Customer Reviews

Endymion Spring

5 star:		(10)
4 star:		(14)
3 star:		(8)
2 star:		(6)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Although I had read partial reviews that were somewhat negative saying this wasn't the next big thing or certainly not "The Da Vinci Code for kids", I have to admit that I expected more.

The story is told in two parts. One is the creation of the spectacular book around which this story revolves, and then the story itself, told in present time at Oxford University.

I had two main problems: I wasn't terribly intrigued by the "spectacular book", and I enjoyed the medieval "back story" more than I did what I believe to have been the main story.

The main character and supporting characters from the 15th century were considerably more tangible than the brother and sister team from present time. Honestly, I didn't care much for either of the latter. The boy, Blake, was too whiny, grumpy and downtrodden to really root for, and his sister was too much of a pain to be likable. Sometimes pain-in-the-rear characters are immensely likable, but I didn't find myself rooting for either.

Also, this was written from a "third person limited" point-of-view. In each part - medieval and present day - there was one main character. In third person limited, the narrator is generally limited to what that one character could theoretically observe. Therefore, I was puzzled as to several usages of British English. To cite one example, when Blake thought of a flashlight, it was always referred to as a torch. In third person limited, it would be referred to as a flashlight - because Blake speaks American English.

Perhaps it was my dull brain, and this is entirely plausible, but I'm not sure that the mystery of the book was entirely resolved. Perhaps it was and I missed it. If so, it's probably because I was a lazy reader at times, frustrated with the material in front of me and looking to push forward and finish the book so I could move on to the next one on my stack.

Somewhere in here was a terrific story dying to be told. But somewhere within Delacorte was an editor not doing a very good of tightening things up.

Honestly, I don't believe the fault lies with the author. Every great writer will admit that they would be lost without their editor. This book was one good editor away from being a terrific read.

If you should turn to your beloved children and ask them, "Well, kids. Where would you like to go on Spring Break this year?", do not be overly surprised if they should scream in unison, "OXFORD!!!". I hate to break it to you, but these days Oxford is coming off in children's literature like the coolest place on the planet. First Philip Pullman put his mark on it with the, "His Dark Materials" series. Now newbie middle reader author Matthew Skelton is putting his own distinctive brand on that most notable of halls of knowledge. A fantasy with the good grace not to put "Book One" on its cover (even though it is), Skelton's newest tale is a sweet ode to the written word and an exciting tale of intrigue, damnation, and the book to end all books.

He didn't find the book. The book found him. When American expatriate and teenager Blake moved to Oxford, England with his annoying little sister and scholar mother he expected to be bored. What he did not expect was to be bitten by an ancient crumbling novel with the words, "Endymion Spring" on the cover. Intrigued by his find, Blake suddenly finds increasingly strange things happening to him. He receives a little paper dragon that seems to have a mind of its own. His sister is acting quieter and more withdrawn than usual. By the time he understands what he's gotten into, it's far too late. Blake's fate is tied in with that of the original Endymion Spring, a boy apprentice to the great printer Gutenberg himself. Leaping between the past and the present, this tale draws together scholars of every age, the lure of power, and how one book can change the entire world. Magic and research combine in a terrifying mix.

The book that "Endymion Spring" is going to find itself compared to the most won't be anything "His Dark Materials" related, but rather Cornelia Funke's highly popular, "Inkspell". But of the two books, "Endymion" comes out the better. Skelton's writing is crisp and to the point. Plus, any fellow who can pull off as tense a library chase sequence as is found here has my undying admiration. The two storylines that leap back and forth throughout the tale are easy to keep apart, partly because one is written in the first person and the other in the third. Interestingly enough, however, Skelton is far better at realistic drama and action than he is out-and-out fantasy. The magical elements of this book are fine and all, but when we finally learn why the book is as important as it is it comes off as disappointing. Better to keep the magic mysterious and strange rather than bog it down in muddled explanations. The prose, by and large, is good. Only once in a while does Skelton slip up and put in something silly like, "He suddenly comprehended the concept of infinity", or sentences along those lines.

Characters and settings comes across strong and clear in this story. Oxford was dealt with a loving hand by Pullman, but Skelton seems to have a much deeper affection for the campus. His careful explanation of what each building is, the history of this or that library, and the beauty of the skyline itself somehow never becomes dull. As I mentioned before, don't be surprised if your more bookish kids start hankering for it. The characters are also well-drawn. Blake's mother has the unenviable part of the antagonist, and sometimes she does come off a bit shrill. Still, her presence allows the present day story to feel firmly grounded in reality. You really want our heroes to succeed, but at the same time you're biting your fingernails to keep them out of trouble. I was rather amused that one of the book's potential villains was committing the mortal sin of suggesting that digitization was the wave of the future. Heaven forfend! And while the villain is as clear as crystal from page one, at least that person will be a surprise to the child reader who didn't see their malevolence coming.

