Customer Reviews

Landon Snow and the Island of Arcanum (Landon Snow, Book 3)

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

 

 

This is book three of the Landon Snow series, and is a great alternative to Harry Potter or other stories about witches and witchcraft.

Landon Snow and his sisters, Holly, and Bridget, are visiting Grandma and Grandpa Snow in Button Up when they decide to visit the public library. To their surprise while the library is open, no one seems to be there. They hear water dripping, as if the roof is leaking and there's a puddle on the floor, but since they have just come in from outside, they know it isn't raining. Bridget is holding Landon's Bible when the pages start to rise and fall, stopping at the story of Noah and the Ark. Suddenly the waters begin to rise and Landon, Holly, and Bridget are off on a new adventure.

Suspend your belief in reality, and come along on a trip to the Island of Arcanum. You'll meet Wagglewhip, Battleroot, and a talking horse named Melech. Dangers abound, and sometimes it seems like Landon, Holly and Bridget will fail in their mission. Kids will love the Landon Snow series, and so will adults. Think Christmas gift, for the young fantasy lovers on your list.

Written for the upper elementary school age child, Landon Snow And the Island of Arcanum is book three in Reverend Mortenson's series. Landon Snow and his sisters, Holly and Bridget, are drawn into another world when they visit the Button Up Library. Characters from the first two books in the series reappear in this current installation when the three siblings are transported to what appears to be another time period, that of Noah's Ark.

All the animals from a place called Wonderwood have been sent to the island of Arcanum where they are held captive by the evil presence of Malus Quidam. Landon and his sisters learn of the animals' disappearance when they are confronted by the arrival of a vessel on their lonely ocean that seems to be Noah's Ark and is manned by friends Landon has encountered before, Vates, Epops, Trumplestump, Wagglewhip, Melech, Hardy, Ditty and Ludo to name a few.

The mission Landon and his compatriots must complete is an important one to the world of Wonderwood and carries much danger with it. Can Landon and his troupe save the animals of Wonderwood and return them home again? Or will Malus Quidam succeed in destroying the whole group and drawing them into his evil world?

Children will find Landon Snow And the Island of Arcanum entertaining, especially if they read the first two books in the series, Landon Snow and the Auctor's Riddle and Landon Snow and the Shadows of Malus Quidam, prior to reading this third installment in the series.

When I first read these books, they had been touted as the Christian version of Harry Potter. I disagreed because there's no magic and frankly the storyline was not as good. Still though I thought they were good reads for middle grade readers. I liked this book a lot better than the second book in the series, and maybe even a little bit more than the first. I really liked how both of Landon's sisters are involved and the plot here is more direct and straightforward than the other two. The adventures they have are thrilling and there is some humor as well. Kids will love the talking animals and the fantasy characters. There are a few bit dark scenes but nothing too traumatic.

The one qualm I had is that I feel these books tend to be on the preachy side and heavily incorporate use of the Bible and other Christian lingo. While Christian kids might not mind this, if you are uncomfortable with reading about that in books, this might not be the best read for you. Still though, if you have been looking for a good fantasy book for a reluctant reader, this book is good for that. There's lots of adventure, teamwork and morals thrown in that make for a good read. Also there's a lot of respect for the US Navy as well. It's a fast read but one that kids will enjoy reading.

I would highly recommend reading the first two Landon Snow books before you read this one as there are many references to past adventures. Also doing that will give you good insight into Landon's character as well as the fantasy world and the Button Up library.

I will admit that it took me about four months to get through the latest Landon Snow book: LANDON SNOW AND THE ISLAND OF ARCANUM. This book is definitely a slight step down in some ways from Mortensen's last installment: LANDON SNOW AND THE SHADOWS OF MALUS QUIDAM, which was all the way around amazing. This one though, had me shutting the covers a few times because, well, I was bored.

Landon Snow and his family head up to Button Up, and while Landon, Holly, and little sister Bridget are visiting the local library when they are sucked into another world, floating along an immense ocean in a pirate ship. They soon discover that they are to rescue the animals of Wonderwood from the evil island of Arcanum.

Once Mortensen gets the reader to the island, things pick up pretty swiftly and I found myself easily flying through the last few chapters as the adventure unfolds and Mortensen really writes at the top of his game. Some of my biggest problems I had were with how long we spend on the pirate ship simply exploring. Yes, it is nice and all - but it just goes on for chapter after chapter - until we're roughly a 100 pages in. The other problem I had was with Landon crying every other minute. It seems like every few seconds Landon is getting choked up with emotion - over seeing Ditty, over the animals being captured, over seeing his old friends, over saying goodbye to his old friends, on and on and on, cry, cry, cry. Those corny moments really drove me nearly crazy. But those things I can ignore for the greatness of the last few chapters - especially the build-up for the next book, LANDON SNOW AND THE IGNEUS FOREST.

