6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Buy, Beg for, Borrow, or Just Plain STEAL This Book!, November 28, 2006
This review is from: The Call to Shakabaz (Paperback)
I began reading fantasy and science fiction when I was in the 4th Grade. By the time my one year of college came, I was really ready for more interesting adult fare. I picked up The Lord of the Rings in 1973, and have read it every year since that time. All in all, I am a big fan of these genres. But there was always one vexation, which, while slight in my youth, has become more vexing as time passed. That vexation is that, in most all of the fantasy and speculative fiction, very few are about or contain characters who are, people of color. That is to say, people of color besides white people.
I know that white folks will think this sounds strange, but think about it for a minute. One of the reasons Amy Wachspress' book works for me is that, being Black, I finally found a story that had people in it who actually look and talk like me. That is very cool. Beyond that, because Wachspress doesn't make a big deal of the characters' ethnicity, the book is a whacking good read, with lots of action and character development. It also uses the language beautifully, with characters using their own patois as they would in normal speech, but also with discriptions that are at once haunting and appropriate. Although I'm 51 years old, I never tire of going on a great adventure. This is one book I'm really proud to put my bookplate on. I am looking forward to reading it to my wife, and (in about a thousand years, should my son ever get around to having some) my grandchildren. Children and adults, I think, will really love this book. If you liked Lord of the Rings and Harry Potter, you will really love Shakabaz! Way to go, Amy!
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4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Courtesy of Teens Read Too, May 30, 2007
This review is from: The Call to Shakabaz (Paperback)
Doshmisi, Denzel, Maia, and Sonjay always thought Aunt Alice's Manzanita Ranch was a great place to visit, but they never thought they would have to live there. But when their mother died unexpectedly, that's where they moved to. It hasn't been very long since then, and the kids are bored stiff. It's a good thing they have the family Midsummer party to look forward to. Although without their mom, or even the cousins who are inexplicably absent, even that might not be much fun.
What starts out as a rather dull, depressing day gets a lot more interesting with a strange lesson in family history. It turns out that the two brothers and two sisters are "The Four." Descendants of a line of four brothers and sisters who can pass through their own dimension and into Faracadar. With their mother gone, the time of their mother and aunt and uncles have passed. It is up to the new Four now.
But what is "it"? Trust me, they want to know as much as you do. Unfortunately, one of the rules is that they don't get to know much the first time around. All they know is that they have to get the Staff of Shakabaz away from a guy named Sissrath. Who that is, how they do it, why they have to, and even what Faracadar is, they'll have to figure out for themselves. They'll have to work together, learning what each of their strengths are and how to use them, and maybe they'll be able to pull it all off.
THE CALL TO SHAKABAZ is richly imagined and incredibly detailed, both land and story. At first it's a bit like a modern version of
The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe (The Chronicles of Narnia). But by the end of the tale you realize it's so much deeper than that. This is a book about finding personal strength, in all different forms, and appreciating the talents of others, and the strength in uniting different people, and so much more! I want to buy a copy for everyone I know, regardless of age, race, or sex. It's part fantasy, part history lesson, part real life -- I can't even describe it! But, it's beautiful, and it's kind of a picture of what I'd like to see our world look like. Although maybe without the greenish sun -- that might be a little weird.
Reviewed by: Carrie Spellman
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4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Great Read!!, March 20, 2007
This review is from: The Call to Shakabaz (Paperback)
I was just going to quickly review the book for my grandchildren - instead, I got hooked! A well-written fantasy, with stress on positive values, and a plot with enough twists and turns to keep you interested. It is "Harry Potter Light," but well worth reading. Chapterized for good bedtime reading to children 6 and up. Pre-teens can easily read it themselves.
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