's now a married man, and Chameleon is going to have a baby... and she's in her "smart" phase, meaning she's grumpy. When Bink's talent causes trouble, King Trent sends Bink to find the source of Xanth's magic. With Bink are Bink's friends, Chester the centaur (who's wife is also having a baby, which is a foal in the centaur's case), and Crombie the soldier (he's not having baby trouble, since he HATES women). Trent even turns Crombie into a griffin for this quest. The Good Magician Humfrey also joins them, though he knows something: the quest could possibly destroy the magic of Xanth!
But a hidden enemy hounds them during their quest. Bink's magic and the others' abilities help them to survive, but will they defeat this hidden enemy?
Even if their quest succeeds, will finding the source of magic really doom the land of Xanth?

Rockin' Review:
Interesting pattern here. I read a really rockin' book, then an only-average book. Up... then down. At least this wasn't a one-guitar! It helps me see why the Xanth series stayed around. This is book #2 in that series.
The book only really grabbed your attention at the end. You know... big showdown, the big choice, and trying to fix the new major problem. Big stuff at the end. But, while the the rest wasn't terrible, it wasn't the greatest. That's why this is a three-guitar book.
And then the very end had a problem. We see Bink have all sorts of problems with love and women, but him staying loyal to Chameleon. We see his growing desire to return to his wife, and his child. While we learn of the baby's birth and talent, we never saw the baby or Chameleon at the end! That's not fair! Mr. Anthony gets us all warmed up to re-see Bink's family, and wanting to see them ourselves, and never lets us see them! That was not a good move! It left a hanger, and I don't like that!
This is a book you only want to read if you have time.

The Experiment

Title: The Experiment
Author: Bill Myers
Rating: Five Guitars

Sizzilin' Summary:
In this second book of the Imager Chronicles, Denise uses the Bloodstone to go back to the world of Fayrah. But this time, she brings her friend Josh, who believes everything has an explanation, and won't take the idea of an all-powerful God easily. But Denise has problems with believing that the Imager does indeed love all.
After a major problem in the Center, the two meet the Weaver, who weaves the character of everyone God creates. Then they go to the land of Biiq, where solutions are to each of their problems. But when the Illusionist comes along to mess up the solution to Denise's problem, will everything still turn out all right?

Rockin' Review:
This was a really good book. There were answers to some questions Christian people might have. The answers were well-done, and well-answered. But they were answered in an unique, and thoughtful way. It's a short book, but the story was pretty well done. This and the first book of the Imager Chronicles is suggested, especially when you need a quicker read! They're rockin' little books!

Cherub, a division of M15--Mission 6: Man VS. Beast

Title: Cherub, a division of M15--Mission 6: Man VS. Beast
Author: Robert Muchamore
Rating: Three and a Half Guitars

Sizzilin' Summary:
Most animal protection groups stay nonviolent. But a new animal liberation group called the Animal Freedom Militia are getting dangerous beyond belief. They believe if both animals and humans are equal, it's OK for one human to die for many animals.
A man named Ryan, who led an animal protection group that was nonviolent, agrees to work with the British government if he can help stop the AFM. Zara agrees to help, and takes our three heroes, the Cherub agents James, his younger sister Lauren, and a friend named Kyle. Their mission: to get into the AFM and take it down.
They meet new friends, but James and Kyle get into a different group: the Animal Freedom Army. But this group is just as bad and dangerous. Can the agents save a famous person before he is killed by these crazy AFA people?

Rockin' Review:
All around, this was a good book. The story was well done, and the characters were well done... though the gay guys Kyle and Tom did some freakin' out stuff. Yeesh!
But this book had less spy stuff I like, like stooping out rooms for stuff. There was one close, but we didn't "see" what happened. That was not a good call.
And there were stuff relating to animals that freaked me out. I'm hoping it'll be gone from memory soon. If the author wanted us to feel freaked out about animals, and how humans sometimes treat them, he did a good job. Though I have no intention of going vegetarian! The stuff that freaked me out is why it didn't get the half guitar that would have made it a four-guitar.
Anyway, this is a pretty good book. Read it if you have time, but read all the other books in the Cherub series. It had been a while, and I had to rack my memories some. And make sure you got a good gut... there is some scary stuff in here!

Fablehaven: Rise of the Evening Star

Title: Fablehaven: Rise of the Evening Star
Author: Brandon Mull
Rating: Four Guitars

Sizzilin' Summary:
It all starts with trouble at home. A kobold goblin moves in to Kendra and Seth's home and enters the school. Then he causes trouble. A man named Errol helps them out, but then is found out to be a member of an evil organization named the Evening Star.
Their grandparents quickly get them to Fablehaven, the reserve for magical creatures. Because of her new powers, Kendra is a possible target of the Evening Star. At the moment, Fablehaven is the safest place. It is also the safest place for Stan, who was tricked into becoming a target for a demon... who wants to eat him!
With the rise of the Evening Star, Grandma and Grandpa Stan speed up their search for the artifact. They hired three specialists to help them, but problems arise when the demon Olloch the Glutton appears in the reserve... which he couldn't have, without the help of a spy!
To top it all off, in the end, a deadly secret is revealed... can you hold on?