Skelton has a firm hand on his material, but he comes off as in love with too many elements. In the book's Historical Note at the back he mentions how he stumbled across the intriguing Gutenberg/Fust/Faust connection and worked it into his novel. But while Skelton is good at including everything from historical images to dragons that appear in trees, sometimes he goes a little too far. For a moment or two, it looks as if Skelton might really work the Faust story into his narrative in some way. Unfortunately, that detail never really sticks. Faust gets bandied about here and there but never makes any contribution to the tale itself and instead serves as a distraction from the larger action. Similarly, Skelton once heard a story of Laurens Coster and a beech tree that he, in turn, transformed into a tale of tree dragons and blood. I would argue that while his ode to Coster is admirable, the actual selection is awkward when discussed in the book. Skelton is juggling too many references, odes, and tributes. If he could have just removed one or two, it would have done his novel a world of good.

A little predictable, yes. I doubt any adult reading this book won't see that Blake and his sister are bound to be friends or that Blake is bound to have a dramatic climax so as to not get in trouble with his mom. But kids reading the book would only feel this way if they've read hundreds of fantasies of this type. On the whole, those who are not reluctant readers should enjoy it. Quite fun.

Little did Blake know the adventure on which he would be taken when the volume "Endymion Spring" bit him from its shelf at Bodleian Library at Oxford University. Together with his annoyingly precocious sister, Duck, they set out to solve the mystery of a book whose pages are blank to all except Blake who has been chosen by the book. But for what? And who was Endymion Spring?

Matthew Skelton has constructed a story to be loved by anyone who loves books. The plot moves between present day Oxford and fifteenth century Germany where Gutenberg has begun to print his now famous bible. While the characters are fairly one dimensional and the writing is plain and straight forward, the story is a wonderful concept mixing scholarly research, the legend of Faust, dragons and above all books.

I read it in one sitting, not able to put down. That's about the highest praise I can give book. It kept me completely enthralled the whole time.

This book had so much potential and promise to be a huge hit, but I truly believe like a few of the other reviewers that it just simply falls short of the mark. I was happily loving it right up to about three quarters of the book, then was severely disappointed by the end. The ending is rather abrupt and the mystery of Endymion Spring's book is not solved. The reader is left without an answer which I found very frustrating. Now if someone tells me this is book one of a trilogy or series, well then I'd give it five stars. But nowhere do I see it written in the book, or on the internet, that this is book one and there is more to come. As a stand-alone story, so much is unexplained and left behind for the reader to question. There are a few great interesting characters in the book that are introduced that sort of dissolve and fade never to return. This once again leaves us bewildered about who these people were and why they were there. I did find the writing exceptional, other reviewers who criticized this aspect were very unfair, and I loved the whole history of the book industry and the printing/bibliophile aspect of the story. To learn about Gutenberg and the printing press and to get an insight to the wonderful English libraries in Oxford was just very exciting and kept me interested just for that aspect alone. I did find it very intriguing and for the most part couldn't put it down, but as I crept closer and closer to the end I felt so let down and disappointed. I feel there should have been so much more and perhaps if the right publisher or editor had seen the same qualities lacking, the book would have really been a sensational debut. The author has promise and I would definitely read his next book to watch his writing evolve, but this one just didnt make it all the way.

Endymion Spring is a spellbinding adventure novel that will keep you reading it for hours. In this book by Matthew Skelton danger lurks around every corner and it pulls you into a deadly, eerie vortex

In 1452, Endymion spring, a mute assistant of Johannes Gutenberg (the famous inventor or the printing press), is watching as two strangers as they walk through the snowy streets. The door creaks open, and Fust, man with an evil atmosphere about him, walks in with his assistant, Peter, who is pulling a sled with a sinister chest on it. Fust says he came to talk business with Gutenberg, but Endymion knows better. One night, Endymion hears Fust tell a bone-chilling story to Peter about a tree dragon that took a liking to a small girl. Later, her father chops that tree once with an axe to prove she saw nothing, but when he comes back he sees paper on the ground. Snow-white paper with small veins running through it. Dragon skin, that supposedly feeds on child's blood.

Fust stole that paper from the man, and it is guarded by two snakes that are open the chest when they taste blood. Endymion opens the chest in secret, and words randomly start writing themselves on the rippling pages. He steals some, and puts them in hit leather toolkit that has his name on it, which soon begins to transform into a book. Fust finds out, and Peter helps Endymion escape to a far of Oxford library with his girlfriend to distract Fust.

