Customer Reviews

The Kingdom Keepers: Disney after Dark

5 star:		(51)
4 star:		(23)
3 star:		(12)
2 star:		(5)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

Five teens are given the opportunity of a lifetime when they are chosen as interactive Disney Hosts (DHIs) at the famous theme park in Orlando, Florida. Disney has teamed up with a company called Daylight Hologram Imaging to create innovative virtual tour guides, using the teens as models.

Finn Whitman, one of the DHIs, falls asleep one night and has a very weird dream. In this dream, he is in the park talking to an elderly park employee named Wayne, who was also one of Disney's first Imagineers. While Finn is having a very odd conversation with Wayne, he begins to observe some unusual activity in the park. He sees Chip and Dale headed toward Toontown and Goofy going to Frontierland. Now this wouldn't normally be odd in Disneyland, but it is after dark and all of the costumed employees went home hours ago. At this point, Finn is sure he is dreaming because he saw the original cartoon characters. Not only that, but he notices that his own body is glowing. Wayne assures him that it is not a dream, tells him that he must locate the other four DHIs for a special mission.

It seems that the Magic Kingdom is in danger from evil forces within its walls. In order to save the park, Finn and the other DHIs must cross over in their sleep into a state where they are not fully human yet not fully light.

Ridley Pearson does a great job of expressing the thoughts and conversations of his young teen characters. Even as their situations metamorphose into the fantastic, the kids remain completely realistic. Although this book is written for a young adult audience, it would appeal to anyone who has ever experienced the magic and wonder that is Disney.

Largely known for his adult suspense fiction, Pearson follows his popular "Peter and the Starcatchers" with this action packed early teen novel. The author dedicates the novel to all of us who've wondered what happens at Disney World once the park closes. Weaving just a bit of high tech into the storyline, this suspenseful plot propels our hero, Finn, and his friends to discover the truth of the magic behind the closed gates of the theme park. While engaging the reader with ideas of holograms as park tour guides and other near future possibilities, "Kingdom Keepers" will keep you reading until the wee hours. Good clean fun and highly recommended for the 10-14 year olds as well as Disney fans of all ages.

Finn Whitman was one of five teenagers chosen to become the newest attractions at Walt Disney World -- fully interactive holograms to guide visiters around the theme park. But when the children go to sleep, they find themselves "crossing over" into their hologram forms, trapped in the theme park after night, where dark forces are conspiring to take things over. The children learn that beings called the Overtakers are adopting the images of Disney's characters -- particularly their villains -- in a bid for power, leeching on the imaginations of Walt Disney and his Imagineers to become real. But Walt anticipated this day would come, and left clues behind. The only way to save Walt Disney World -- and maybe the entire world -- is to solve Walt's riddle in time.

Ridley Pearson has proven himself (with Dave Barry) to be a strong author of young reader's books in addition to his more well-known adult fiction. With this novel, he actually takes things one step further, setting a fairly satisfying suspense/mystery adventure in Disney World itself. The book (itself published by Disney, thus avoiding any pesky copyright issues) is a quick, fast-paced adventure, and something that fans of Disney and its theme parks will certainly enjoy.

Not to say there aren't any problems. Some of the characters, particularly the girls, are somewhat wooden. There are a few segments where the discussions of the park start to sound like a Disney commercial, but these parts are few and far between -- most of the information doled out is either necessary to the plot or interesting enough that you can forgive the occasional meandering. Pearson leaves the ending fairly wide open -- the Overtakers aren't definitely beaten and there are a dozen questions left unanswered, making it easy to imagine this book is a "pilot" of sorts for a series of young reader's books. As series go, I think this could be a good one. A little more "grounded" than Harry Potter, not as insane as A Series of Unfortunate Events, and with a built-in Disney fanbase, The Kingdom Keepers could well be a pretty entertaining series of novels.

Do not get your hopes up die-hard Disney fans. This book centered in the Magic Kingdom is less than magical.

I do not want to give anything away, therefore this will limit my review some. My overall impression of the writer, Pearson, is that he was young, this was his first book and he was trying to make a big break. It was only after I read this book that I viewed his bio; I would have expected more. Honestly, without reading his bio I did expect more.

This story is about five teenages that are chose to be Disney Hosts, via Holograms around the Magic Kingdom. Something goes wrong in the park and these kids are expected to solve the mystery. They are pulled in by an Imagineer and expected to do the impossible.

