Thursday, September 01, 2016

Sky Raiders

Sky Raiders follows the typical Brandon Mull story arc. Some kids are living a normal life. Then, through in innocent action, they get thrust into a fantasy world. There they complete heroic adventures. Only unlike Fablehaven and Candy Shop Wars, they don't get to go home at the end.
In Sky Raiders, some kids decide to go to a haunted house. It turns out the scary spot was really a plot to kidnap kids to be slaves in an alternate dimension. Cole is tripped up in a curtain, so he is not taken away. However, he decides to follow his friends into another dimension in an attempt to rescue them. Alas, he is eventually ratted on by a girl and becomes a slave. He we becomes a scout who goes on raiding missions. On one he only comes away with a shawl, which ends up showing its utility later on. In this universe, there are people and "semblences" - people like objects that were created. Some people have "shaping power". Earthlings tend to be especially gifted. Those such as Cole who come willingly are even more gifted, though the gift comes later. Cole shows "altruistic" behavior and eventually helps a "princess" escape and battle a "bad guy" who is a manifestation of her shaping power. They win (in part due to the shawl) and she gets her power back. Now they need to continue on to battle her dad who has taken the power from her and her 4 sisters and allowed slavery in the five kingdoms.

This book has the feel of an installment, rather than a complete story. Our characters have been on their first adventure, but still have much to do before they go home. I found it more difficult to get into Sky Raiders than Candy Shop War. The situations were much more fantastical and more removed from our world. (The world, however, was quite similar - aside from the odd skies and meteorology and magic which included things such as shaping and jumping swords.) This is primarily an action book with enough story to hold things together.

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