Customer Reviews

The Sphere of Secrets: Book Two of The Oracle Prophecies

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4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(3)
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Catherine Fisher continues the tales of incarnate gods, desert kingdoms and plots that would shame Machievelli. "Sphere of Secrets" suffers from some awkward, rushed storylines and an unfortunate heroine, but it does have a spellbinding quest story wrapped up in it.

The Archon, a peasant boy named Alexos, has been found, but things haven't improved. The drought continues, General Argelin is still plotting to seize power, and Mirany is still enmeshed in the lies and schemes of the Nine priestesses. So Alexos tells the people that he will bring back prosperity by making a journey to the mystical Well of Songs, to atone for stealing three stars. But he doesn't know that Argelin is blackmailing his pal Seth to kill him.

Meanwhile Mirany is trying to deal with the Oracle's corruption, and the fact that one priestess is secretly in league with Argelin's enemies. Plots are exposed and Mirany finds herself made into a puppet Speaker. Her only hope is that Alexos survives the journey to the Well of Songs...

In concept, there's very little wrong with a story like this. Fisher piles on the wonder and beautiful prose, including everything from a ragged bird-worshiping civilization to a mountain made of diamond. At the same time, she also exposes the frightening results when a religion tries to use lies for its own benefit.

But despite some tense moments, the schemes and plots never come to life, even when the god makes a convenient cameo to save a little girl. Fisher seems more comfortable in Alexos' desert quest, in which the god-boy has to deal with drunks, savages, fallen stars, and a master thief who thinks he's just a crazy little kid.

The biggest flaw is the heroine Mirany. While Seth is struggling to protect his family, we're never really told why Mirany cares about any of this. She also seems a trifle wimpy and naive beside the mysterious desert thieves and the enigmatic Alexos, who can be a cheerful boy one minute and an overpowering god the next.

Though the scheming priestesses get tiresome after awhile, the desert quest for the three fallen stars is reason enough to read "Sphere of Secrets." Not Catherine Fisher's best, but an intriguing read.

The Sphere of Secrets has many of the same problems that the first novel had. I still don't get a feel for society as a whole, and the characters are weak. I feel like the characters are just going through the motions and completing tasks without any drive or determination. They do as ordered by the god and don't really think for themselves. In addition, this novel adds a large amount of traveling. I'm really not into books where the main plot consists of traveling across the land to retrieve an object or complete a task. In a nutshell, that's what this book is. Plenty is happening in this book, but it doesn't seem to fit in with the events of the last story. Most of the events in The Sphere of Secrets are based on the discovery of the sphere and traveling to restore the water. Those things could have been explained without the sphere, and I don't understand why the Archon is just now discovering how to restore water. To sum it up nicely, I would say that the plot doesn't flow very well.

I'm interested in the land, and I want to know what happens with everything. I just want a little more than is being delivered. I want to know more about the characters. I want to know what drives them, why they act the way they do, why they care about certain events. I want to know what the god thinks of people randomly asking for things, and I would like to see a reckoning. I don't know that any of those things will happen, but I will continue to read the series because it's not bad. It's not really good or great, but it's not bad either. I don't judge it too harshly because it is the second book in a trilogy, and I almost expect those to be slow. If you liked the first book, definitely give this one a try.

I enjoyed this second book. It was not a disappointment and carried the same fire as the first. Strong characters with a great story and well developed land to have this little series in. These are great young adult reads.

The Sphere of Secrets starts when Seth- a scribe, gets a star from a trader. The three stars are the keys to getting to the the Well of Songs- a place that water and songs flow out of. Meanwhile, Mirany- one of the Nine, is having some problems- someone is trying to poison her, Rhetia is trying to start a war against Argelin, and Argelin is trying to convince Mirany to become the Speaker- and say what Argelin wants, is what the god wants. Alexos, Seth, Oblek, The Jackal, and The Fox must journey to the Well of Songs, so that the Rain Queen will give them back the rain.
If you like books about mythical gods, then you'll love this book-but first, be sure to read= The Oracle Betrayed: Book One of The Oracle Prophecies!

I liked it a lot. not as good as her first one or her third one. although i didn't understand what Mirany had to do with the plot. I really liked the desert journey though. I didn't understand the point of the Fox either. I really liked the Archon, and the Jackal although his character development I though could be better.

I absolutely love Catherine Fisher's books. Their characters are real, their plots fascinating, and I can never put them down. However, there is just something about them, especially this one, that bothers me a little bit. The character development is all present, but it seems rushed. An example is the internal struggles within the character of The Jackal, in The Sphere of Secrets. It was an excellent idea, but the conflict wasn't even noticable until halfway through the book. Then it grew quickly, was resolved (or so we believe) and died within 150 pages. If only there could have been more...

Cathrine Fisher is one of my favorite authors, and she makes world full of history and myth, making a one-of-a-kind story.

But it' rather confusing, with two theives, Jackal and Fox, and everyone knows that i can't keep two people with similar names straight, and conversations are realistic, but you can't be sure who's talking when.

Another problem is the strange mix of ideas and contridictary remarks the different characeters make, escpecially Seth, the Scibe.

Never the Less, most of the story progresses smoothly, and it remains capitvating the entire way through. It's also mysterious with gods and hidden gardens, and fallen stars.

If a man plans to fail and he achieves it, has he succeeded?
-loser anonymous