The Hound of Rowan: Book One of The Tapestry (original 2007; edition 2008)

During an annual museum trip with his Dad, Max McDaniels discovers he has potential. But his “potential” is not your normal everyday kid potential. Nope. Max’s potential is magical, and a chance encounter with a golden threaded tapestry in the museum opens up a whole new world for the boy. Max eventually ends up at Rowan, an exclusive school for other Potentials, but not after being attacked by an odd little woman with hard, sparkly eyes. Once at school, Max discovers a number of pronounced talents — he can Amplify like nobody’s business (picture Superman’s quick trip around the Earth to turn back time when Lois dies on that highway in Superman: the Movie) and bears an odd similarity to Cuchulain, the Hound of Ulster from Irish mythology. As expected, a darkness is rising, and Max and his roommate David appear to be the duo that will save the world. Despite their efforts, however, the Darkness (in this case, Astaroth) does rise again, opening the door for more adventures.

The Hound of Rowan is awash in mythology, both modern and ancient, and Neff pays tribute to Those Who Have Gone Before. There are plenty of similarities to Harry Potter — the impetuous boy destined to save the world, the magic school, odd creatures, the village sweet shop — but there is a welcome and refreshing blending of imagery from other sources as varied as The Dark is Rising, Half Magic, The Mabinogion, Star Trek, Tron, and even Bedknobs and Broomsticks! I was particularly taken with the “Courses” students are required to master that use a concept similar to Star Trek: the next generation holodeck mashed up with the psychedelic bing-bing of Tron. The courses run “scenarios” that teach the students things like strategy and agility. And of course, the obligatory school sports game — not Quidditch but Euclidean Soccer — played remarkably like the soccer game on the Island of Naboomboo in Bedknobs & Broomsticks.

The copy I read was an advanced reading copy, and as expected there were a few things that needed to be fixed. I hope the final version provides a better characterization of David, Max’s roommate, as well as the backstory for Ronin (think Sirius Black). On the whole, however, Hound of Rowan is a total and complete romp, well worth your time, and highly recommended for grades 4 and up. ( )

This book never really grabbed my attention. I found Max to be an unworthy protagonist, not only did he deceive his father but he had quite a temper and was extremely immature and irritating. However, I did like Max's room mate, David. He was by far a much more interesting and likeable character. Will not bother with any more books in this series. ( )

Apesar das eventuais parecenças a Harry Potter, devido ao colégio de Rowan, tudo o resto é inovador e muitíssimo interessante.
A história acompanha um rapaz, Max, que descobre que consegue ver coisas que aparentemente parecem não existir, mas que estão ligadas à utilização das energias humanas. Ele é então recrutado por uma escola após realizar um conjunto de testes para avaliar o seu potencial.
A entrada na escola de Rowan tem muitas semelhanças com o universo Harry Potter, com o sniffing ritual pela Bruxa de serviço à cozinha e a criação dos quartos (das mais interessantes ideias que já li até hoje).
Na escola ele confronta-se com desaparecimentos de crianças potenciais que estão ligadas a uma luta antiga entre o bem e o mal e a uma figura central maléfica, chamada Astaroth, que os seus súbditos tentam trazer à vida.
Vale muito a pena ler, em especial para quem gostou do universo Harry Potter ( )

An inventive, often surprisingly dark take on the "Magic Boarding School" genre. The plot was somewhat muddy and lacked a strong through-line, and suffered from a generic bully and a shadowy villain revealed too late in the book. Still, I enjoyed it enough to seek out the sequels. ( )

Honestly, I thought as I began that this would be a Harry Potter knockoff, but it really was its own book. Great storyline. I really enjoyed it ( )