Customer Reviews

Brave the Betrayal (Everworld #8)

5 star:		(12)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Ever since they became trapped in Everworld, David, Christopher, April, and Jalil have encountered a lot of weird things. But their newest adventure is their oddest yet. They're trapped in an area totally messed up even by Everworld standards - it's a place that's upside down! Why are they there? Well, they angered a bunch of African gods by refusing to offer up an animal sacrifice. But the four teens refuse to give in to the gods, even though Senna, the witch who got them trapped in Everworld, urges them to do so. David, Christopher, April, and Jalil may not be on the good side of the gods, but they have their real world smarts - so they have one advantage on their side. Now they just have to find a way out. I highly reccomend this book if you enjoyed the first seven Everworld books.

"Brave the Betrayal" is the eighth book in K.A. Applegate's "Everworld" saga. Jalil, Christopher, David, April and Senna are still trapped in Everworld and their lives are about to be turned upside-down. Literally.

After a meeting with the Goddess Athena, the five main characters are sent on a mission to Egypt to find Senna's mother. The Coo-Hatch have used the information from April's chemistry book to make gunpowder and this could become a deadly weapon that they will use against Olympus unless they are sent home to their universe. However, the only person who can do this is Senna's mother who is thought to be in Egypt. To find her and avert catastrophe, Jalil and the others must cross the perilous African continent.

During the journey, they encounter Eshu, a mysterious being who demands that a sacrifice is made to please the African Gods. Despite Senna's pleading, the other characters refuse either due to general principals or religious beliefs, and Eshu responds by sending them into the mirror world where the grass is blue, the water purple and everything is upside-down...

This book was amazing. The descriptions of Everworld are amazingly vivid and colourful and you can really imagine actually being there. I love mythology so I found the information on the Ancient Gods and cultures interesting. I expected something a lot more like Animorphs and this is completely different. The plot and characters are far more complex, in keeping with the older target audience, and although I love animorphs, I have to say that this is far superior. My only fault with the book is that not much history or character information is given and the events can become very confusing at times. Overall, five stars and I can't wait to read the remaining books in the series.

These books are so awesome. When I started reading them I couldn't put them down. The whole series is addicting. I read each book as soon as it comes out and then I sit around a wait for the next one. This book was wonderful but I expected nothing less from an author who has written a great series so far. I recomend these books to anyone and everyone. They are truly un-forgetable.

In this book, Jalil tells it all as he, Christopher, David, April, and Senna travel across a seemingly African plain, on a mission for the Goddess Athena: find Senna's mother, a witch who supposedly has enough power to open gateways between the universes. Along the way they have plenty of problems of their own, mostly revolving around Senna, who we're pretty sure now is at least a partial enemy. Jalil has a few real world difficulties as well (such as getting a date, hee hee). The characters are real as ever, and the discriptions vivid as always, but as a warning to those younger than fourteen or so, this one is also exceptionally gory, even more so than usual.

Four normal teenagers, Christopher, April, David, and Jalil, are trapped in a world unknown to mankind and themselves. Where dreams and nightmares are put together to make a another world. Creatures are there that shouldn't exist and places that shouldn't be there. The place is Everworld. Christopher, Jalil, April, and David are here because of Senna, the witch, and they cannot get out without her. They face new dangers each day, the Gods, Dragons and creatures never even heard of. All they have to protect themselves is a little pocketknife and Galahad's sword. Now they have made a mistake. They traded their chemistry book for a pocketknife, not knowing the Coo-Hatch could read. Now the Coo-hatch have made guns. They soon start a war with the Gods and they use weapons unbelievably sharp and dangerous. Will they get out of everworld alive or be stuck there forever?

I love all of these books but since Jalil is my least favorite character except for Senna. I didn't really like this one as much as the others. It had some pretty interesting twists though. Eshu was a real pain in the butt. I love what they did to Senna. She deserves it. Everone that loves Science Fiction has got to love this series. I can't wait till I can read number 9.

I read this book in one day. Had to get to the main event in book 9 as quickly as possible.

While exciting, the eighth book in the "Everworld" series doesn't do much to improve on what's come so far in the series. It has pretty much the same problems and the same ups as the previous couple of books did. If you've read any of my previous reviews of "Everworld" you'll know what I'm talking about. Too brisk and compacted, not enough focus on the character's personalities, too little character interaction, not enough Senna, general mediocrity, etc.

The storyline of this book is basically the group of main characters, once again including Senna, leaves Olympus and travels to Egypt. Once they reach the Everworld equivalent of Africa, they are faced with a bit of a moral quandary. The African gods are rather fickle, and the best way to avoid their wrath is to sacrifice some manner of animal to them. This was an interesting point, as it got to explode how each of the different characters handled the choice.

April characteristically viewed any sort of deal with the African deities are too far out of her Catholic comfort range. Jalil refused on philosophical grounds, hating the idea of having to allow the African deities to order him to do anything. David refused based on what he saw as a violation of his manly American rights. Senna points out that killing a single goat is hardly a large price to pay to avoid getting on the bad side of the local gods, and sometimes you have to know when to fold to placate a potential enemy and put reason before honor. Christopher refused simply because he felt like being a jackass and stubbornly didn't want to be on the same side of any issue with Senna.

It was a very gray set of options, but I think I agree with Senna's stance the most. While the others' refusal to compromise their integrity in any way was admirable, it seemed to almost border on fanaticism given the situations where they were in and what was being asked of them. Given the rest of what happens in this book, it would probably have been a lot easier on all of them if they had listened to Senna in the first place.

Other notable things happening in the book: The characters visit a mirror world of the African region of Everworld; Senna reveals some new abilities, including the ability to sense magic, and grows significantly more powerful; the African Pantheon is seen briefly; and we again glimpse some characters that haven't been seen since the second book.

"Brave the Betrayal" is poorer than the previous books as far as endings are concerned. The climax was so contrived and abrupt it was almost a deus ex machina. There was barely any falling action to speak of at all. While there was some genuinely good characterization here and there, I'm beginning to have problems telling Jalil, Christopher, and April apart in the narrative; Jalil narrates this book, but most of the time it could just as easily be one of the other two and I wouldn't notice.

"Brave the Betrayal" is mediocre, even for an Everworld book. However, it does serve the important function of laying the groundwork for the next book, which I can hardly wait to read, "Inside the Illusion."

I was so pleased to return home from work 3 days after ordering and finding the book in my box! The condition was better than expected and I am now almost finished with this volume.

I would have to say that so far this was my least favorite book. Don't get me wrong though, I still enjoyed it.
This books has the group leaving Olympus in order to find Senna's mom in Egypt. They must find Senna's mom so she can send the Coo Hatch back to there own world so they'll agree to quit making weapons for the Hetwan. They make it to Africa where they meet Eshu. He turns out to be a "speaker" for the African gods and claims that they must make a sacrifice to please the gods. The majority of the group is against this and so Eshu sends them through many perils. One of them is sending to a world where everything is upside down. There they meet some of there Viking friends. Can they make it out of this world alive without having to make a sacrifice?

With the new Everworld comes a host of new problems- includingAfrican gods, "Dancing spider-monkeys" and a world thattakes vertigo to new heigths. I think that the new idea that "bleeeding" between universes occurs- the idea that stuff in both universes is connected.