Customer Reviews

Jesse Jameson and the Golden Glow

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

As an eleven year old, I haven't read thousands of books. But I know what I like. If you like Lemony Snickett, and Harry Potter, this book is for you. I loved Jesse Jameson and the Golden Glow. It was brilliant. It made me want to be just like Jesse - I wish I could have her magical powers. And Iggywig made me laugh - what a funny little creature. I liked the scary witch bits and the transforming was cool. I would recommend this book to anyone who likes fantastic adventures.

A word first about the book, as an object, itself. On the plus side, the paper is quite good quality; but you don't get to the paper without going through that legendary front cover. Please believe me when I say it looks worse in real life than it does in the illustration above. The cover itself looks as though it was produced on a colour photocopier - that slightly secondhand tone - and as though it was designed on a PC. The way the cover is glued to the pages, combined with the quality of the card cover, has left it rippled at the spine, and less than 24 hours after receiving it, the cover of my copy is curling upwards towards the light, so that the whole effect is of a book that was dropped in the bath and left to dry in a car.

And so to the book itself. At 145 pages, Jesse Jameson and the Golden Glow took me just under two hours to read. It's not the worst piece of fiction ever published - but only if you compare it with its closest relative: fan fiction on the internet composed by sweating mutes on prescription drug benders. No wonder it's self published.

I haven't read the Harry Potter books but I understand that each one begins with Harry at home with his dismal adoptive family - and so too does Jesse Jameson. In fact there is nothing particularly wrong with the opening scenes of the book, where Jesse is suffering a hundred torments at the hands of her wicked stepmother and ugly sisters - except, as you will have seen from the last few words, that no fairytale cliché is left unturned. Ironic? Playing with the form? I doubt it. Quickly, however, Jesse finds herself wandering into a fairy ring and mysteriously transported to another world, where the adventure proper begins. And it is here that we learn everything about Jesse and, more interestingly, everything that the author appears to be incapable of.

1. He can't spell. Now all books suffer the occasional typo and everyone has little spelling blindspots, but for a children's author it's appalling to see (to offer some examples) "vocal chords", "manuvoured", "rollacoaster", "gapping" and "frog's spawn" (repeatedly), together with less frequent but equally howling errors of grammar such as getting tenses wrong ("Brimbalin knows where your mother is being keep") and using "her" instead of "she".

2. He can't do tension. There are very very many scenes in the book where Jesse and her companions are in mortal danger - but it never lasts longer than two paragraphs. I lost count of the number of times they were faced with witches or warlocks or octopi or killing machines, when suddenly all was well, through the sudden appearance of one of the other characters. There are four such feeble scrapes in pages 124 to 135 alone. There are never any prolonged struggles or tense chapters or even whole pages. As a result, the whole thing has the feel of a hyper-attention-deficit Saturday morning kid's superhero cartoon on fast forward.

3. He can't do settings. At no point does the reader feel immersed in the landscape - it's a kid's book, you might say, lighten up, but think of the arctic wastes in The Golden Compass (though for this book to be mentioned in the same sentence as His Dark Materials is of course ridiculous) - and even the scenes of magic and transformation seem somehow flat and underworked. "She was here, and suddenly and without warning she was there" is the kind of thing we get.

4. The book is riddled with inconsistencies and illogicalities, from the section where they have to break a code to find Jesse's mother (and do so impossibly), to quick about-faces to cover previously unforeseen loopholes ("Why don't we use the Bell of Truth?" "Ah, but sometimes it doesn't work" or "'There!' shouted a goblin, pointing to the Dragon Hunter, who was perfectly camouflaged but could now be detected by the crystal ball somehow"). It reads as though it was written on the hoof, and the author thought "I can go back later and tidy this up and make it fit in" but then forgot to, or got called away for his dinner.

Needless to say, there is no fine writing in the book, no memorable metaphors or similes - "Night came down like a curtain" seems about the limit of his abilities. And yes, this is a children's book - although the JJ books are now being 'reissued' in adult covers, so they clearly seek to satisfy that audience too. Nonetheless it is quite possible that an undiscriminating child would like this book - but even if they do, will they really want to read the threatened 26th volume when it comes out in 13 years' time (at his current rate of two per year)? And why stop at 26? Why not 84? Or 3,012?

As an adult reader, I thought Jesse Jameson and the Golden Glow was a load of witless rubbish from start to finish.

Jesse Jameson and the Golden Glow is a fantastic debut novel by Sean Wright. It's a feat of imagination, and sees Jesse romping through adventures to save her kidnapped mum in the Fairy Kingdoms. For those qualified to criticise children's books - ie, those who've actually read some - this one rates very highly. It reminds me of Susan Cooper's the Dark is Rising, and has shades of another classic - Alan Garner's Wierdstone of Brisingham.

It's book 1 in a 26 book series that will see it talked about in the same terms as Prachett's Discworld, or Rowling's Hogwarts. It's adventure pure and simple. A great read for those who like their fantasy fast, full of strongly built characters, and twists of irony based on traditional themes. I enjoyed it very much.

This book has attracted glowing reviews from critics and book buyers alike. It has been dubbed 'a modern classic' by people who have years of experience in reading and spotting such. Here's just a few I've gleaned from the author's website: 'Fantastic books (Jesse Jameson Series) and a fine new talent in children's writing ... highly recommended and very good reads. Reminds me of the funny, tongue-in-cheek stuff Philip Ardagh writes. Excellent.' GP Taylor, bestselling author of Shadowmancer

`Very exciting,' Eddie Bell, former Chairman at Harper-Collins

`I have read and enjoyed Jesse Jameson and the Golden Glow and can see why you have so many fans...' Caradoc King, Philip Pullman's Literary Agent

`I really enjoyed the Golden Glow (Book 1 in the series). A brilliant debut novel, which is fast becoming a modern day classic.' Alison Cresswell, CBBC Xchange TV programme producer

'Congratulations on the success of your books!' www.fantasticfiction.co.uk

`Wright's books are full of adventure and magic.' Eastern Daily Press

`Brilliant!' Kidswise Magazine

'Original, beautifully written prose ... a wonderful new writer of immense talent ... destined to become a modern classic.' David Smith, at the Annette Green Author's Agency, representative for million bestseller children's writer, Meg Cabot, Princess Dairies.

