Customer Reviews

The Illyrian Adventure

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

 

 

The Illyrian Adventure is one of Lloyd Alexander's very best books. As an eighteen year old student applying to universities, I have written entrance essays on this book. I wish that I had read it when I was younger. It is an excellent book about a fearless heroine, and it has that truly inspiring flavour of all of Alexander's work. Not only is it fun to read (I've lost track of how many times I've read it this year), but it leaves you with a yearning to get up and go, to follow dreams. Vesper Holly is a wonderfull role model, if I ever have children, this will certainly be one of the first books I'd want them to hear. Go Vesper!

This is the first book (and the best) of the Vesper Holly series. Everyone will love Vesper and her sense of adventure. If you havn't read this book drop every thing, and head for the nearest bookstore or library.

Please don't misinterpret the three star rating -- I certainly enjoyed _The Illyrian Adventure_ considerably. It truly is an adventure, moving at breakneck speed from beginning to end. I was pleased by Alexander's creation of another strong female character (a la Mickle of the Westmark Trilogy and Eilonwy of the Prydain books) in Vesper Holly. I don't think, however, that this book (or any of the Vesper Holly books) compares to those previous series. The Westmark trilogy and Prydain books have a greater depth of meaning, they raise questions about right and wrong, good and evil, and heroism and cowardice which linger long after the first (or fifth or sixth!) reading. This book is a fun read, possessing a large quantity of Alexander's dry humor, but in the end you remember it as amusing rather than meaningful.

I'd recommend it to younger middle readers who might not be ready to read something as dense as the Westmark books or to true Alexander fans who love everything he writes.

Readers may already know veteran author Lloyd Alexander, especially his Prydain and Westmark fantasy titles. Not as many are familiar with Alexander's indomitable red-haired heroine, Vesper Holly. The Illyrian Adventure is the first of a series of books featuring this plucky young woman and her guardian Uncle, affectionately called Brinnie. This book is a delightful romp, a sort of young readers' Indiana Jones without the snakes.

Vesper Holly is a young lady who is determined to clear her late father's name and discover the secret of Illyria's greatest legend. To do so, she enlists the help of her resourceful uncle and leads them off into the Illyrian countryside where they will face assassins, betrayals, rebellions and impending war. To Holly, this is all simply part of the marvelous excitement of her adventure. Nothing sets her back or leaves her daunted, and she will lead the rest of the characters by the ears if necessary to accomplish her goals. The overall impression is charming, but a bit on the thin side. At only 132 pages, it's not so surprising that the book has less development than some of Alexander's more extensive works. Still, the book lacks the flavor of originality. Evil royal viziers and noble rebels are a bit too stereotyped for me to be completely forgiving. The keen young heroine, her more staid guardian and wild adventures across the globe smacks more of serial writing than strong story crafting. The serial quality can be seen in the number of Vesper Holly adventures that exist, although many may be out of print currently.

I've nothing against a good serial, but I do want readers who might have read other Alexander works to be aware of the nature of these stories. There's also a level of unreality to the world of Vesper Holly. While the perils are frequent, the threats seldom feel that dangerous-none of the main characters ever seems seriously hurt for long. Still, the adventure can make for some exciting reading and can be perfect for the young reader who hasn't cracked longer books yet. Children who are fresh from the Magic Tree House series or The Secrets of Droon may be just the audience for Vesper Holly. The books are not particularly scary, there is no gore and there is nothing in the way of sexual innuendo. While violence is necessarily part of the adventure, it is kept at a comfortable distance.

I can only give this particular book three stars, as I have read better stories by this author. But I do think the book is a delightful lightweight read for the right audience. It's vivid and charming and an easy read. For those who enjoy Vesper's story, she's got several more! The sequel to this one is The Eldorado Adventure. For those who may be looking for other adventure tales, I also recommend The True Confessions of Charlotte Doyle, about mutiny, murder and betrayal on the high seas.

Happy Reading! ^_^ Shanshad

I've been a Lloyd Alexander fan for a long time. His Westmark Trilogy and Prydain Chronicles are certainly some of my favorities for their high adventure, dry wit, and extraordinary depth. I've even exchanged letters with Alexander. Needless to say, I've been excited to begin the Vesper Holly books for a long times, and while this one is not quite up to the level of Westmark and Prydain, I am not disappointed.

Vesper Holly is quite a girl. She has a knack for getting into finding trouble and adventure. In this novel, she drags her Uncle Brinnie to Illyria and into a civil war with its roots in ancient mythology. Together, Vesper and Brinnie have to try to unite the country by bringing together the king and the leader of the rebel forces. Of course, the plot contains a lot of murder attempts and quick escapes and mysterious plot twists. It's certainly a fun, fast ride.

There is a lot that's great about this book. I'm always a stickler for good high adventure, and the humor, action, and characters of The Illyrian Adventure provide that. The only problem with the book is that it stops there. Where Prydain and Westmark have underlying messages about such things as political philosophy, the nature of heroism, and the ability of love to cut through the chaos of the world, this book did not have that depth. Certainly, read this book, but read Westmark and Prydain first.