Centuries later, Blake, the protagonist, finds a blank book with rippling pages. Words appear in a poem, and Blake starts to get scared and leaves it in the library. Duck, his sister and the confidante, runs with Blake to one of their mother's old teachers who tells them of a book called the Last Book that hold al the knowledge in the world. It seems so easy, finding this book, but then a page in Endymion Spring turns pitch-black and writes, "I am watching." Supposedly there is a "Person in the Shadow" (the antagonist) who will stop at nothing to get this knowledge. Will they stop it and solve this mystery?

Endymion Spring was one of the most interesting and best books I have ever read, but the ending is strange and unsatisfying. The theme of this book would be that the most innocent thing can be unsafe and that you should notice it before it harms you. If you like Inkheart and Artemis Fowl, this will be one of your longtime favorites for sure.

Subpar, not much filling (unfortunately). I bought this book for my son. He's fifteen, and it was recommended highly when I asked for a book to get my son reading more often. I had high expectations based on the lavish praise of critics as well. My son has struggled with this book for days now and finally gave it back to me unfinished. After reading this myself, I can see why it did not interest him. It's not very good, and it's often boring.

Also I found it very predictable, and uninteresting. Overall, I've read better, and more original books. Yesterday I went back to the bookstore and talked to the bookseller who recommended this turkey, and she admitted to never having read the book!!!! I believe the same may be true of the critics (who I don't believe would recognize a sincerely good book if it jumped out and bit them on the nose).

The only honest opinion you are likely to get is my 2 star rating. Do yourself a favor and skip this one.

As always, a book comes out every season with more hype than the second coming. This is the one for fall, and it is truly undeserved. I read this with my book-devouring daughter, and while the plot sounds good on paper, we were disappointed in the actual writing and delivery of the story. The Guttenberg history is interesting, thus the second star, but the writer is heavy handed and his storytelling is clunky. There is no sense of building of intensity, and the characters are flat. I cannot say that the book is without merit--bibliophiles will like anything that has to do with magical books--but the actual story is overblown and hard to get to like, as are the protagonists. It's Da Vinci code lite, and my daughter gave up on it half way through.

I was browsing through the Australian Disney Adventures until I came across this mini section devoted to Endymion Spring. The summary sounded eye catching so I decided to wait until it came out in the states.

Ordered it and brought it with me on a cruise ship trip. So far, the beginning was interesting at first.

It stars a boy named Blake who comes across a mysterious book titled "Endymion Spring". Suddenly, strange events begin to happen to him as his time, spent in the Oxford library, ticks by. Along the way, his sister with an unsual name, Duck, joins in on his little quest. In the end, Blake will discover who or what exactly is "Endymion Spring", who is after "Endymion Spring", and how to stop the bad guys from obtaining "Endymion Spring".

But, it isn't as simple as that. The book actually features two different point of views at two different points in time. The second point of view main character is Endymion, himself. A mute boy who serves as an apprentice to Gutenberg. At first, I was a bit disappointed as to the book doing the whole different split perspective ordeal because it did get the story confusing at certain points in time. By the time I was near the end of the book, everything pieced together in a sort of nice way.

But, this book is still missing a certain charm. I have to agree that it's somewhat there but not clearly there, yet. It's kind of hard to feel really attached to any of the characters except for perhaps, Endymion. The plot makes the book a semi-page turner. There is some disappointment in the book, but, it's not that bad of a read. Kept me from being bored on the cruise ship.

Now, an instant page turner book that I would recommend is a fat book that I didn't even buy yet (but that's how good it is to me). It's called "The Dream Merchant" by Isabel Hoving. I have a review that's going up on that book too (edit- if it ever does). If you're a reader of Garth Nix or Philip Pullman's work, that book might interest you a lot. Possibly, even to Harry Potter readers? ^_^

I had the same experience as the lady who had this book recommended by a bookseller who hadn't read it. I was told this was the new hot book, yeah, it's great--no, it's really not. It SOUNDS like a great idea, but the writing is ponderous and awful, condescending to the reader. The characters do not ring true, and the conflict, Blake's whiny angst over his parent's problems, is phony. I resent books that are foist upon an unsuspecting public with a ton of fanfare but that are really drawing hype from blockbusters like Dan Brown [see THE EXPECTED ONE, another genuinely crappy book]. If you are looking for well-written children's fantasy, see Cornelia Funke's INKSPELL or Elizabeth Haydon's new YA, THE FLOATING ISLAND.

I loved this book! It has a unique feel to it as well as a great story line. The book keeps you quessing ever step of the way. The way in which the story laces itself together to make the whole story is briliant! I definately name this as one of my favorites!