Customer Reviews

The Beast of Noor

5 star:		(10)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Miles and Hanna Ferrell live in the country in Ennes Isle, just outside of Shalm Wood. Miles wants nothing more in life than to go to Othlore and be trained in magic. He's been studying with the Falconer, but he feels like his teacher is holding him back more than he's helping. If only the Falconer would teach Miles a few spells... Hanna just desperately wants to feel normal and safe. But between her different colored eyes, the legend surrounding her family, and especially since the return of the Shriker, it doesn't look like normal or safe are in Hanna's future.

Stranded in a cave to escape a surprise storm, Grandpa tells them again the legend of the Shriker. He tells them how the Shriker used to be a brave and faithful dog, until he ways betrayed by his own master and cursed by death himself. Now, as the Shriker, he hunts human prey every full moon. The master who betrayed him, Rory Sheen, happens to be an ancestor of Miles and Hanna. Now that he's back the brother and sister won't be safe in the village, and no one is safe in the woods once the sun goes down.

When Miles tries to take matters into his own hands, things get more than a little out of control. Suddenly it's up to Hanna to save him. Hanna was always the quiet one. The one who stood back and let Miles handle things. The one who asked for the happy tales by the fire, because the others scared her too much. Now, she's right in the middle of the scariest one of all, and if she ever wants to see her brother again she'll need to find a lot of inner strength, and quickly.

This is a great, creepy, interesting tale. I don't know how comfortable I would be hearing it at a fire on a dark night. Granted, I'm a big wimp, but that's only part of the point. It's scary enough for those who are looking for that, but it's also a great story, which is what good legends are. There's a fair amount of fantasy, a little magic, personal discovery, even a sweet little love story woven in. There's a little bit of something for everyone. Perfect for a stormy, foggy night, curled up with hot chocolate, warm and safe in your house.

Reviewed by: Carrie Spellman

Wow! I couldn't put this book down. From the first chilling discovery of Polly's bones after the attack of the Shriker, I was hooked. But even more than the suspense, what rivets me about this book is the beautiful, rich, magical language. It's obvious that Janet Lee Carey is a person of deep truth and rich wisdom. I hope we see many more books about Hanna and Miles and the Lands of Oth and Noor.

This book is really suspenseful and exciting, and the same thing never happens more than once. If you like fantasy like me, then you are sure to like this book! A book that is unlike any other that I have read, and a definate thing for any good wish list.

If you like fantasy, you'll love The Beast of Noor. Janet Lee Carey has created a brother and sister who take us on a journey that I will never forget. They sacrifice all to save those they love and then go one better and sacrifice even more to save the beast. The outcome is unforgettable. I highly recommend this book.

This book is an extrodinary book for boys as well as girls. I'm ten years old and read alot of books and so far this is among one of my favorites. It's up there with Redwall and The Lightning Thief.When is the next book coming out?

If, as I do, you like a novel to completely absorb and transport you to another time, another world where you feel you live among the characters and care about them, The Beast of Noor will delight and compel you from the start. You'll be treated to short, quickly paced chapters, a fluid, beautiful, clear and precise prose style, colorful and vibrant scenes and images throughout, and a fascinating palette of characters including comical trolls, eccentric fairy queens, wise healers, dramatic wind spirits, deliciously unpredictable evil beasts, and a very likeable and realistic pair of human siblings. It's a story you will whip through quickly and its imaginative scenes, setting, and characters will pull you right into the action. At the end, you'll be glad to know more stories set in Noor will sparkle alive from the gifted pen of Ms. Carey. I already look forward to reading them!

Janet Lee Carey, The Beast of Noor (Atheneum, 2006)

I was a bit daunted by the size of this book when I picked it up from the library; I'm old enough to remember when no one ever wrote a kids' book over two hundred pages (unless it was from the nineteenth century), and so doorstop-sized things like the Eragon books and The Beast of Noor make me wonder what I'm getting into. In this case, the answer was "bigger type". Got off to a bit of a slow start, but once it ramped up, I ended up devouring the whole in a couple of days (and that while stopping every half-hour to read something else). I was chomping down seventy pages at a clip. Did I like it? You could say that.

The story centers around the Ferrell family, who on their mother's side are descended from the Sheen family. They live off in the wilderness, being a family mostly of shepherds, but also because the townfolk don't like them much. (Though it's never explicitly stated, I got the distinct idea that the this is an alternate-world Ireland, if that helps you picture things.) Seems that some three hundred years ago, Rory Sheen made a bargain with the Daro, leader of the Wild Hunt; Sheen offered the Daro his dog in exchange for having his own life spared. The dog became the Shriker, a nasty beast who has quite a taste for blood. He was soon after trapped in the Otherworld, and remained there for two hundred fifty years; recently, however, he's come back. Guided by their grandfather, Miles Ferrell, in training to be a healer, and his younger sister Hanna are afforded an opportunity to make things right. As Miles' refrain, so often mumbled, in the book, goes: "kill the hound. Solve the curse." Problem is, how do you kill a dog that stands seven feet tall at the shoulder, is rumored to be able to shape-shift, and has made mincemeat out of everyone who's tried before?

The thing that really stands out here is the readability; less than thirty pages in, you'll find yourself suffering "just one more chapter" syndrome. That can be a tad on the annoying side when you're dealing with a book this large and you need to do things like eat and sleep, but in general it's a very good thing. Carey keeps the main plot simple while weaving in the standard coming-of-age narrative as well as some of the usual themes one finds here. I did have something of a problem with Miles, who transforms from a bitter kid bent on revenge to a wise, forgiving one without us seeing too much of it, but if you're looking the other way a couple of times at the beginning, you probably won't even notice. Good read for adventure-lovers in the middle grades. *** ½

It was a good story for a young adult. Well writen, it might scare the timid kid.

It was easy reading and fast. There were times it was hard to put down and others I just couldn't stay focused. It's a good fantasy about love, loyalty, right/wrong. However, when it was done, I felt it was a story stating to me, believe in yourself and don't be mean to your dog. I just wasn't that impressed with the book. It started off excellent with the 1st kill, but then it just didn't have that same excitment page after page. It felt long. I found myself wondering when I was going to finish it.

The Beast of Noor is an adventure. I enjoyed it to its extreme. I half expected to see Miles or Hanna running around the corner whenever I glanced up, if I did. Janet Lee Carey brought me along to wherever Miles or Hanna were. She paints with her words.
I was extremely disappointed when it ended.