Customer Reviews

The Floating Island (Lost Journals of Ven Polypheme (Hardback))

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

 

 

I bought two books two weeks ago--this one and another I shall not name here that came out on the same day. The latter, while highly promoted and hyped. was a piece of trash. This book was absolutely fantastic. The author is a wordsmith of the highest order, and while I have not read her other books, I will now. The dialog flows beautifully, the characters are perfectly drawn, but most importantly, the story is AMAZING. Ven Polypheme, the young Nain hero and 'author' of the lost journals, may be the best first-person hero ever in fantasy. Ven has all the best characteristics of an adventurer, endless curiosity, modesty and honesty, without any ridiculous powers or bravery beyond that of any other human being, blah blah. The world he travels through is full of magic and danger, beautifully drawn by Haydon as if she were an artist painting a masterpiece on canvas. Whether or not you like fantasy, I highly recommend this book and yes, I have actually read it. The humor in it is perfect and will appeal to kids from 1 to 92.

I got an advance copy of this book at a recent library meeting, along with several others, and read it cover to cover on my way home on the plane. And in the cab. And once I got home, to the annoyance of my wife and kids, until it was done. This book is amazing. Finally there is a new Young Adult classic in the making that really captures the magic of storytelling. I haven't been this excited by a book since the first Harry Potter, and readers who enjoy that series will love this one.

Young Ven Polypheme is a boy itching for adventure, even though he is from a race of people that hate to travel and like to keep to themselves. He gets his wish in an unfortunate way, following a spectacular pirate attack, and finds himself in the midst of a magic-filled and threatening world of gigantic sharks, floating islands, gypsy-like Rovers with secret boxes, spice folk, mountains that act as guardians, ghost wolves and an endless amount of danger and intrigue. Haydon's world, an earlier era of the masterful creation in which her adult series THE SYMPHONY OF AGES is set, is so real that one can almost believe that archaeologists really DID find these ancient journals from a more magical time in history, as she claims.

I am especially impressed with the characters in the book. Ven is a terrific hero, plucky and curious but with many of the doubts and issues of a real-life teenager. He and the other young characters in the story are complete people, with flaws and strengths and the ability to screw up, as well as to come through heroically. The girls in this tale are especially wonderful; for all that I love Harry Potter, it suffers from a lack of interesting female characters other than Hermoine. Haydon treats us to a host of them, from a mermaid-like creature called a merrow who has a sea-dweller's odd perspective on the world, to a snotty thief, a boisterous den-leader type and a tiny, shy creature who speaks by making flowers grow. The boys are awesome as well; I'm very fond of the cook's mate, Char, who has a miserable life and really resents anyone feeling sorry for him because of it. The messages in this book are some of the healthiest I've seen in a long time, but they don't compromise the sheer fun of the story.

This is an utterly wonderful book, and I cannot wait to read the next one. With any luck, it will fill the void that the upcoming ending of the Harry Potter series will leave with a story every bit as compelling.

This book will grab you from the very first page, and will not let you go until the last past page has been turned. It will be a classic, a legend of one of the very best Young Adult adventure stories to exist. It is profoundly good, extremely well written, and immerses you into a world of lovable characters, creative worlds, and blends action, adventure, magic and horror in a unique and creative way. With an elusive and strange Albatross, a wise-cracking mermaid with an attitude, a Jules-Verne-like mysterious island, one heck of a big ship-eating shark, fire throwing pirates, a sweet and friendly ghost, and whole host of good guys and bad, this is one exciting book! I am so eager to read the next installment of Ven's adventures and hope that this series will be at least a trilogy if not more of an ongoing saga. Two thumbs up, five stars, just wonderful!

Charles Magnus Ven Polypheme feels like an outsider amidst his extended family. While his generational heritage is with ship building as he is an offspring of renowned shipwrights who prefer to stay home, he figures he must be adopted as he dreams of sailing. Considered of an age and experience to head the quality insurance of the latest vessel, Ven begins his inspection.

However, before he can complete his task, fire pirates attack his ship. Ven barely survives and only because the crew of another ship traveling the Island of Serendair rescue him. Ven is thankful to not only have a little magical adventure but unbeknownst to him he is the center of a conspiracy that started with the piracy raid. Unknown assailants believe Ven can lead them to the uncharted Floating Island where they can obtain the Water of Life; if his family, friends, and workers must die so be it.

