Sunday, June 19, 2011

Review: The shadow Thieves - Anne Ursu


Title: "The shadow thieves"
Author: Anne Ursu.
Series: Cronus Chronicles #1
Publication: February 2006.
Publisher: Atheneum
ISBN: 9781416905875.
Pages: 432.
Shelf: young-adult, fantasy
Price: 16,95$.
Synopsis
Something extraordinary is about to happen to Charlotte Mielswetzski.

It's not the very cute kitten that appears out of nowhere. It's not the arrival of her cousin Zee, who believes he's the cause of a mysterious sickness that has struck his friends back in England. And it's not the white-faced, yellow-eyed men in tuxedos who follow Charlotte everywhere. What's so extraordinary is not any one of these things. It's all of them.

When Charlotte's friends start to get sick, Charlotte and Zee set out to find a cure. Their quest leads them to a not-so-mythical Underworld, where they face Harpies that love to rhyme, gods with personnel problems, and ghosts with a thirst for blood.

Charlotte and Zee learn that in a world overrun by Nightmares, Pain, and Death, the really dangerous character is a guy named Phil. And then they discover that the fate of every person -- living and dead -- is in their hands.


Review
I'm a little disappointed with the book. I had heard good things about it before ordering and the synopsis was interesting to me so I was extremely keen to read it.

The cover is a bit simple and when I saw it I said to me "This is not a typical YA cover, this does not show nothing about the book and it is so simple, I do not like it but the sypnosis is good enough to give it a chance".

The writing style is ideal for a young adult novel and the book is written in third person with some paragraphs that make you part of the novel (I like this).

Pay attention. Watch carefully, now. Look at the sidewalk, there. See that girl—the one with the bright red hair, overstuffed backpack, and aura of grumpiness? That’s Charlotte Mielswetzski (Say it with me: Meals-Wet-Ski. Got it? If not, say it again. Meals. Wet. Ski. There. You thought your name was bad?).

The book is divided into four parts, with the first we know about the life of Charlotte and her family and friends. This is only 70 pages of the book but we need it to go into the story and life of the girl slowly. 
In the second part we find Zee, Charlotte's cousin, and his life. In this part you can see some action and it is essential to understand what comes next and some things from the beginning.

Last two parts the writer does focus on action and some points that were blur now are clear.


About what I like so much from the book I have to say that it comes loaded with high doses of Greek mythology which I love and encourage me to carry on until the end of the book. Important characters like Charon, Hades, Zeus and Persephone were found and described for do not lose us between the pages of the book.

The best: Greek mythology.
The worst: the lack of intrigue / action to keep you eager to devour every word. 

Rating:
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4 comments:

  1. I love Greek Mythology. Too bad that the rest of the book doesn't sound satisfying.

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  2. I love Greek Mythology so maybe I'll give it a try :)

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  3. Yes, the greek Mythology is good enough to give a try! ;-)

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  4. Very good review. New follower. I like Greek mythology.

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