Customer Reviews

Grip of the Shadow Plague (Fablehaven)

5 star:		(84)
4 star:		(11)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Picking up where the last novel left off, Kendra and Seth are still at Fablehaven with their grandparents. Suspicions have been cast on the Sphinx and his loyalties. Kendra has been recruited as a Knight, and the family agrees that she should infiltrate with hopes of claiming the next artifact before the Sphinx can get to it. And Fablehaven is under attack by a mysterious darkness that is spreading extremely fast. Can Seth and the rest of his family and friends discover the cause and stop it before all of Fablehaven is lost?

Each installment in the Fablehaven series has been more action-packed and exciting than the next. Grip of the Shadow Plague has a fast-paced plot where danger and intrigue run rampant. New and interesting characters appear. Dark secrets and betrayals are uncovered. And more mysteries unfold.

Kendra and Seth are ordinary children who find themselves in extraordinary circumstances. Fablehaven is full of mystery and wonder that comes alive. Kendra's humility and wisdom is admirable. And Seth's enthusiasm and bravery is inspirational. Fablehaven is easily on par with the Harry Potter series. And if you've been waiting for something to fill the HP loss, look no further.

No author I know can top Brandon Mull for sheer imaginative power.

Kendra and Seth Sorenson are the grandchildren of the caretakers of Fablehaven preserve, one of the few places left on earth where magical creatures can live on in an increasingly skeptical world. The trouble is, not all magical creatures are nice. In fact, some of them are downright evil. All the worst ones have been locked away in a magical prison, and if they ever get out, the world as we know it is basically over.

Mull creates a world where the stakes are high, danger is real, and almost everyone is under suspicion. His book has an endless parade of fascinating magical creatures, each with their own habits and personality. Fablehaven 3 contains Mull's best paced plot so far, with lots of adventures (including a visit to a preserve on a reservation in Arizona), an intense action climax, and an ending that leaves the reader eager for the next book.

Mull introduces some great new characters in this book, and only kills off about half of them. He's still having trouble with Grandma Sorensen, who had more personality during the time she had been turned into a chicken, but his tween-aged characters live and breathe as always. Seth is still my favorite, and I'm glad to see him begin to discover more of his abilities in this book.

So go out and buy your own copy. You certainly can't borrow mine. My husband is going to start reading it to our children tonight, and we just can't wait!

Oh, and does anyone else think that centaur on the front page looks like Brandon Mull?

This book once again proved why I fight with people that the Fablehaven series is indeed superior to Harry Potter. Thank-you, Brandon Mull, for what I think is the most delightful and most creative book so far (because I will most certainly allow him to write something even more exciting.)

What originally began as the sweetness of a little preserve known as Fablehaven has grown into an expanded world of fantasy and secret organizations. Another preserve, brightened with the beautiful desert atmosphere of the Southwest United States, is introduced with just as many wonders as dear Fablehaven. More characters are introduced, which does nothing but make the plot and relationships all the more complex and twisted--awesome. And the characters and places already familiar continue to develop.

And Mull writes it all in stride. True to young adult fantasy, his writing is fairly simple, but tight and descriptive just the same. He is in control of this world, while at the same time seeing in awe of just what he has created. The characters are not flashy stereotypes, but subtle, down-to-earth, and very much believable.

Amazing book and I cannot wait for the next.

The Sorenson kids are only a few weeks from heading home and starting school when a new threat to Fablehaven makes the likelihood of going home anytime soon unlikely. Creatures of light on the preserve begin to turn dark. Along with that Kendra's abilities imparted by the kisses of hundreds of fairies in book one seem to be evolving to such an extend that she could be a target of the Society of the Evening Star if she goes home. As if that is not enough, she is invited to become a Knight of the Dawn, an organization pledged to protect magical preserves. Traveling to meet them, then on a secret mission to another preserve, and the growing threat within Fablehaven fill this volume of the the Fablehaven series with some of the best writing, action, and story-telling of the series so far. Valuable lessons for kids and families are deftly woven into this volume, like the others, without being preachy. The action is even more intense so small kids will not be ready for this, but adolescents and teens will love this one, too. I can't wait to see what happens in volume 4! Brandon Mull is becoming a favorite at our house.

My daughter is absolutely crazy about this series. I picked up the first book by chance and she's read it three times already. She wouldn't leave me alone about it till we got her the second book. And now the third. Before this one arrived, she was reading two other books. The day it arrived, she put the other books she was reading back on the shelf and has yet to put this one down. Any book that can have that kind of effect on a 12 year old is just amazing in my opinion.

Great read for an adult or child. Excellent way to escape reality with a little fantasy. I would recommend to anyone who loves to read.

Each book in the Fablehaven series gets better and better. Quite exciting and enjoyable. I couldn't put it down. These are books that you want to read in one setting if you have the time. I highly recommend this book to anyone who loves fantasy.

A terrible plague has begun to sweep the land. "Fablehaven: Grip of the Shadow Plague" is a fantasy novel about the infestation of a plague that warps the creatures of light into servants of darkness. Who is responsible for this development of the plague? The only ones who can help are of questionable virtue at best, and danger is at every corner. "Fablehaven" is an excellent fantasy, sure to please fans of the genre, with twists and turns when the reader least expects them.

If you liked the original, the second and third books in the Fablehaven series go hand in hand. In this one, Fablehaven is again under threat of being completely overthrown by the Society of the Evening Star. A mysterious plague has started turning both creatures and caretakers alike into shadows, and Kendra and Seth have to race to marshal the few remaining good creatures (and a time-traveling former caretaker) in an assault on a demon stronghold.

I loved the other books in this series but this one beats the others out by far. Brandon Mull knows how to keep a reader caught up in the book. It was hard to put down and now I can't wait for the next installment.