Customer Reviews

The Eye of the Warlock: A Further Tales Adventure

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4 star:		(1)
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This is our third in Catanese's A Further Adventure Tale series and I have to say, I'm pretty tickled with the idea of not necessarily rewriting the tale of the Brothers Grimm over from scratch, rather Catanese has extended them, taken them in to the future...sometimes the distant future and other time in the near future (as is the case with The Eye of the Warlock). These are fun tales meant to expand (and play with) some of the most popular Grimm Fairy Tales...in the case of The Eye of the Warlock, we are talking about extending the story of Hansel & Gretel. As this story begins we find Rudi and his family (complete with a bumbling uncle and wicked step-mother) living on the edge of a vast, dark forest...the very forest of the original tale...nay, the VERY house that Hansel & Gretel once dwelled within. From this humble beginning, we discover that Rudi's two adopted sisters have suffered the same fate as his distant relatives, long ago. Thus starts Rudi's trials and tribulations in trying to over come what seems to be a case of history repeating itself (with slight variations, since the original witch is quite dead). It is the introduction of a stranger promising Rude the remaining spoils of the old Witch Hansel & Gretel bested many years before that sets the rest of the tale in motion and puts Rudi, Luci, and Elsebeth in danger and seeking desperately to discover the plot of the diabolical warlock who seems desperate to get his hands on the very same treasure...and will stop at nothing to do so!

Overall, it's a good read, plenty of suspense and lots of danger, devious villains, unexpected allies, bullies, friendships in the making, and a grand adventure that might well cost them their lives before all is said and done. I imagine this book (and the series in general) would be popular with boys (approximately age 8-12) as all of the "heroes" of the stories in this series are young or adolescent boys, however, having said that, my 10 year old daughter got a real kick out of this one (and the other 2 we've read also) so the appeal does cross gender lines. I also believe that The Eye of the Warlock would make a fine read aloud for younger readers as the action and adventure would lend itself to a romping

It has been almost 2 year since I read this story to my children, but I still think about the characters in this book. The imagery is vivid, and a bit frightening. The story is well written, and somehow makes the people within this fantasy credible. All of the heroes have their flaws, and we see how these flaws shape the events of the story.

The story is the follow-up, many years later, of Hansel and Gretal. Cantonese extends this story and weaves new and dark magic into the take of the ginger bread house in the woods. Woven in to are multiple character examinations, each with their own motivations. Things are often not what they first appear to be, but in the end the truth is revealed.

The story is exciting and entertaining reading, and a bit hard to put down each night.

Definitely among the best books I have read to my children over the years.

Our first grade son really enjoyed this story. We both looked forward to reading it together. It is too advanced for a first grader on his own. We plan to read more by this author.