Customer Reviews

Book of War (Diadem Series)

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

 

 

Honestly? I adored this book. I read it when I was what, 9? Now I'm 17 and it still had me grinning from ear to ear, including on the very last page. Peel doesn't write in that annoying Dick and Jane style, and so even though it's a kids book it's enjoyable for everyone.

The three voyage to Helaine's home, where her father is under attack. Even though the welcome is not warm, the trio decide to help. Pixel goes on a quest with the peasent girl Jenna they discover, who was almost stoned as a witch and appears quite as powerful as the others. Score and Helaine head in another direction as Helaine strives to please her father.

There was also romance in a completely non-cheesy way that I loved. Pixel and Jenna immediately hit in off, and there were plenty of Score/Helaine moments, which kept me grinning. It zipped by, and I cannot wait for the Book of Oceans to be out. Read this. If the style changed a bit, it's because the author changed, and as most of the original readers are probably about my age, I bet you'll still love it.

Helaine wants to travel back to her home world of Ordin. Score, Pixel, and their unicorn friends, Flame and Smoke decide to go with her. Ordin is a medieval world and they arrive to find her father's castle surrounded by armies preparing to lay siege to it. When they arrive Smoke saves a young magic user named Jenna from being stoned for being a witch. He brings her to the group. There is instant friction between Helaine and Jenna, because Helaine is a nobel and Jenna is a peasent. The story has great excitement and tension as the team tries to save Helaine's family, but they have to figure out why they should.

The book reads like a rough draft that the author meant to fix but never did. The other six book had a sense of newness and wonder in them that this one didn't have. Stuff were dumbed down (i.e. unicorn horn only negates magic up to a point) and events happening in the last half seemed rushed and underdeveloped. The ending is particularly offensive in its simpleminded resolution.

Worst of all are the three characters: they just didn't GROW at all in this book. John Peel basically took their main character traits and he magnified them to the EXTREME: Pixel is now a lovesick teen, Heleine is uber Xena Princess and every word that comes out of Score's mouth is a wisecrack (I swear that half the book is just him making lame jokes, I don't remember the character being this annoying).

The whole thing just didn't flow right, including the writing style, which is inconsistent. Medieval characters started out speaking in old style speech one moment and suddenly saying "okay" in another, which is distracting.

It's a shame, cause the idea behind the book had so much potential. I'll be checking out the rest of the book in the series just to see what happens, but this one is a huge disappointment.

The Diadem series captivated me a couple years ago and I couldn't wait for Mr. Peel to finish the series. When I found out the 7th book was coming out, I was giddy with joy. I thought it'd be brilliant. Sadly, I was mistaken. The Book of War just didn't captivate the style and small details of the previous books. Some were small things like when Helaine said, "Danger" instead of the usual, "Trouble." The book just didn't flow as well as the others did.

Diadem #7: Book of War, by John Peel

In "Book of War," it's Helaine's turn to return to her home planet of Ordin. After having escaped an arranged marriage on a Medieval Ages era world, Helaine Votrin suffered from the guilt of abandoning her family and her duty. Score and Pixel accompany her back home, and naturally the three pop into a dangerous situation: Votrin castle is under siege; war is imminent.

Feeling even guiltier now for leaving, Helaine is determined to do what she can to resolve the situation. She and Score set off on her secret plan, while Pixel attempts to solve a 500-year-old mystery.

For the first time in the Diadem series, Peel introduces a new main character, Jenna, a peasant hedge-witch. She is revealed to be another magician with powers matching that of Score, Helaine, and Pixel, and now the trio becomes a quartet.

For me, "Book of War" is one of the weaker books in the Diadem series. I didn't particularly like the addition of a new main character, nor the more prominent romance, but after I read the next book in the series I understood why she was brought in. So if you're like me and didn't like Jenna at first, it gets better, so hang in there.

3/5.

I purchased this series for myself. I love these types of stories. I just bagan reading them to my 6 year old daughter oh also has a love a reading. It is discriptive yet simple enough for the entire family to enjoy.