Pendragon (Boxed Set): The Merchant of Death; The Lost City of Faar; The Never War [Paperback]

D.J. MacHale (Author)

Book Description

Series: Pendragon

Bobby Pendragon is a seemingly normal fourteen-year-old boy. But there is something very special about Bobby. He is going to save the world. And not just Earth as we know it. Bobby is swept off to an alternate dimension known as Denduron, a territory ruled by a magical tyrant, and plagued by dangerous revolution. If Bobby wants to see his family again, he’s going to have to accept his role as savior. Because, as he is about to discover, Denduron is only the beginning. . . .

--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

D.J. MacHale is the author of the #1 New York Times bestselling Pendragon series. He has written, directed and produced many television series and movies for young people that have been seen on Nickelodeon, The Disney Channel, HBO, Showtime, PBS, Discovery Kids and the broadcast networks. D.J. lives with his family in Southern California.

Product Details

• Paperback: 1136 pages
• Publisher: Aladdin; Original edition (September 28, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0689038089
• ISBN-13: 978-0689038082
• Product Dimensions: 7.9 x 5.3 x 3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.8 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (21 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #569,155 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

D. J. MacHale is a writer, director, and producer of several popular television series and movies that include Flight 29 Down; Are You Afraid of the Dark?; Encyclopedia Brown, Boy Detective; Tower of Terror; and Ghostwriter. Pendragon, his first book series, is a #1 New York Times bestselling series. He lives in southern California with his wife, Evangeline; his daughter, Keaton; a golden retriever, Maggie; and a kitten, Kaboodle.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Greatest Series of Books, May 14, 2005

By 

JMK - See all my reviews

This review is from: Pendragon (Boxed Set): The Merchant of Death; The Lost City of Faar; The Never War (Paperback)

The popular Booby Pendragon is a normal kid until he his peculiar Uncle Press showed him a "flume" a portal that allows "travelers" to travel to different dimensions.

Of course there is no story without an evil villian, and that's where Saint Dane comes in. As you probably can guess Saint Dane wants to control all of "halla" which is everything that ever is, was, or will be.

The traveler's mission is to defeat Saint Dane, and all travelers have special powers. Travelers can only die when it was meant to be. Travelers heal extremely quickly. Every language spoken sounds like a traveler's costumary language. Saint Dane can transform into any creature he wishes.

This is the greatest series of books. It is well writen, very detailed, and most of all a great series of stories. Anyone who reads these books will become fans quickly, as the magic that D.J. Machale has written pull you into Pendragon

(I pressed "chilkdren's review" by accident)

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars I read the first book in this series to my 8th graders, July 24, 2005

By 

Rutablavsky "scape_veloct" (Colorado Springs, CO) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Pendragon (Boxed Set): The Merchant of Death; The Lost City of Faar; The Never War (Paperback)

Many of them were reading below grade level, and only read if forced to.
The day I first started reading Merchant of Death in class, their interest and attention was immediate. What 8th grader WOULDN'T be interested in a book that starts with making out?
After reading the first book aloud in class, I ordered 9 of these box sets for eager and demanding students wanting to find out what happened next. As enough people started reading them, a "Pendragon is cool" culture became acceptable within the "It's cool to be apathetic and hate reading" culture, and even more kids started reading them. The Pendragon series is extremely appealing to this age group, and is a great way to throw the lifeline of recreational reading to those drifting out to sea.
I will not kid you and tell you these books have immense literary value. They are, however, fast paced, suspenseful, and entertaining. MacHale should be congratulated on creating a series that appeals to readers and nonreaders alike.

8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Fine introduction to this meandering fantasy series!, December 28, 2004

By 

Luke Mueller "Luke" (USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Pendragon (Boxed Set): The Merchant of Death; The Lost City of Faar; The Never War (Paperback)

Hobey ho, folks!

Vaguely reminiscent of Animorphs, the Pendragon books are light reading, but enjoyable nonetheless. It should be noted that these books demand that you don't think about them too hard. Nitpicky people who want their fantasy to be anything in the realm of believable should steer clear. By believable I obviously don't mean "realistic." Pendragon is based on a teen's travel through time and space in a hunt for an evil demon. Rather, I mean there's nothing to make discriminating readers feel that the world they're reading about is something tangible enough to spend their precious time exploring.

The first three books in the series, included in this set, are in my opinion the best. "The Merchant of Death" is a gripping, intriguing, fast-paced novel that is more imaginative and mature than those that follow it; like the original Matrix movie, it is the least flashy but also has the most enigmatic and breathtaking plot; it contains none of the pretension or drabness that threaten to well up in later parts of the chronicle. "The Lost City of Faar" involves a Waterwold-style setting and a hackneyed but still very fun storyline. "The Never War," involving time travel to 1930's NYC, is probably my favorite book in the series. This is odd because I'm usually much more interested in extraordinary fantasylands like those in the first two books than some boring trip to the `30's, but "The Never War" is exciting and introduces Gunny, a very appealing character.

The more recent fourth and (especially) fifth entries are not so hot, as author MacHale becomes cocky and starts running out of ideas at the same time. But you won't have to commit to them here! Hypothetically, though, let's say you buy this item and read the three books included (which you darn well better do! right now!). Some advice:

If you *love* these books go ahead and buy the rest.
If you're not exactly enthralled but enjoy these books somewhat, don't waste your time with the rest of the books. Or else you should further test the waters with book 4, which is pretty good.
If you hate these books, you either have bad taste or no idea what you want in a story.

A creative reader can come up with a better plot path for the series than the last book has presented. It's sort of disappointing. BUT that's a nonissue if you're just looking at this set, which includes three great books. Like sci-fi? Buy these books now. It's a great price. I swear I don't work for Amazon, the publisher, or the author. Come on. Add it to the cart.