Grip of the Shadow Plague

Fablehaven didn't feature any deaths of likeable characters, so I had no hesitation listening to book three Fablehaven: Grip of the Shadow. Plague. The adventure at Lost Mesa upset me enough that I decided to make Farmer Boy by Laura Ingalls Wilder my bedtime listening.
When I returned to the shadow plague turning the light mythological creatures at Fablehaven dark, I felt better able to handle it. (Russia invaded Ukraine last month. I am not in the mood for dark tales.)

Kendra learns more about her abilities as 'fairykind,' which she became in book one. The teen's tween brother, Seth, learns more about what ability he gained after book two, Rise of the Evening Star. Seth isn't nearly as annoying as he was in the first book. (It seems show more that nearly getting his grandparents and sister killed has sobered him a little.) I was sourly amused at how defensive Seth was when his family found out that *gasp* he'd voluntarily read something. I enjoyed his conversation with an elderly demon after two friends are turned into shadows. What we readers learn about a human becoming a shadow reminds me of the ghost in 'The Residence at Whitminster' by M. R. James. (That's available at Project Gutenberg's copy of The Collected Ghost Stories of M. R. James. I don't consider it one of the better ones in the collection, but it's still worth reading.)

The adventure at Lost Mesa teaches Kendra that her lack of training in dealing with dangerous mythological creatures means that she's not as capable of taking care of herself as she'd thought. Good the handsome young Gavin, well versed in dealing with dragons, is there. I do not agree with the keeping of Kendra's souvenir, but I suspect it will be used in a future book.

There's a subplot involving a character known as the Sphinx who may or may not be a traitor. Certainly the Knights of the Dawn, the good guys who oppose the wicked Society of the Evening Star, would hate to think it could be so.

Kendra and Seth get to be included in the action because they can see things the trained adult humans can't.

Lena, the naiad who became human for love of a great human adventurer Patton Burgess, whom we met in book one, has her personal tragedy resolved in this book. My only complaint about it is that none of the characters seem to realize the good side of the resolution. So does a far less lucky in love mythological female. The final battle is very tense. As for the death during the adventure at Lost Mesa, news at the end suggests that it may not have been as bad as it seemed at the time.

I enjoyed the narration. show less

Brandon Mull once again delivers an exciting, fun adventure at Fablehaven. My only complaint for this book is that it was too long; the book dragged a bit in places. The Lost Mesa chapters could have been shorter and a few chapters probably could have been cut from the plague plot at Fablehaven. Things are starting to get a little bit repetitive too--Kendra and Seth spend their summer at the preserve and save the world yet again.

However, it was nice to be introduced to a few new characters. It was really weird reading about Gavin, knowing that he was really a bad guy. The first time through the series, Gavin's being an evil dragon seemed to come out of nowhere, but after reading through the 3rd book again, I'm surprised I didn't pick show more up on it sooner. Mull leaves plenty of clues regarding Gavin's true nature, but his faked innocence and youth mask the clues pretty well.

Lena's death was harder for me this time. The first time I read about her death, I was a little annoyed that Mull was only able to kill the easiest character off. Lena has already lived a full life with Patton, and to the audience she was pretty much already dead. She came back for a few pages, just like Patton did, and then she left, just like Patton did. However, I think it was a good way to remind the audience that the characters are fighting real foes. Many more people die in the 4th book. The 3rd book seems to be preparing us for the tragedies awaiting in the 4th book.

While the first two books of the series are full of light and fun, starting with the 3rd book, things start to get a little bit darker. Having adventures is no longer the highlight of the story--the characters are faced with foes bigger than they know how to handle, and as a result, sacrifices have to be made. Miracles are no longer able to save every single person. In many ways, the 3rd book is pivotal, because it is the in-between book that transitions between fun and reality (at least, the reality in the magical world). show less

This is my favorite Fablehaven book yet. The first book sets up the mythos, the second book sets up the main storyline, and this book really gets you into the storyline. I loved it. It was well written in that the pace was great, you get to explore outside of Fablehaven, the characters get even cooler both in terms of growing up and getting cool powers, you get to met new characters and species of creatures, and even though it's packed with action the storyline still has so much farther to go. I don't understand why this series isn't more popular. I read this on the beach in Costa Rica and I was more entertained by the book than the beach. I don't have anything bad to say about it.

***NOTE MY REVIEWS OFTEN CONTAIN SPOILERS***

Kendra and Seth are still at Fablehaven even though their parents continue to wonder if they’ll come home before school starts. It’s left to Grandma to make excuses to them of why the children need to stay in order to keep them safe. However, when out with Doren and Newel, his Satyr friends, Seth discovers two kingdoms of Dark Nixies -creatures that have never had a fallen state before. When the darkness and evil starts spreading to the other creatures of Fablehaven turning even fairies to creatures of darkness, it seems that no one, not even the humans on Fablehaven are safe from the unknown affliction. Meanwhile Kendra is recruited to the Knights of Dawn because of her talents as Fairy show more kind. She becomes their youngest member and though her grandparents don’t dare decline the invitation because they don’t want the Sphinx to know of their suspicions, they aren’t happy with the idea of her being put into danger. Will becoming a Knight of Dawn get Kendra killed? Will Fablehaven fall to the darkness sweeping through its inhabitants?

