Customer Reviews

The Purple Emperor

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I found the first book, Faerie Wars, pretty interesting so I decided to read this one. In many ways it had excellent qualities such as suspense, mystery and a bit of romance. I'll have to admit, I finished the book pretty quickly because I got hooked onto it and didn't want to put it down. There were many twists and turns of the plot, and it was practically impossible to guess what would happen next at times.
I did, however, find the ending a tad abrupt. It was such a shame to finish the book without any more information on Pyrgus, Mr. Fogarty, Henry or Blue. But overall the book was an excellent one..... it will certainly capture your interest.

WHAT I DON'T LIKE: Its a great story, except for the lack of an ending. Herbie Brennan has got a wonderful story going, but I'm sorry, I cannot stand it when a book does not answer most of my questions by the end. I read this book almost a year ago, so although I dont remember exactly what questions I had, i still remember being highly confused. I am sure many people do not feel the same way I do about this book, I do not intend on offending anyone who has already read this book and loved it, I am simply stating my opinion. Although I did not enjoy these books as much as I had hoped I would, I still recommend it. As I said before, this is a great story.

WHAT I DID LIKE: Henry and Blue actually kiss, (it was bound to happen sooner or later)Pyrgus meets a woman and falls in love, and Mr. Fogary meets a woman, also. The plot was great, and the characters likable. ( If only it were not for the ending, I would give this book 4 stars. )

I hope my review was in any way helpful =)

In his sequel to 'Faerie Wars', Herbie Brennan offers up plenty of action, thrills, chills, and suspense, but 'The Purple Emperor' sadly does not stand up to the standards set by its prequel.

Pyrgus Malvae is about to be crowned Purple Emperor, and he is dreading every part of his new found power. All to suddenly, the body of the soon-to-be-burried former Purple Emperor, Pyrgus and Holly Blue's father, has been stolen and resurrected back to life by their old enemy, Black Hairstreak. Meanwhile, former characters are plotting their own schemes, as Jasper Chalkhill, the flamboyant spy for Hairstreak, is pulled out of jail and has a physchic wyrm inserted into his bottom (no joke) in order to help assasinate Pyrgus for Hairstreak. And also, the old demonologist Brimstone has been hiding out with his new, and very temporary, wife until Beleth makes him an offer he can't refuse. Eventually, all of these character's paths cross in a monumental battle of wits and danger.

Sounds confusing, but Brennan weaves the multi-plot strands relatively well. The story unfolds in short chapters, unlike its prequel, and the majority of the story is furiously-paced, almost too fast. The whole beginning was a blur, and Brennan rushed it way too quickly. The characters are so quickly thrown in the action, I felt as if I was on the sidelines watching instead of actually involved in the story. Brennan's own demise is the rushed pacing and how fast he tried to set up the plot and action, as it stopped him from forming the solidity of a good beginning and base for the remainder of the story. The faerie realm felt very empty as I was pulled along by the fast pace, but once you get past the bad beginning, the rest of the story is a action-packed adventure that leads to a shocking ending.

Bogged down by a rushed beginning, 'The Purple Emperor' eventually closes with a strong conclusion and I only recommend it to fans of the first book who like Brennan's use of suspense and action. Here's hoping the third book, 'Ruler of the Realm', returns to the qualities that made the first book enjoyable, yet believable, fantasy.

The Purple Emperor is the sequel to Faerie Wars, a superior book you should definately check out.

All of our familar heroes and villans of Faerie Wars are back in this sequel, including Pyrgus Malvae's dead father. Yes, the nighters are again attempting to take over the faerie realm, this time using the former emperor's reanimated corpse. With the help of some new allies, Pyrgus, Blue, Fogarty, and Henry must fight the evil faeries and demons in their quest to regain control of the faerie realm.

I enjoyed Faerie Wars and thought it was full of fresh, entertaining wit. One of the things I enjoyed about the book was the interplay of Henry's life in England and his absurd family problems with the all-too serious drama going on in the faerie realm. However, very little of the "analogue world" shows up in this sequel. Instead, the book focuses totally on the faerie realm. Henry's family is out of the picture. The Purple Emperor just isn't as funny as Faerie Wars. It moves along at breakneck speed with short chapters and lots of action, but ultimately is just not as satisfying. It's a quick, light, entertaining read, but it doesn't live up to the promise of its prequel.

Those Bad Boys from the Chalkhill and Brimstone Miracle Glue factory are back:

"The worm was more like an eel or a snake, except it was segmented and protected by a natural, glistening armoured shell. It stared at Chalkhill with black, beady eyes from the bottom of a heated glass tank."

I'm generally resistant to writing about sequels. Indeed, I oftentimes procrastinate as far as reading them myself. If I've done my best to persuade readers to check out a great book, I figure they'll either want to read the sequel when it appears or they won't.

