The Rivers of Zadaa is the sixth book of MacHale's Pendragon series which chronicles the adventures of Bobby Pendragon, a teenage boy who is on a quest to prevent the destruction of Halla (all times and places).

In this installment, Bobby is on Zadaa, home of Loor, his friend and fellow traveler. Saint Dane, the bad guy, has fueled the fire to cause war between the two tribes of Zadaa: the Batu and the Rokador. The two tribes have lived in relative harmony for generations, but a water shortage has pushed relations to the edge.

This part of the plot was interesting, if a bit predictable. The real interest for me in this book was the growth of the protagonist, Bobby Pendragon. In the first five books, Bobby is more of an unwitting, unwilling hero who enjoys the excitement of these adventures while admitting to being perfectly terrified and rather unsure of himself. In this, the sixth book, he seems to be growing into a more mature Traveler, discovering his own abilities and strength.

MacHale doesn't go far with this plotline; it is more hinted at with Bobby's first training in combat and a strange event at the end which I won't detail here. I'm betting the seventh book explores this further. ( )

Some scary things are happening on Second Earth while Pendragon is trying to save Zadaa with Loor, her acolyte, and Adler. Pendragon goes through a major character change as he realizes that to truly survive, he will sometimes only have himself to depend on. He calls on Loor and Adler to help him.

Part of his trials and tribulations on Zadaa also mature him in a different way as he finally confronts his feelings for his fellow travelers and their mission together. Again, just when you think it's all safe... wickedness ensues that brings forth many more questions!

The wild ride continues for the battle of Halla and the discovery of what (or who) this battle is all about! ( )

this book was exteamily good for people who have read all the other pendragon books ( )

Excellent ( )

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