The third installment of the Fablehaven series has me feeling a little divided. On one hand Mull takes Fablehaven in a different direction, finally writing a young adult/middle grade plot that I can sincerely say will appeal to the adult reader possibly as a favorite. On the other in doing this he loses much of the childlike innocence of the previous novel and like many popular young adult and middle grade fantasy series takes his books in a much darker direction. For the most part in the opening two novels bad things only happened to bad people and for a middle grade novel that’s fine because we want for our children to believe that the good guy always wins and is somehow inherently protected. In this novel both sides face losses. The innocence of the characters is slowly stripped away in the pages of this novel. While I love that he has written a novel that would appeal to me as something I’d enjoy reading multiple times, I regret that loss of innocence that makes me as a parent wonder is my daughter really ready to lose some of the good guys in her stories? Arguably you could say Rowling did this on a regular basis and was one of the top young adult/middle grade writers of her time. However I could argue that her fans were more adult readers than children and I’ve yet to meet a single elementary school teacher (which I l classify as grades K-6) that says her students are at the reading level of Rowling’s work. And it’s not just the extensive vocabulary included in her work but the violence of it as well. Children are closer to teens when they’re ready for Rowling. Before this novel though Fablehaven didn’t have as much adult appeal I would safely say the amount of violence included was safe to hand over to the average eight or night year old reader without worry. This novel as a parent leaves the question is your child ready? I won’t fault the language by any means. But know before handing this over for to your child who’s gotten hooked on this series that you have a child ready to not see every good guy safe and smiling at the end of the novel. Of course they might see a lot of this in tv, but it’s not the same in my opinion as experiencing it in a novel. Actors just aren’t able to portray the inner monologue you get in a book or the feeling of being there inside the story. It’s much easier for a writer to bring tears to a reader’s eyes than an actor on a movie screen. Not saying this novel is quite to that point. It’s not as close and heart wrenching as all the losses in Harry Potter, but it’s bound to leave more innocent readers with questions about why all the good guys didn’t survive the adventure. I won’t say that it’s not a middle grade novel - it is, but be sure your child is ready before handing them this novel.

With this book Mull succeeded in doing a couple of things he didn’t accomplish in other novels for me as a reader. In the first novel I noted it was difficult to connect to the characters, in this one I felt like I had known them forever, I really experienced this adventure alongside them instead of from an outside perspective. In the second novel it took forever for me as a reader to be drawn into the tale even though it began with action in the beginning pages. This third novel brings more action and grips the reader from page one, or at least it gripped me as a reader from page one. I meant to go to bed hours ago, sleep didn’t wouldn’t come until I finished reading this book. The action is more intense, the pacing is faster, and the stakes are higher. To me this was the best Fablehaven novel yet, but that’s reading it as an adult reader. Like I mentioned above I’m not sure if my daughter is ready yet for a novel like this one.

Like all the other novels this plot is well written, filled with detailed descriptions and plot surprises. However unlike the other novels you’re drawn into the action from the very beginning, introduced to what will become Fablehaven’s biggest threat within the first few pages and drawn back to the cliffhanger from the last book. Is the Sphinx at traitor? The action as stated above is more intense and the danger is higher. Fablehaven might really fall in this book and they have no one to help them but the people and creatures within Fablehaven which of course as in all the other novels falls to Seth and Kendra, mostly falling on Kendra’s shoulders. Seth is awesome for adventures, for going all the places you shouldn’t on Fablehaven, but it is Kendra in these novels who is the reluctant hero. She’s not particularly outgoing or brave, but her desire to protect and save her family and the creatures she’s come to love allows her to take risks and sacrifices normally against her better judgment in order to save the day. While Mull’s plots flow in a logical order never bouncing around, what I love about his books is he’s one of the few authors that really manages to surprise me. I mean yeah I can usually be certain opening the book that the leading children will conquer the evil in the end, that’s how middle grade titles are supposed to be. But the journey, the challenges, the creatures in between I never know what’s going to happen. Every plot twist comes as a surprise to me and I can’t help but adore that about this writer. This book is gripping from page one and in excitement it far surpasses the other two novels.

