Alosha

I generally enjoy books by Christopher Pike. His plot lines continually amaze me. However, Pike's downfall is his writing style. In the books he writes strictly for adolescents, one doesn't notice as much his awkward similes and the way he tends to describe things more than once using the same words in a different order. It's much more noticeable in the work geared more towards adults. Although the heroine of this book is 13, the subject matter can be quite advanced, and I believe this book was marketed as an adult novel.
I am also, usually, not a fan of fantasy fiction. I find it difficult to connect to stories involving elves, fairies, dwarfs and leprechauns, mostly because the mythology is usually different across authors and show more universes, and also because I find it too easy to just say, 'and then she used this magic that we have not previously mentioned at all to defeat the evil whatever.' I think I liked this fantasy tale better because of they way the heroine acquires her magic, as well as the quite complex story line. Pike's characters, while not terribly three-dimensional, are rather more fleshed out than in his other work, possibly because of the additional length of this tale compared to others. I think, possibly, that J.K. Rowling having written fantasy/magic books that exceeded 500 pages opened up a door for other juvenile/young adult writers to do the same without the previous fear that young people would find tackling a book of that length daunting, and thus hurt sales. Whatever, the extra pages afford Pike the opportunity to expand both his characterizations and his storyline. We are left with a very satisfying tale. show less

I've got a soft spot for Pike, and while I enjoyed this one, it's certainly more young adult than adult fantasy. If you've got a teenager or middle-schooler who's reading fantasy, pick this up for a gift, or if you generally enjoy YA literature you might pick it up still. The characters and story Are definately there--the the writing is fairly simple. Enjoyable though, still, for what it is.

I am not really into scifi fantasy but this book changed my mind. I love how the main character goes through all these different tests and experiences to unlock her past and save the future!

Disappointing. I loooooved Christopher Pike when I was younger, but I don't remember his writing being so stilted! The premise was great, exactly the sort of book I read, but ugh! You can use contractions, dude! These characters are supposed to be teenagers! They wouldn't speak so formally!!!

Synopsis

Almost everyone, at some time, dreams of being the hidden king or queen of a far-off land. Almost everyone dreams that someday that secret identity will be revealed, heralding a new life filled with magic and power and love.Teenager Ali Warner has good reason to believe in such a fantasy.nbsp;While hiking in the woods behind her house, Ali stumbles across a plot by the elementals--mysterious creatures who live in a neighboring dimension--to invade and destroy the Earth. Not only that, she discovers that she has been chosen to stop the attack. Why Ali?It is very possible that she is more than human . . . Eager to earn her magical abilities and learn her true identity, Ali sets out on a great adventure. The journey will take her show more far from home and through a series of dangerous tests that require not only courage and strength, but an insight into life itself.nbsp;Accompanied by a devious leprechaun, a loyal troll, and three close friends, Ali strives to reach the top of a forbidden mountain and lay claim to the Yanti, an ancient talisman of great power that even the elementals cannot contro

REVIEW

Awesome book, It will take you on a adventure, very exciting. i always loved Christopher pike(especially Last Vampire series which is really good)I think this is one of my favorite books, it also got me into fairies. I loved the characters too, especially the troll- who seemed creepy and nasty at first but then was really nice and sweet.I remember i went to the library looking for christopher pike last vampire books and this one was all on the shelf gathering dust, i was like it's a C. Pike book it has got to be good so i checked it out and was done with it so fast, i was sad, i thought it was just one book. Then i looked it the back *heavenly sound* part two Shaktra. I HAVE to read the next one. show less

This review is for the series (all three books). I really enjoyed reading these books. I do like fantasy. I do like saving the environment. And I do like faeries. And I've read Pike since I was 11 years old. So I highly enjoyed this series. I enjoyed it much better than the Thirst series!

I will admit, most of the stuff Christopher Pike churns out is crap. But if I gave it 5 stars, you have to know that it's something completely different.