Rockin' Review:
I liked this book. It was well-written, and kept me in it. It's the second in the Fablehaven series, and we see both new and old faces. But, this time, we meet Warren, who we only heard about in the last book. I found that very neat!
But the thing that I didn't like was the final secret. This is a bit of a spoiler alert, but I'll try to keep it as secret as possible. There was one character which the author makes us trust, even the main characters. Then Mr. Mull drops a bomb on us: this character was really a bad guy! Possibly the head of the bad guys! It was an interesting way of ending a book for a series, since it makes us wonder what's going to happen next, but I didn't enjoy it (I doubt the character who learned the secret enjoyed much either!).
I guess it was just overload. During the whole book, we are wondering, then finding out, who a spy was. Then another "spy" hops along! It's an interesting ending scheme, but not one I suggest for a book with a "spy among us" theme. Maybe this book would have made the five guitar if that wasn't in the way. Maybe.
Anyway, I enjoyed this book, and wondering what the next one is about, and if Number 3 is also rockin'!

The Book of Names

Title: The Book of Names
Author: D. Barkley Briggs
Rating: Two Guitars

Sizzilin' Summary:
Hadyn and Ewan Barlow have moved to a new place with their twin brothers and Dad. Their mother died a year ago from cancer, and they're still feeling the hurt. But when a bunch of mysterious birds drop some mysterious scrolls at the boys' feet, Hadyn and Ewan soon find a runestone that's a portal, and are teleported to the world of Karac Tor... pretty unwillingly.
There, things get bad quickly. Nemesia, the evil witch, is stealing the souls of Karac Tor's teens, and their names from the Book of Names. She is after the duo.
Hadyn and Ewan soon get new friends, and discover that they have powers. But when Nemesia's Lost capture Hadyn, will the two deeply-connected brothers get together? Will Ewan get Hadyn in time to save his soul, his name? Even if they do, will they ever find a way home?

Rockin' Review:
I seriously didn't like this book!
I didn't enjoy the story, and there were problems riddled throughout the book. We didn't always know who was the main character of the chapter, and it changed often, and it was hard to keep up. And, many times through the story, I felt that the author was telling us stuff that the main character whose eyes we were looking through didn't know! That is not something you do if you're a good author! And the last chapter added extra stuff, and I felt that it felt rushed.
The only reason it got two guitars, and that I kept reading is exactly that: I kept reading. The author did some good writing in some parts, and he kept me interested. I'll honestly admit, I wanted to put the book down a couple times. But the author held my interest, and kept making me want to find out answers and what happens next. That is the only part that impresses me.
This is supposed to be the first book of the Karac Tor series. But I'm not planning on getting any more. This one was bad enough. This is not a rockin' book! Like, no way!!!

So You Want To Be A Wizard

Title: So You Want To Be A Wizard
Author: Diane Duane
Rating: Four Guitars

Sizzilin' Summary:
When Nita Callahan runs into a library so she can hide from bullies, she finds something amazing: a book for teaching wizardry! She takes it home, and says the Oath. The next day, she finds out... she's now a wizard!
She soon meets Kit, another new wizard. When a spell goes wrong, the two end up meeting a white hole from another Dimension named Fred. The three become friends.
But things go wrong quickly. The three are trying to get Nita's space pen, but they end up going through a worldgate... to another dimension! But this world is dark and evil, led by the evil Lone Power, the Starsnuffer. Nita, Kit, and Fred have to find a special book called Book of Night with Moon, and get home. But even if they get home, can they stop the Starsnuffer from taking over their world? Will they even get out alive?

Rockin' Review:
This is a good book. I enjoyed it. The beginning was only a three-guitar start, so that's why the book is a four-guitar. But it got better. I even liked how the author cleaned up a loose end, which could have been easily thought was done, and forgotten. I see where the book bloomed into a series. I suggest this book.

Hunter Brown and the Secret of the Shadow

Title: Hunter Brown and the Secret of the Shadow
Author: The Miller Brothers
Rating: Four Guitars

Sizzilin' Summary:
Hunter Brown is an average boy. But when one of his legendary pranks makes him and his friends targets for a bully, they end up in a dumpster! The man who saves them sends them on an errand, and they end up in possession of a mysterious book and key. But then the man and the bookstore where they got the book disappears! The trio of boys get in big trouble.
But Hunter now has both the book and key, and he soon finds out that its magic! He learns of the Author, and a bit about the curse of the world. He learns of the Shadow, evil parasite-like-spirits. He and his friend Stretch get teleported to the land of Solandria, where the Shadow rule.
Hunter is rescued by the Codebearers, a resistance to the Shadow, who follow the Author and His Code. But his best friend, Stretch, is nowhere to be found.
Soon, Hunter learns he is part of a prophecy. But what is his connection to the powerful Bloodstone? Will he trust the Author enough to follow Him to the end? And will he find Stretch?

Rockin' Review:
This was a very good book. I highly enjoyed it. It was well-written.
It was a Christian book, and a good one at that! It even dealt with issues some modern kids have today, and it presented them and the answers very well. The art was very good too, but the story was amazing and good.
The only problem started happening at the end. There were times we aren't exactly sure what's going on. We think something's happening, but find out that something else is. Maybe the authors got over-excited... I have no idea. Luckily, the problem cleared up quickly, so the climax and final battle was well-written.
It's a series, but I felt like this book was good enough standing by itself. It makes one wonder what's going to happen in the next book, and if it will still be good...
Overall, I enjoyed this book, and suggest it!