5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Is It As Good?, August 9, 2007
As the first book in Annie Ursu's "Cronus Chronicles" series "The Shadow Thieves" was one of my favorites of 2006, I highly anticipate buying my copy of the sequel, "The Siren Song" when it came out this summer. Though it wasn't quite as good as its predecessor, the writing still has that same quality. It reads like J. K. Rowling-lite with a bit of Lemony Snicket sprinkled throughout for flavor, with dialogue that snaps and zaps across the pages like a blast from Poseidon's trident.
While it lacks the sentimentality of the last book in some aspects (particularly the story arc of Zee's grandmother from "The Shadow Thieves") the sense of humor is certainly taken up a notch. Resident hero Charlotte Mealswetski deals with the repercussions of her actions in the first book, both from her parents (who've grounded her) and a few angry Greeks gods (who want nothing less than her untimely death). Without revealing the plot, I can say this: Unlike the first book in the series, this is much more of a solo adventure for Charlotte. Zee is... let's say incapacitated for the majority of the novel, which is good and bad. On the good side, we get to know Charlotte a lot better, as her character develops radically, but yet till subtly, throughout these four hundred and thirty pages. A negative about not having Zee around as much is that we don't get as much dialogue between the two of them as we did last time, which was always a treat. However, I daresay it was worth it to see Charlotte venturing bravely by herself into a new aquatic world to take on Poseidon and Philinecron (once again). The world Ursu shows us in this book is as quirky as the underworld from "The Shadow Thieves", but also as different from it as can possibly be.
One thing that I felt was both good and bad was the fact a lot of time was spent with Charlotte dealing with being grounded by her parents after the events of the previous book. What could've been covered in two or three chapters was given an entire quarter of the book to play out. However, it's a testament to how good Ursu's writing is that she kept me entertained during this not-so-perfect section of the book. But while there are parts that aren't as good as the first book, there are also explosively good sections--such as the page-turner of a climax--that easily trump "The Shadow Thieves."
So if you liked "The Shadow Thieves" last year, and you want to read something with a little bit of drama, a little bit of epic, and a lotta bit of funny, I highly suggest you check out "The Siren Song."
8/10
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5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Still fantastic..., June 19, 2007
Everyone that I know who read Shadow Thieves absolutely loved it. Well, they'll love the second book in the series, too. I don't want to spoil any surprises, but rest assured that Charlotte and Zee are not satisfied with the way things ended at the end of book one...neither are their enemies.
I sure love these characters, I love Anne Ursu's humor, and I absolutely can't wait to see what happens next.
I highly recommend this book for male and female readers 8-14.
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2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Funny Fishy Fantasy, September 2, 2007
A lot of writers TRY to be funny, but Anne Ursu actually pulls it off. You know you're in for a good time when the four parts of a fantasy book are titled "Fish," "Fishy," "Fishier," and "Fishiest." Ursu has a field day with the fact that a girl who disappeared one night (in the last book) to save the world did not get praised when she came home; instead she was grounded for life and sent to a therapist:
"After they call the police to tell them you have returned home safely, and then they hug you a lot and cry for a while, well--after that, they want to know where you've been. (And, for that matter, why you are covered in weird-looking slime, purple cobwebs, and Harpy poo, and why your cat's leg is broken.) And when you don't tell them, they tend to get pretty upset. And after a few days, when you still haven't told them, they stick you in therapy. They're going to give you speeches about how DISAPPOINTED they are in you and how family is all about TRUST and how you worried them to DEATH and you don't have the decency to explain where you WERE and they have to assume the worst--which is that you can't be trusted. And then they ground you. A lot. Charlotte Mielswetzski had once thought that she could talk her way out of any situation. This was before she came back from the Underworld."
That's just a small sampling of the tongue-in-cheek style, which supports the microscope Ursu turns on human nature even as she moves her adventure story along. Ursu is especially good at showing the basic disconnect between kids and grown-ups: adults say they want to hear what kids are thinking, but when the kids venture to share their true thoughts, they are met with disapproval or even punishment.
Surprisingly, another set of feelings the author spotlights are those of her villain Philonecron. Ursu gives us his point of view about being defeated and wanting revenge. Even as readers are laughing at what an astonishing megalomaniac the man (or rather demigod) is, they will be able to relate just a little to his feelings. After all, it's hard to be a perfectionist. For example, Philonecron is bothered by the (siren) lounge singer on Poseidon's yacht's "tendency to be one sixty-fourth of a note sharp on anything in her upper register or the fact that the ship had lounge singers at all."
Further irony anchoring this plot: having stopped the bad guy in Book One, Charlotte and Zee are now on the recieving end of payback from Philonecron's powerful relatives, namely, his grandfather Poseidon. We find out that Poseidon lives on the world's most massive, beautiful and tacky yacht, tacky because the gawdy decor has a distinctive "Poseidon's face" theme and the god tends to wear white pants with gold chains and not much more, showing off his blue chest hairs.
Did I mention Anne Ursu is funny?
Anyway, the story gets going when Poseidon's people start messing around with Zee and Charlotte at their school, but they don't catch on until it's too late. By that time, Charlotte's parents have already taken her on an educational cruise, little realizing that the whole thing is a setup to allow Poseidon to carry out his revenge scheme.
I think the only bit that didn't quite work for me was the giant squid character, but that's merely a quibble compared to the overall success of this fresh and funny book. I liked The Lightning Thief, but I have to say: Anne Ursu really gives Rick Riordan a run for his money when it comes to throwing Greek gods and contemporary kids together.
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