`Has the reader hooked from the first page till the last.' The Teacher Magazine

`Readers and listeners alike were spellbound by Jesse's adventures with witches and warlocks ....' BBC Radio Cambridgeshire (Big Read-a-thon 2003)

`It's pacy and well written. The changeling idea is different, and Jesse's step-family are hilarious and evil!' Amazon Review Centre

`Sean Wright's world is hard to get out of my head. It made me breathless, because the pace was so fast.' Cool-reads.co.uk

'I think the Jesse Jameson books are really fantastic,' Paul Moreton, former head at Puffin Books, New York

As I said, this book really is a classic, a wonderful story for any age.

I thought that Golden Glow was a wonderful first time book for kids. I read it to my twins and they loved it. Judy and Trudy are not exactly the easiest pair to pacify or entertain, but Golden Glow did it for them. Especially as two of the main characters in the book have the same name as my girls. That really helped a lot. Yeah, they loved that.

I would recommended this book to anyone with a sense of childish humour. Great fun.

This book - the Golden Glow - has a wonderfully vibrant energy. It whips along, which is a must in a children's book. The characterisation is strong, and the plot is first class, although a little too much 'back story' in the first chapter. Still it really does entertain.

If you like Tolkien, Rowling and Pratchett then this book has a similar feel in tone and content. It's the classic Cinders story with a modern twist. Very strong imaginatitive writing that leaves enough loose ends for the follow up books. I liked it. A fine read for the middle school crowd. Recommended.

I don't normally read too much fantasy/sci-fi books unless I'm familiar with a series or author. When I got Sabriel, though, I knew right away that it was one of those few sci-fi's that can actually keep me interested the whole way. The plot is very intriguing, and the characters can be both serious and hillarious at the same time. Somehow, Sean Wright has managed to create a magical, yet realistic world filled with suspense, romance, and action. It was this book that inspired me to become a fan of Wright, making him one of my favorite writers of all time.

Reviewer: A reader from Flordia, USA
This great book by Sean Wright is a fabulous first novel by a British author and illustrator. Jesse Jameson is a girl-hero who can transform into any creature she can think of, which proves to be a magical talent useful for rescuing her kidnapped mum from the evil witch-sisters, Dendrith and Gwendrith. With laughs, action, magic, and weird charaters and settings, this book has the feeling of a classic. Remember CS Lewis's 'Narnia', or Rowling's 'Hogwarts,' and yes, not on a scale so grand, but still highly original: Tolkein's fantastic fantasy landscapes? The Jesse Jameson Alpha to Omega Series is equally important in children's literature. This is a remarkable book. Check it out.

Sean Wright's Jesse Jameson and the Golden Glow (or J2G2 if you run wiv da kidz) is a book aimed at '8 years or older', apparently. However, most self-respecting kids - I hope - would rather turn their back on such tiresome piffle and read something more entertaining and considerably better written. The back of a cornflakes box, for instance.

Vanity publishing (and this is what you're getting here, parents) is clearly a time-consuming enterprise. Mr Wright is so busy foisting this rubbish on an unsuspecting and unwilling public, that he didn't even have time to proof read this frankly inept draft 1 manuscript. There are endless typos, errant apostrophes, grammatical abominations and some plain old bizarre nonsensical chunks of text that make the mind boggle. I can only assume that the 'Book Description' blurb above comes from Sean's pen too, including as it does (go, go, take a look) "journey's inyo" and "unforgetable". Unforgetable, indeed.

One of the craziest examples of just how poorly constructed this book is, is when two early descriptive passages (one about entering a clearing by a river and the other describing how ugly the witch sisters are) are repeated word for word a few dozen pages later. Very lazy.

Avoid.

I was really looking forward to reading a new author; I love children's books. But ... this author's not worth your time or money. The writing is pretty bad - repetitive, unimaginative. Also, he misuses words - "span" for "spun," for example,on page 28 of the paperback edition. (Where's the editor?) He doesn't develop characters well, just sort of plops them on the page. Descriptions are simplistic and, again, unimaginative. Yuck. I stopped after 32 pages.

If you're looking for good kids' books, try Philip Pullman, Eleanor Farjeon (somewhat oldfashioned and terrific), E. Nesbit, and, of course, J.K. Rowling, whose writing has only improved over the course of the "Harry Potter" series.

Susan Prince
Alta, CA

I have recently come across this book because it was recommended in Book and Magazine Collectors July Edition as 'One to Watch.' I am a keen collector of children's modern fiction, and to see Sean Wright placed alongside JK Rowling, Pullman, GP Taylor, Snicket, Colfer, Nix, Reeve, Augarde, Hussey, Paolini and Funke as one of the most collectable children's authors in the world was really rather remarkable.

I was intrigued, and read the Golden Glow with an enormous amount of pleasure. This book has all the right ingredience for a super children's story: action, magic, and unforgetable characters. There is a great sense of fun in this book, and all the plaudits that have been heaped upon it are well-deserved. Does it match up to the great names in modern children's writing? Yes, indeed. I think Sean Wright is a terrific children's author, and a forerunner in the 'New Collectables' of children's fiction