The story lacks plot and substance. These characters, the hologram hosts for WDW, are the focus of the story. However, the story never comes out to tell why they were really chosen. It mentions skills, much of which are never really focused on. It mentions one character's attitude a lot, but never really their story.

There are a lot of holes and gaps. The author bounces all over the place without breaking chapters. One moment we are reading about something they are doing now, the next moment we are jumping to a conversation taking place elsewhere. The story is somewhat empty, lacking detail and a reason for the plot. The writer never really goes into why the issues are taking place and how they knew it could happen. He never goes into the Imagineers story and why he lives in the MK and how all of these kids were really chosen to take part in this mystery.

The characters lack character. The writer does not do a very good job of describing the characters. I could not get a mental picture of any of them other than Dillard, and this was only because he continued to focus on his weight. None of these characters really had a story, a good solid background or anything of the sort.

One other thing that irritated me about the book, though it did not really affect the story, was the amount of errors. There were some minor story errors, such as mentioning five kids when it should have been four or using the word "was" when he should have used "is" or "were".

At the end of the book, there are two characters whose stories were left wide-open. It was like somebody telling you a short story and reading only half of it.

Overall, this could have been a good book if it were about 200 pages longer. It was missing so much. I know this is for young readers and not especially written for adults. My nearly 11-year-old daughter is reading it now and is also telling me that she feels the writer did not do a good job of describing the characters, she feels there are parts of the story missing and it is a little hard to follow the jumping around.

Harry Potter and Chronicles of Narnia are both for young readers and both authors did a fantastic job giving a mental picture. I was unable to do that with this book. Having been to WDW many many times, I could not even make a clear picture using his descriptions of the Magic Kingdom. I really expected more.


This story ended so that a sequel could be written. I hope that if a sequel is written, that he takes the time to tell a good story. Though this story is unrealistic, it could have been great.

I was very excited when this book came out and could not wait to read it because of the reviewers' positive reviews. I also was excited for it because I am a Disney fan and love everything about Disney, especially Disneyland. However, this was a very, very poorly written book. Now I am almost in my 30s so I guess I could agree that I'm not Finn's age and maybe wouldn't understand as well. On the other hand, I generally only read children's books so I believe I have a good understanding of what a good piece of children's literature is and this is not it. The writing was clumsy and as was mentioned before, wooden. Very wooden. It had good ideas, but did not deliver. Instead, it seemed like a marketing gimmick. If you enjoy good children's literature, do not read.

I've wanted to read THE KINGDOM KEEPERS for some time. I'd had it on my bookshelf -- waiting patiently to be read -- for about a year, and finally I picked it up and polished it off. I must say that I think I was a bit disappointed after I was finished. The story is interesting, and the characters aren't exactly boring, but it seems like Ridley Pearson missed out on an incredible opportunity to write something truly amazing and yes, magic.

The story centers around a boy named Finn, who after being filmed as a holographic guide for Walt Disney World, finds that when he sleeps, he crosses over to Disney World in the form of his holographic self. While there, he and four other guides find out that the park is in danger from the evil Overtakers, who are plotting to take over Disney World. What ensues is a wild romp throughout the many rides and hidden places of the theme park, with the kids battling it out with evil along the way.

I think where Pearson missed the boat is in the action sequences. His dialogue is pretty spot-on with the writing technique, but when it comes to those action scenes, he really gets confusing. Random tidbits of information are thrown in around an exciting chase. Or suddenly, we have to find out about some girl's outfit as she's fighting evil in terror. I found myself having a hard time following what exactly was happening, and wishing that it could have been a little clearer or more concise maybe.

It also seems like a lot of time is spent outside Disney World in the story, when the theme park is where I wanted to see more action happen. Of course, the kids have to go home at some point, but it still would have been more interesting to read about them in other places of the Magic Kingdom.

After all's said and done though, it wasn't a terrible book -- and it didn't take too long to read either. Younger kids will have a lot of fun with it, but for me, it just didn't quite cut it. Here's hoping that book two steps it up a notch.

After hearing so much buzz about this book my group of former Disney Cast Members decided to check it out. I'll speak for myself and say it's a light hearted book, with an incredible story base that has potential. But be warned, don't think to much and you'll get through it. If you're a Harry Potter fan and enjoy the attention to detail and crisp narrative you'll be sorely disappointed with KK.

The writing is choppy, fractured sentences annoying and editing poor. I was annoyed by a plural "s" in "Fantasmics" - it's Fantasmic. Yet, he knew the correct name of "Cinderella Castle." (it's NOT possessive as many guests refer to it.) Some one said the author "phoned it in" - I'd have to agree. Another review mentioned he tossed in some Disney "buzz words" - boy was it obvious! (ie: a very awkward and out of place reference to a "Fast Pass".) My belief is that he wrote it praying it would become a movie or Disney Channel series.

