Fantasy

Children grow up learning the story of Hansel and Gretel and their trip through the woods to the gingerbread house. We even know how they got away. But what we don't know is what happened after the witch was destroyed. Now is our chance. Rudi lives in the woods with his uncle, his horrible aunt, and Lucie and Elsebeth. His aunt is not happy about having so many mouths to feed and she complains regularly. When she takes Lucie and Elsebeth on a walk through the woods with her husband and leaves them there Rudi is angry and worried. He sets out to find them and encounters a strange looking woman. Looks can be deceiving and the stranger helps Rudi find the girls, but first he has to promise to never bother her again. When the trio gets back to the cottage a man is there who wants to be taken to a cottage further in the woods. They must get help from the strange woman again, which is very dangerous. On the way there they discover more about the man’s real identity and what he really wants. Fog is everywhere and it adds to the spooky feeling in the woods. Unfortunately, there is an evil warlock lurking in the forest and it's after the very man they're accompanying. All the fog they are running into is a trap. Now the warlock has his sights set on them. Is there any way to get out of his clutches? What does he really want? Can the terrible creature be stopped? You'll have to find out by reading this riveting tale!

I was excited to read The Eye of the Warlock by P.W. Catanese after finishing two of the author’s other books, and I was not disappointed! I enjoyed finding out what became of Hansel and Gretel, and I liked the way the characters developed. Rudi loves the young girls and will do anything to protect them. He's a great character, but his anger is his downfall. The evil characters play their part well. Boy do you despise them! Just like the characters, the reader gets to figure out what's real and what is an illusion. Don’t get tricked by the fog! I recommend this book to kids in fourth grade and up who enjoy fantasy, fairytales, and twists on stories. I look forward to reading more books by this author!
( )

It may not be a masterpiece, but I'd be lying if I said I didn't enjoy it. Rudi often got on my nerves, but I liked how his anger problem was always addressed by characters and it even tied in with the plot later on. A lot of little things came back later in the story, which I always appreciate. Little things certain characters say that are repeated later by different characters. Misplaced items. That kind of thing.

Vilikus is a pretty decent villain too. His whole domain kind of gave me the creeps, and it was really easy to envision. I kept wanting them to befriend a murglin though.

I really like Hempel. He's so cute.

Plus, references to the Books of Umber. Which weren't even written until after this book. Boom. ( )

This is our third in Catanese’s A Further Adventure Tale series and I have to say, I’m pretty tickled with the idea of not necessarily rewriting the tale of the Brothers Grimm over from scratch, rather Catanese has extended them, taken them in to the future…sometimes the distant future and other time in the near future (as is the case with The Eye of the Warlock). These are fun tales meant to expand (and play with) some of the most popular Grimm Fairy Tales…in the case of The Eye of the Warlock, we are talking about extending the story of Hansel & Gretel. As this story begins we find Rudi and his family (complete with a bumbling uncle and wicked step-mother) living on the edge of a vast, dark forest…the very forest of the original tale…nay, the VERY house that Hansel & Gretel once dwelled within. From this humble beginning, we discover that Rudi’s two adopted sisters have suffered the same fate as his distant relatives, long ago. Thus starts Rudi’s trials and tribulations in trying to over come what seems to be a case of history repeating itself (with slight variations, since the original witch is quite dead). It is the introduction of a stranger promising Rude the remaining spoils of the old Witch Hansel & Gretel bested many years before that sets the rest of the tale in motion and puts Rudi, Luci, and Elsebeth in danger and seeking desperately to discover the plot of the diabolical warlock who seems desperate to get his hands on the very same treasure…and will stop at nothing to do so!

Overall, it’s a good read, plenty of suspense and lots of danger, devious villains, unexpected allies, bullies, friendships in the making, and a grand adventure that might well cost them their lives before all is said and done. I imagine this book (and the series in general) would be popular with boys (approximately age 8-12) as all of the “heroes” of the stories in this series are young or adolescent boys, however, having said that, my 10 year old daughter got a real kick out of this one (and the other 2 we’ve read also) so the appeal does cross gender lines. I also believe that The Eye of the Warlock would make a fine read aloud for younger readers as the action and adventure would lend itself to a romping ( )

Rudi helps Hansel uncover a treasure. In the process he meets a tree dwelling outsider, murglins, and a creepy evil warlock who is a thousand years old. ( )