Erik L'Homme

Summary: Robin, despite being young, is one of the most powerful magicians ever. Unfortunately, this means that The Shadow thinks he will be able to decipher the dangerous spells from the last segment of the Book of the Stars, the ancient source of all magical knowledge in the Lost Isle and the Uncertain World. When Robin is kidnapped by the forces of The Shadow, his friends rush to his aid, bringing together friends and allies new and old, from across the Lost Isle and the Uncertain World show more itself, to fight the final battle with the forces of darkness.

Review: Everyone knows that the third book of a fantasy trilogy has to end with an epic battle between the forces of light and the forces of dark; that's just the way these things work. The Face of the Shadow is no exception; some time is spent with Robin's mental and magical struggles to resist The Shadow, but most of the book is spent at various parts of the battle. Unfortunately, there are so many factions in the battle that we never really know (or care) about most of them, and even swordfights with menacing Orks get a little tedious after 200 pages. Secrets get revealed, and questions get answered, and everything wraps up in a neat and tidy little epilogue, but the fun of action-adventure fantasy had mostly worn off by this point, and there's not much to get excited about what's left. 2.5 out of 5 stars.

Recommendation: If you've got a 10(ish)-year-old fantasy fan in your house, these books would be more appealing, but if you're an adult looking for good kiddie-lit fantasy, you can do way better. I'd pass. show less

Summary: Robin Penmarch thinks he's a regular boy from The Lost Isle - a land that's held halfway between our world and the Uncertain World, where dwell dark creatures and dark magic. Robin lives with his mother - his father disappeared years ago - and he's looking forward to nothing more then spending the summer with his friends when he finds out that he has a unique aptitude for magic. He's taken under the tutelage of Quadehar, the only sorcerer in the land who dares to face The Shadow, show more but Robin's real test will come when one of his classmates is kidnapped, and he must face the dangers of the Uncertain World to rescue her.

Review: I read a lot of Young Adult and Mid-Grade fantasy. As such, any new entry into the genre has to have something really unique about it about it, something to really grab my attention - whether that's cool characters, an interesting setting, a unique system of magic, an unexpected plot twist, something - in order for me to regard it as anything other than a okay way to pass the time. Unfortunately, Quadehar the Sorcerer didn't have a whole lot going for it that I hadn't already seen elsewhere. It's interesting enough, and there's plenty of action and adventure to move things along quickly, but I felt like the writing skewed a little bit juvenile for my tastes, and the main "secret" of the series is obvious enough that it may as well have been dressed in flashing lights and banging a gong. Overall, it's good enough young-magician-coming-of-age fare, but "good enough" is not enough to elevate it much above "Harry-Potter-lite." 3.5 out of 5 stars.

Recommendation: Younger (maybe 10-12ish?) and less jaded fantasy readers will probably thoroughly enjoy the action, adventure, and magic of this book, and older readers looking for a bit of brain candy will find it suitably diverting, but it doesn't make the transition to adult readership particularly well. show less

Summary: Robin is back on The Lost Isle, studying magic, coping with his new-found celebrity, and wondering about his father, who left The Lost Isle before he was born. The Sorcerer's Guild is convinced that there are dark things afoot in the Uncertain World, but after a raid on the Shadow goes horribly wrong, Quadehar begins to suspect that there is a traitor within the Guild. Meanwhile, the mysterious Lord Sha - who is rumored to be looking for his long-lost son - manages to infiltrate the show more monastery where Robin is studying.

Review: Like the first book, this is still an exciting and fun fantasy adventure, but unfortunately, it's also still skewed pretty juvenile. There's no real moral complexity or gray area, characters don't have a whole lot of depth, and the writing is overly enamored of the exclamation point. (It's not just the dialogue, either - most characters tend to think in exclamations, too. (!)) On the plus side, the plot has gotten somewhat more complicated, with at least one twist I didn't see coming amongst the several I did. I'm finally well enough hooked in that I want to know the answers to the mystery of Robin's parentage, destiny, etc., so I'll read the last book, but seeing as that represents a time commitment of a few hours at most, it's not exactly a ringing endorsement. 3.5 out of 5 stars.

Recommendation: Still probably best for youngish fantasy-adventure fans (probably boys); it's a bit too simplistic for older readers. show less

Robin Penmarch lives on the Lost Isle, which is a tiny world between the worlds - a gateway between our real world and a fantastic but dangerous magical world.

In the Lost Isle, children must become apprentices to one of the professions, and all boys - of course - dream of being "Knights of the Wind". But for Robin another destiny awaits when he permanently gives up any hope of becoming a knight so that he may train under the sorceror, Quadehar.

This is an imaginative world, and the world show more between worlds was appealing to me. I read The Magician's nephew as a child, and one thing I really wanted to do more of was explore that land between the worlds with all the pools in it! Here is a book where the land between worlds is central. I liked the way the characters could use computers and magic and be normal and so different all at once.

The book is intended for younger readers, and because of that the story did not excite me as much as it might have. Anyone who has read a lot of fantasy could see all the plot twists coming, and the tension could have been built more, or perhaps a dose of the dry wit of Jonathon Stroud or J K Rowling would have helped. Thus this is not a book I would recommend to adult readers unless, like me, they are voarcious children and young adult readers. On the other hand, it is perfect for its intended audience of about 9-11+ show less