"It didn't sound too bad to Chalkhill. 'What do I do? Keep the worm with me in my pocket? Something of that sort?'
"The Facemaster hesitated. 'Ah...not exactly. The symbiote must be absorbed into your body.'
"Chalkhill's jaw dropped. 'I have to swallow it?'
"The Facemaster shook his head. 'Human saliva is toxic to the species. Consequently the insertion must be made in one nostril. The worm slides down your throat, crawls through the stomach into the large intestine, thence to the small intestine and, ultimately. the bowel, where it takes up permanent residence in your bottom.' "

Sounds uncomfortable, but it is actually that worm's butting in on Chalkhill's thoughts and conversations once it's taken up residence in his south end that becomes the bane of his despicable existence:

"Do be quiet, be quiet, be quiet! Chalkhill screamed inside his skull. The worm had talked non-stop from the moment it was inserted. If it went on very much longer, he was going to go mad. 'Why won't this thing shut up?' he asked the Facemaster.
" 'The worm? They do that, I'm afraid. Most people get used to it eventually.'
" 'Most people?' Chalkhill echoed. 'What about the ones who don't?'
" 'They usually hang themselves.'
" 'Which creates an interesting legal dilemma,' said the worm in Chalkhill's mind, having clearly eavesdropped on the spoken conversation. 'Should one bring a charge of suicide or murder? There are those lawyers who hold that the symbiotic relationship creates, in effect, a new entity, in which case hanging must be deemed an act of suicide. But there are others who would argue that the two sentient entities--wangaramas wyrm and faerie--remain distinct, if interlinked, in which case the suicide of one involves the murder of the other. In Jessup v. Trentonelf, however, Lord Justice Bedstraw ruled on the possibility of collusion by the wangaramas, which raises the spectre of assisted suicide, an offence in itself which, while carrying a lesser penalty than first degree murder, will nonetheless--'
" 'Can't they just have the worm removed?' asked Chalkhill, desperately ignoring the inner monologue. 'Can't I just have the worm removed?' He could just possibly survive until he slaughtered Pyrgus at his Coronation, but after that he wanted the worm out again within the hour."

Sadly for Chalkhill, the removal procedure takes six months. And sadly for you--if you haven't yet read FAERIE WARS--you've got some serious catching up to do before you can discover what other advice that wascally Wangaramas Worm named Cyril offers his new partner, Chalkhill.

If you HAVE already read FAERIE WARS,you'd know all about the secret ingredient in the glue and why Chalkhill deserves such a fate. You'd know about the Realm and about the adventures of Pyrgus Malvae, Holly Blue, Henry Atherton, and Mr. Fogerty, whose irascible, down-to-earth manner continues to make him the most unlikely character that I've ever met in a fantasy. And you'd know of Lord Hairstreak and why the state of affairs in the Realm are currently in a shambles.

Herbie Brennan is a master of walking that fine line between the dark and sinister on one hand and the utterly wacky and endearing on the other. (I'd do ANYTHING for my own endolg.) Brennan is able to create a thorough sense of otherworldliness in characters with whom you could instantly imagine having for friends. He is able to juggle five sets of characters in five different locales, and leave us hanging satisfied on one cliff after another after another.

Having finally been shamed into making time for THE PURPLE EMPEROR by my best fantasy-consuming high school reader--who places this at the pinnacle of his 2004 heap--I've got to tell you that it's time for you to step through the portal into the dangerous and delightful world of Herbie Brennan.

The book The emperor by Herbie Brennan is an interesting book for all ages. This book is a sequel to the book Faerie Wars. The book Faerie wars is also a great book.If you love faerie tales and real life stories you would love this book. The book Purple Emperor is about Princess Blue, Prince Prygus, Mr.Frogarty, and Henry and theire adventures. Prygus is destined to become the purple emperor, the person who rules over faerie world. Prygus has many enemies including an evil dark faerie, Hairstreak, who wants to become the purple emperor. Hairstreak has to get through Prygus, Blue, Henry, Mr. Frogarty, and many others to become the purple emperor. The bad thing is that Hairstreak has both Pyrgus's and Blue's fathers' body which he has turned into a walking zombie which he controls. What would they do to destroy Hairstreaks plan of becoming Purple Emperor?

I loved it! I loved the first one and now the second one is great.
I recomend this to someone looking for an easy read. Maybe not a light read but it is not difficult to understand.
my only ish with this book is that since it jumps between characters you may be dying to hear about one then have to wait a few chapters. That's okay though due to the fact that the chapters are short sweet and to the point.

This is the 2nd book of the series Faerie Wars. I actually liked this one better than the first. This book takes place mostly in the Faerie World. There we meet up with characters from the first book like Pyrgus, Henry, Mr. Fogarty, Blue, Hairstreak, Brimstone, etc. It picks up a couple weeks after the last one left off. Pyrgus is getting ready to become Emperor but he doesn't really want to. All of the sudden he finds out that he doesn't have to because his deceased father is back. From there it justs rolls with adventure for everyone.
I personally didn't have a problem with the abrupt ending. I know sequels sometimes do that and looking for to book 3 - Ruler of the Realm to clear things up.

How else are you going to get to Ruler of the Realm? which is the 3rd in the series--and more engaging than the first two, I believe. Please don't purchase this book for kids below high school age, thank you, but do read it if you've read Faerie Wars and want to see what happens next. Then get Ruler of the Realm....

Personally I don't really like to read so the books that I actually do are usually pretty good. I was afraid that I would not know what was going on since it was a sequel but I wasn't the least bit lost at all. This book was perfect it had so much going on and it kept you waiting to see what would happen next. I could not put this book down; I read it all within a week. Herbie Brennan did a wonderful job and I look forward to reading the first book. It had the perfect balance between action, romance, drama, a bit of horror. It had it all! It had such a wide variety of characters from little worms that lived inside your head, an actual human, fairies, and more.