Ven's journal entries and sketches found centuries later by archeologists make THE FLOATING ISLAND seem genuine though it is a sword and sorcery tale. The story line is action-packed as Ven relates his first adventures years before he becomes famous for his classic later works The Book of All Human Knowledge and All the World's Magic. Readers will appreciate this coming of age story as the look back by archeologists at the "authentic" persona and events make the realm of THE SYMPHONY OF AGES series setting real inside a fun fantasy. Elizabeth Haydon is at the top of her game with this superb sword and sorcery "historical".

Harriet Klausner

The Floating Island opens up to a Young Nain (well, considered young in Nain standards) who lives in Vaarn, the Great Overward in a ship yard, where his "odd family of shipwrights," work in building ships. Every time a ship is finished being built, one of the children of Polypheme is sent aboard the ship to check it before it leaves the harbor. One such time when one of the ships is finished, Ven draws out the short straw and is sent onto the ship, and is ushered into a high-tailed adventure he had always dreamed of!
The ship is attacked by Fire Pirates who pray upon vessels, leaving Ven with no other choice but to blow it up! Ven awakens to find the ship gone and in the company of a Merrow (a mermaid) on a jetsam. He is later picked up by a passing ship known as the Serelinda, which takes Ven to a Floating Island and the Seren Star Land, The Island of Serendair! Ven always gets what he always dreamed of, journeying off to a far distant land and exploring! But evil arises, and Ven finds himself in trouble he didn't want or expect with being accused by a scoundrel of a man and taken prisoner and threatened to be executed unless he can convince them otherwise...
The Floating Island is a great start to the Lost Journals of Ven Polypheme. I believe this is a nice prologue to Elizabeth Haydon's: The Symphony of Ages series, which is a World Wide Bestseller, starting with the New York Times, USA Today Bestseller and phenomenal: Rhapsody, Child of Blood. If you read the Symphony of Ages series by Haydon, than you surely shall references to the famed Nain Explorer by the scales of the Stolen Deck and his book: The Book of All Human Knowledge and All The World's Magic. If you haven't read the SOA series, and are over the age of thirteen, than I strongly suggest you pick-up the SOA series before continuing on with The Floating Island.
Other than that, The Floating Island is a fantastic and fun read! I found if far more enjoyable than Harry Potter. Haydon continues to amaze me in ways uncounted, and I only hope that she keeps writing and writing and writing!

If I had a little boy, this would be the book I would be reading to him at night. One chapter at a time. In fact, if I had a little girl this would be what I read her!

Each chapter is the perfect mini adventure, often with a suspenseful ending. Pirate attacks, mermaid rescues, mysterious islands...all in the first few chapters.

But I have no kids, so instead...I am reading it to myself before bed, and loving every twist and turn.

Wonderfully imaginative, well written and original. Even some good lessons mixed into the adventure. Obviously the start of a series, and a long one I hope. Definitely give this one to your kids--and read it yourself.

My sons, age 9, and I chose this book as one of the three books that we are reading with their friends in a summer book club. I have been pre-reading the books that were chosen so I can help lead the discussions and I was well pleased with this book.

We chose this book as the last book for our summer reading group because I wanted to find a book that was a part of a series that may entice the kids to continue to read even when our book club was no longer meeting. I believe that this book will capture their attention and leave them wanting more. I know that it captured me. I read the second book as soon as I finished the first.

I have read other reviews posted here and I would encourage everyone to remember that this book is the first book in a trilogy. I loved the way the book begins slowly introducing the main character Ven to us and then allows us to see him grow and change. We are given the experience of really joining him as he gains his life experience through his adventures. Ven heeds the advice of his father to "remember his lessons" and learns many new ones.

This book is the beginning of self-discovery for Ven. I believe that as the kids in our summer reading group read that they will realize that it is okay not to know who you are. That life is a journey, an adventure, that you just need to keep in mind the lessons that you have learned so far as you venture into the unknown. The lessons may be words of wisdom from a parent, as it is for Ven, or it could be lessons learned in school, or life lessons learned from experience. Each person's adventure in life is different. I would love to hear these same stories from the point of view of the merrow.

I will begin the third book today and I am looking forward to seeing how all of the lines connect through to the final book. Yes, all of the books have a dragon on the cover. I am sure we will eventually meet it. I believe that we are introduced to the dragon in the second book without realizing we are meeting it.

The second book is: The Thief Queen's Daughter (The Lost Journals of Ven Polypheme)

The third book is: The Dragon's Lair (The Lost Journals of Ven Polypheme)

I also wanted to mention that both this book and the second have a great reader's guide that includes information, activities and discussion questions. There is even a link for free curriculum that can be adjusted to the level of student that you may be working with.

The Floating Island (2006) is the first fantasy novel in the Lost Journals of Ven Polypheme series. It is set in a world where various sapient species intermingle with each other. The Nain stay mainly in their underground caverns, but some live on the surface.