So overall, trudge through the beginning for the great ending chapters. I really hope that he next book finds Mortensen improving some more and going back to the feel of SHADOWS. Until the next library trip...

Landon and his sister Holly have come to expect bizarre and exciting things to happen when they visit their grandparents in Button Up. What they don't expect is that those things might not always follow the same routine to get there.

When Landon and Holly are joined by their sister Bridget on a trek to the library, they don't anticipate that they will all end up sailing a ship at sea. Before much time passes, though, they are joined by some old friends who are on a new quest. In their continuing battle against Malus Quidam and his shadows, they will attempt to rescue Wonderwood's animals. But is Landon's vision enough to rescue not only the animals, but Landon and his friends as well?

Although Landon Snow and the Island of Arcanum is resolved as a stand-alone book, it is also the third in the series and, in that, can be a little confusing to new readers. While I appreciate that there was not a lot of re-hashing of past plots, I would recommend starting at the beginning of the series. Fantasy can be hard enough to follow even without missing links. However, this is a fun and age appropriate fantastical story that doesn't delve into the darkness as many fantasy works do today.

Armchair Interviews says: A fun read, but probably better still if you read the series in order.

Landon Snow, his two sisters Bridget and Holly and his parents are visiting their relatives in Button Up, Minnesota. When they arrive in the library, it suddenly fills up with water and a stone boat allows them to survive the experience. They sail into uncharted waters followed by an ark, which at first they believe is Noah's but soon know it came from their Wonderworld friends. Together with the three children they sail to the island of Arcanum.

There they will gather the animals that were taken from Wonderworld but first they must battle the Arcans, inhuman evil monsters who feed off of fear instead of food. The animals are under an enchantment to obey the Chief Arcanum who worships the shadows of Malus Quidam, the prince of darkness. Once they break the enchantment with the help of the Auctor who is in their hearts and soul, they fight the Arcans with freedom for all at stake.

R.K. Mortenson's latest Landon Snow adventure is a great fantasy even though the protagonists use no sorcery. Their belief in the Avatar sustains them through the darkest times and young adults will enjoy this cross between Harry Potter and the Chronicles of Narnia. Reference to the other books in this series will have readers wanting to go to their nearest bookstore to obtain them.

Harriet Klausner

I've not read the first two Landon Snow adventures.

Several people have quoted clever descriptions and chunks of word weavings from the Auctor's Riddle so I was intrigued to read R.K. Mortenson's third novel.

The Island of Arcanum is a book we'd have chosen to read to our children. Enough suspense to keep a child on the edge of their seat without the nightmare factor. I see Landon Snow appealing to the 2nd to 5th grade set especially.

Mr. Mortenson tosses in enough earthy humor to get a giggle from the Captain Underpants crowd without overdoing it.

Though the Harry Potter series appealed to a huge market, and though well written, I blanched at the underlying mean-spiritedness of the characters. Landon Snow, however, cares about his sisters and his friends from past adventures which makes his adventure series a good alternative.

I didn't get to know Landon as well as I would've liked, and this might be because I haven't read book one or two.

Reviewed by Ian McCurley (Age 12) for Reader Views (12/06)

"Landon Snow and the Island of Arcanum" is about a young boy named Landon Snow and his two sisters, Holly and Bridget. Landon carried with him a magic Bible that would flip to certain underlined passages which would then magically transport him to a perilous adventure. This adventure begins as they are visiting their Grandpa. When they go to the library, they are transported via magic waterfall to the world of Wonderwood. Landon and his sisters arrive on the deck of a US Navy ship. After sailing alone for a day or two, they spot a ship of massive proportions trailing them in the distance. The ship turned out to be an ark, such as the one in the Bible story of Noah's Ark. They meet up with his old friends Vates, Hardy, Ditty and Melech who were sailing on the ark to the Island of Arcanum to fight Malus Quidam. They must journey to the Island of Arcanum where all the animals of Wonderwood and Ditty's parents are being held captive. He will have to fight against the Arcans, an inhuman tribe of demons that wear the skulls of animals on their heads. The author conveys the timeless message that good prevails over evil. From the problems Landon dealt with on, and the way to, the Island of Arcanum, he learned to face his fears with courage. The author was considerably successful in conveying this message. This book is for anyone from 7 to 11 with an interest in fantasy or the ocean. "Landon Snow and the Island of Arcanum" would be a good book to read out loud to children because of the straightforward word choice. It would be wise to endeavor in the exploration of the former two novels in the series as to obtain a higher comprehension of the material.

Book received free of charge.