The biggest Disney "Fopaux" was that he correctly referred to Maleficent as real, as well as Goofy and Chip & Dale...but later on when the kids were in the Utilidors Tunnels below the MK they saw characters without their heads and princesses in street clothes. ANY Cast Member knows this kind of dialog is UNSPEAKABLE. Even if it was OK...why are some Characters real and others just costumes?

Also, don't be fooled, the Overtakers are just Maleficent and early on some bumbling Pirates. There are no Disney Characters who help out the story, yet the early spotting of Goofy and Chip & Dale make you think more are coming.

The main characters also have no background except for one African American boy...who has a chip on his shoulder for no reason and his dialog is very stereotypical. The girls are seen as weak or sexy. The author also details characters by their physical weight appearance which is crude. The most disappointing is the main character isn't much of a leader. Yet the author does try to give the lesson it's not right to lie to your parents.

After all that, you'd think I'd give this 1 star, not 3. But it's an enjoyable and mindless read. It's a children's book. I actually enjoyed it despite its faults and will read future books in the series mainly out of curiosity but hope they tighten up the editing.

I won't bother with a synopsis since earlier reviewers have captured the main points.

I bought this book because I am a huge Disney fan. I've been to WDW at least once a year since it opened in 1971. Which should also tell you I'm a bit older than the recommended reading age for this book!

Reading this book is a little like a night time ride on Thunder Mountain. It's dark and eerie sometimes, but most of all, it's a wild ride. Lots of sharp turns, plunging drops and a scream out loud fun time.

It's a strong enough story that even if you weren't familiar with the theme parks or Disney, it would capture most readers' imagination, regardless of their age.

But, it's the ideal read for those of us who enjoy adventure/mysteries AND love Disney. It's great fun to read about all the places you've seen inside the parks, attractions you've ridden and characters you've loved (or not.)

You'll love it.

A young man named Finn, along with four other young teens, have been chosen to serve as digital hosts at the Magic Kingdom. In return for letting their images be used, each of the kids receives scholarships that will pay for their college. Unfortunately, there's evil afoot in the Land That Walt Disney built. The Imagineers behind the digital host program know there are beings they call the Overtakers who are subverting the Magic Kingdom and causing Bad Things to happen. Finn and his friends have been given the unique ability to actually become part human/part digital and travel through the Magic Kingdom. In this form, they can see the mysterious Overtakers. The down side is that they can also be hurt by their enemies. Wayne, one of the Imagineers, tells Finn and his friends that they were specially chosen to be part of the quest to find the answer to a puzzle left by Walt Disney. Once they find the treasure, they should be able to defeat the evil Overtakers once and for all. Of course, it's not that simple and many adventures lie ahead.

Ridley Pearson has written other YA novels with Dave Barry that star Peter Pan. He's got three more YA books starring Disney properties that will be coming out soon. He's also a bestselling adult fiction writer, prominently the Lou Boldt detective novels that generally involve serial killers.

THE KINGDOM KEEPERS is a fun romp. With easy-to-read prose and lots of dialogue, the target audience will swiftly race through the 300+ pages. The addition of the Magic Kingdom as the setting will allow the park's visitors to relive experiences and sights, which was no doubt in the minds of everyone when this book was produced.

However, the brisk pacing doesn't allow much time for any of the characters other than Finn to get fleshed out. The other four digital hosts are almost interchangeable and get lost in the mix. The stakes are high, but they don't really feel that way.

THE KINGDOM KEEPERS, although not as richly imagined on the page -- although the Magic Kingdom has a starring role and is very richly imagined -- as a Harry Potter novel, will keep many of those same readers just as entertained. Pearson's effort is easy to read and fast-paced, and it offers a return visit to the Magic Kingdom for those who have been, and a glimpse of that world for those that haven't.

Although I thought this book was entertaining I was very disappointed by the way the female characters were portrayed.
2 of the girls were very shallow and stupid sounding (extemely annoying) seemingly unconcerned with the task at hand. The others were evil.
In the end the boys were the heros, rescuing one of the helpless girls from an evil witch woman.
The girls were also describe in terms of their level of physical attractiveness, beauty, sexuality. The boys weren't.
I hate to be so picky, but it was sort of disappointing to see this level of passive sexism in a book for younger teens.