I'm 21, and I must say I love the Vesper Holly books as much as I did when I first discovered them at age 10. I read them over and over again through my teen years. They're like a cross between Indiana Jones and the Adventures of Tintin, with an added bonus--an original female heroine! As a young girl I admired Vesper and all her intelligence and pluck; she's a great role model for smart, ambitious girls who want to make discoveries. These books are funny, intelligent, and genuinely exciting. They are honest, lighthearted, goodhearted fun. I was delighted to discover that Lloyd Alexander has recently written a series finale (Xanadu Adventure). They're at a young adult reading level (good for ages 9-16) but are also great books for reading out loud with kids from ages 7 to 107.

Vesper, with a heart as big as her brain and her endearing knacks for mathematics, historical puzzles, and banjo music is a truly trailbrazing heroine in young adult literature. (Keeping track of her numerous and various admirers and enemies, and bumbling along with her humorous guardian, Brinnie, is fun, too!)

Thank you, thank you, Lloyd Alexander!

Do you know where Illyria is--or was? In classical antiquity, Illyria (also Illyricum) was a region in the western part of the Balkan Peninsula inhabited by the Illyrians. It is 1872 and Vesper Holly, a sixteen-year-old girl living in Philadelphia, PA, has just lost her father, a famous archaeologist named Dr. Benjamin Rittenhouse Holly, who had died on the Greek island of Mykonos. Dr. Holly's will appointed his friend and colleague, Professor Brinton Garrett as executor of his estate, custodian of his personal papers, and guardian of his daughter. So Professor Garrett and his wife Mary move from their home to the Holly estate of Stratford, along with his beehives and her gardening talents.

Several hundred years before, the (fictional) nation of Illyria and its king Vartan were conquered by the invading Zentans of Turkish extraction under their king Ahmad. By the late 1800s, the country was divided into the ruling Zentans and the native Illyrians who had been reduced to peasantry. Their ancient epic, the Illyriad, talks about a great treasure and a magical army. Dr. Holly had been studying the Illyriad before his death, and Vesper wants to carry on his work, so she and "Brinnie" sail for Illyria where they wind up in the middle of a revolt against the Zentan King Osman by the Illyrians under their leader who calls himself "Vartan." They hire a dragoman named Nilo and with Osman's permission head for the region of Alba-Collia to begin their search. In the process, they are captured by rebels, then put in prison by the Zentan governor of the region, and finally face some very powerful enemies. Will they find what they seek? Will they even come out alive?

Lloyd Alexander is perhaps best known for his Prydain Chronicles, a series of five novels, one of which, The Black Cauldron, was a Newbery Honor book (1966), and another, The High King, won the Newbery Medal (1969). However, he wrote many other books. The Illyrian Adventure, narrated by Brinnie, is a very exciting story, and even though it is about a teenage girl, I think that there is enough rough and tumble adventure that most boys would enjoy reading it too. Some might say that the ending is a little too predictable, but there is nothing objectionable in the book, and I liked it. It concludes with the following statement. "The dear girl, I fear, may be contemplating some alarming, disruptive, perhaps dangerous project. In which case, I would naturally do all in my power to keep her from any such rash or foolhardy enterprise. Unless she wished me to accompany her." There follow five more books in the "Vesper Holly" series: The El Dorado Adventure (1987); The Drackenberg Adventure (1988); The Jedera Adventure (1989); The Philadelphia Adventure (1990); and The Xanadu Adventure (2005).

The Illyrian Adventure wasn't a bad read. If you like a little bit of adventure along with a small amount of mystery you should read this book. I thought the characters were a little mixed up, the girl, Vesper, is rather naive and her uncle Brinnie is even worse. The characters have no depth, but the story line is good.

Lloyd Alexander rules!! This book is exciting and adventurous. LOVE IT!!

Who is Nilo, really? Why did he just happen to show up at exactly the right time the Vesper and Professor Brinton need him? And that doctor; what's with him? HAHA! Lloyd Alexander makes an excellent story for anyone who likes to read!

I did not like The Illyrian Adventure because I didn't like because the main character. Vesper is a know it all. She can speak five different languages and can figure clues out before anyone else. Her arm was cut and she didn't even worry about it. Someone was stalking them and Vesper knew how to get out of it. She just wasn't believable.

The Illyrian Adventure is about a girl whose Dad died. He was an archaeologist. His daughter, Vesper, and her guardian went to Illyria. When they got there they met King Osman. He gave them permission to go through Illyria and finish what her father had started, to find the treasure. On the trip someone was following them. They found someone to help in their adventure. Find out if Vesper and her Guardian find the treasure by reading the Illyrian Adventure.

I would recommend it to anyone who likes adventure and mystery. I would recommend it to anyone eleven to thirteen.