The characters are definitely starting to act more their age and while the book does contain illustrations this time I wouldn’t say that any of them are distracting like they were in the last novel. There are no pictures in this book where the preteen characters look like eight year olds thankfully. For the most part Kendra actually comes across as a real 14 almost fifteen year old in this novel, to the point that she’s thinking about whether or not a boy likes here during a death threatening mission. Now that’s a young teenage girl for you. Your world maybe crashing around you but you still can’t stop wondering if the cute boy next to you likes you. For the first time reading these novels when faced with scenes through Kendra’s eyes it really felt like I was looking through the eyes of a fourteen year old girl. The only thing I didn’t like about how she was portrayed was that even though she did cry when losses happened, she seemed to move past it a lot faster than I would really expect her to. Kendra has always been portrayed throughout these books as a really sensitive girl. I would think no matter how close she was to someone or how little she knew them she would have grieved longer than is shown in this novel. I would definitely say that in this novel Kendra and Seth have become really fleshed out, full bodied characters with all the strengths and flaws of real people. The minor characters in the novel are starting to get a little more flesh on them as well, well except for Dale who is one of those characters that I’ve never really seen the point of. Warren who was an albino mute for the entire first book and most of the second is more fleshed out as a character than Dale who’s been present since the beginning of the first novel. Like always the characters are likeable and memorable, but this time I can honestly say I feel they’re well developed and realistic which I couldn’t really say in the previous two novels.

It’s a middle grade novel which will obviously find its audience with young readers but this title in the series is one I think will truly appeal to adult readers as well. However I can’t help but wonder if Mull has alienated some of his younger readers in order to appeal to the adult audience too.

Overall I loved this book and I considered giving it a five star rating but the more I got to comparing it to the other novels and the innocence of those novels despite the dangers the children faced, the more I felt that this third novel was a whole new ball game and may not be appropriate for some of the readers the first two novels appealed to. Yes it is realistic that the good guys will take losses in a battle as well, but children don’t know that and before this book I’d have recommended the series to a much younger reader than I would this current title. If his work had been this dark from the beginning I’d say this was a five star book, I really did love it. But the changes between this and the other two books made me feel unable to say the book is perfect because now it becomes a title that may be appropriate for some children, but isn’t appropriate for all children. Regardless of my concerns I can honestly say that this book was a page turner from the very beginning and a journey most fantasy readers will not want to miss. show less

There's a plague spreading across Fablehaven that is turning creatures of light to dark and the Sorenson's have no clue how to fight it or who they can trust. At the same time, Kendra travels to another secret preserve in a race to recover one of the other hidden artifacts before the Society of the Evening Star gets to it first.

This was the best Fablehaven book so far. As the Sorenson children have matured so have the contents of the books. The creatures get just a little bit darker and the challenges more complex. Mull also brings in some new characters and introduces us to other characters that we've heard about but never met in the story. These aren't the most brilliantly written books and they're not very complex but they are fun, show more fast reads and the author is very imaginative with his magical creatures. Grip of the Shadow Plague had some very touching scenes in it that I enjoyed a lot. I'm excited to see where this series is going to go - especially since the next book as a big dragon on the front. I love dragons! show less

The third book in the Fablehaven series was just as wonderful as the second book. I really love this series, I cannot believe how action packed they are and how creative.

In this book Kendra is summoned to join the Knights of the Dawn; she ends up on an expedition to recover another artifact from a secret preserve. Seth is angry at being left behind, until he ends up embroiled in adventures of his own. Somehow creatures at Fablehaven are turning dark and evil, even creatures that have never had an evil form. The Shadow Plague is spreading at an alarming rate and Seth needs to figure out what is going on before Fablehaven is completely destroyed.

Things are more dire and desperate than ever in this book. The new characters introduced in show more this book are wonderful additions (don't worry all the wonderful characters from the last book are still there too!). The addition of Gavin as a dragon tamer and a possible love interest for Kendra was wonderful; he is a great character with really interesting abilities. The plot gets even more complicated as the levels of deceit within the Knights of the Dawn are realized. There is so much at stake in this book and things get so desperate; I had a really tough time putting this book down! There were points where this book almost had me in tears I was so concerned for everyone and points where I was grinning wildly in relief. As with the previous book, Mull lightens things up occasionally with a biting sense of humor.

It was nice that Seth started to develop some special abilities of his own. Although Kendra still takes center stage for much of the book with her abilities as Fairykind. Overall I was really impressed. Mull continues to develop wonderful plot lines, intriguing characters, and gives his world greater and greater depth. Younger kids might get scared at some parts of this book, as things get very dire in this book. Still, I think most children and adults will really enjoy this series. I can't wait to see what book four brings! show less

Grip of the Shadow Plague by Brandon Mull is the third of the Fablehaven books. After listening to the first two on CD, I decided to switch to print. I'm glad I did.

In the previous two, Kendra and Seth work together except at points where they are separated for means beyond their control. Here, though, Kendra's fairy touch is needed at another reserve — one located within (or very near) the Navajo Nation. Given (my albeit limited knowledge of) the Diné's taboos against magic, it strikes me as an odd but awesome location. Perhaps by placing it in such a location, it is highly unlikely that anyone will willingly venture into the reserve.

Meanwhile at Fablehaven, shadows have begun invading. Anyone touched becomes one. Seth investigates show more with the help of the satyrs. The scenes of this creeping, all invasive shadow are some of the most disturbing ones I've read in any of the Fablehaven books.

For a middle of a series book it's quite the page turner. The relationship between Seth and Kendra has improved and matured considerably, making them powerful allies, rather than annoying, squabbling siblings.

I have the fourth book and plan to continue with the series in print form. show less