Customer Reviews

Telling Pool

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The book The Telling Pool by David Clemet-Daives, is a great medieval themed book for young adults. The book starts off with a boy named Rhodri speaking to a fortune teller who tells him his fortune; that he is to undergo a quest to save the kingdom. Rhodri's father tells him to get away from the teller and stay with him. Rhodri, of course, wanders off and finds a blind black smith who tells him the true tale behind Excalibur the Sword of a Thousand Tears. The smith then tells Rhodri of a wondrous telling pool where only to special people the pool reveal its secrets. Rhodri's father gets called off to the Holy Wars and is gone a long time. Rhodri one day is practicing his falconine skills when his bird gets lost. He wanders through the woods and finds the blind black smith and looks into the pool and sees horrific things. When Rhodri comes back to reality, he remembers that his mother is getting sick, and when his father comes back furious for some reason, he turns to the telling pool, and heads on a quest.

This book starts off slowly with the carnival, but gradually gains speed, as the reader progresses into this new world. There is much description in this book, especially with the telling pool scenes. The reader may have to reread the telling pool scenes to get the full picture. The book itself is a good-sized book for seventh through tenth grade. Not too long, not too short, but just right. The book's action could have started earlier and focused more on the quest part, instead of leaving only three chapters for the quest out of a sixteen chapter book. Fortunately the action builds up before the quest. Best of all, you feel Rhodri's emotions through out the whole book, which always makes a good book.

It makes me sick to hear of all these people who didn't like this book.. I thought it was a very unique read and action set. I couldn't put the book down. It tells the story of Rhodri Falcon, a boy living long ago. His father is sent to war, and young Rhodri creates a friendship with a strange old man who tells him of dark secrets and magical swords and pools. Rhodri grows up to be a young man when his father returns, an angry, bitter man who is nothing like who Rhodri remembers. Rhodri sets out to save his father's heart, and keep his mother's from breaking. Great read, I highly recommend it.

The Telling Pool is not of the same stature as the author's other books. His faults:
1. The book aims itself at twelve year old boys (and their interests)
2. There are some passages in the book (such as the main character inventing snow-boarding) that could have been taken from the Disney Channel (I mean that as a sneer)
3. It is another one of those tales about King Arthur
4. Slow and boring
5. All-around unoriginality
6. The ending
7. It is a poor follow up to his previous successes

I ask anyone who was interested in The Telling Pool to instead look up The Sight and The Firebringer. They are heavy reads, confusing at times and complicated, but well worth the read.