In this novel, Ven Polypheme is a Nain whose family lives above ground in the city of Vaarn. He is the youngest child and has just turned fifty, which is still young for a Nain. While larger than his brothers -- but smaller than most humans -- he doesn't yet have a beard.

Amariel is a merrow. Actually, she is a cross between an merrow and a selkie. She points out to Ven that she is definitely not a mermaid.

Captain Oliver commands the sailing ship Serelinda. He is a fair man and has earned the respect of his crew. However, they are all afraid of his wife.

Char is the cook's mate on the Serelinda. He is named for his tendency to burn the bread.

Mrs. Snodgrass is the proprietor of the Crossroads Inn. She is a warm and friendly person, but she doesn't tolerate any wrong doing.

In this story, Ven is now an adult and gets to attend the launching of a new ship constructed by his family. On his way to the dock, Ven is hit on the head by a large feather falling from an albatross. He puts it in his hat and walks down the dock to his brothers. The albatross continues to circle widely around him.

Ven now gets to draw straws to conduct the Inspection and draws the short straw. His task is to sail out with a minimum crew while each part is examined. The drawing was rigged by his brothers; since none know how to swim, they prefer to stay on dry land. Unlike his brothers, Ven knows how to swim, so he is secretly pleased at the chance. But he acts disgruntled to fool them.

While the ship is out of the harbor, fire pirates attack and destroy the sails. There are a hundred or more pirates and only five crewmen besides Ven. Still Ven manages to destroy both ships to prevent the pirates from capturing the new craft.

After the explosion, Ven awakes on a piece of the hull. He is being attended by Amariel, who strongly warns him against moving around. She keeps him awake and above water by telling him stories. After many hours, the Serelinda rescues him from the sea.

The Serelinda was attracted by the albatross circling his position. Since an albatross is good luck, the ship has veered in his direction. Amariel submerges so that the crew cannot see her. Then he is spotted and taken aboard.

Ven is welcomed aboard by Captain Oliver. After he climbs the ratlines to the crow's nest and back down, the crew accepts him as a novice sailor. Ven sleeps with Char and works with the deck crew, scrubbing and keeping the ship tidy. He earns every meal, although Ven wishes that Char would earn his nickname less often.

On the way to Kingston on Serendair -- the ship's home port -- they pass the Floating Island. Captain Oliver takes some crewmen and a passenger across to the island. Another passenger is very angry that Ven gets to go and he does not. The group ascends the mount against blowing winds and then descends into a cave leading down to a cavern. Ven gets to speak a message to his father that is conveyed away by the wind.

There is a spring within the open space, where Captain Oliver pours out some blue fluid from a crystalline flask and refills it with the spring water. Later Ven learns that the spring is full of Living Water, which has magical powers. When they return to the vessel, the angry passenger gives Ven a poisonous glare.

This tale takes Ven and Char to the Crossroads Inn, where they meet Mrs. Snodgrass. They are offered a room in the Hare Warren -- the male dormitory -- and meet the residents. Very few guests are staying in the inn due to the evil happenings near the intersection. Ven hears that something evil is buried at the crossroads.

The angry passenger turns out to be the owner of the White Fern Inn, just up the road from the Crossroads Inn. Ven has several encounters with the man and his dogs, none of which are pleasant. Indeed, one puts him in fear of his life.

This work is fairly linear, although it starts in the middle and then goes back to the beginning. It is also framed by comments from the person who translated the ancient manuscripts. The story itself is interleaved with fragments from the journals.

This first adventure is full of action and mystery. It starts with Ven being imprisoned in a dungeon and worried about losing his head. The sequel -- The Thief Queen's Daughter -- should be just as exciting. Read and enjoy!

Highly recommended for Haydon fans and for anyone else who enjoys tales of various magics, weird incidents, and curious youngsters.

-Arthur W. Jordin

There is a strange sense from almost the first moment you start reading this book that you are opening a classic, comfortable, masterful storytelling that could have beguns 'once upon a time' and not sounded silly. At the same time there is the freshest of originality, an imaginative world with many familiar entities that seem new, like a merrow and the pirates that are not goodhearted swashbucklers. I am an adult, but I could not put this book down. It is a fast paced read, with a plot that whips along, but nonetheless treats the reader to characters you feel like you've met in real life and a fascinating world one longs to visit. My kids all devoured it, too. I highly recommend this book to anyone who loves fantasy, or Harry Potter, or just plain amazing storytelling. It may feel like a classic now, but soon it surely will be. Dont miss the chance to enjoy it from the beginning.