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The Prince Of Hazel And Oak (2000)

by John Lenahan(Favorite Author)

4.26 of 5 Votes: 4

languge

English

genre

Fantasy

series

Shadowmagic

review 1: It's an entertaining enough story if you're not looking for anything that might surprise you. I haven't read the first one and I was still able to predict pretty much the whole story in advance (including the very last moment). The main character was a bit annoying at times but he does have his moments.Overall, it's not a bad book, it probably makes for a great holiday read, but it doesn't make me want to pick up any other books from that series.
review 2: I listened to the audio version of the first book around 6 years ago, and I loved it. There's probably some website I haven't used since back then where I have it as my favorite book on my profile. I don't know if it was better than the second one, or if that's just a sign of my taste back then...Okay, here's... more what I didn't like. ((SPOILER)) I really really hate this one plot element that showed up here. The thing where the main character meets the new person their ex is now with, takes an instant dislike to the person, and even though all of the other friends like the person, the main character's instincts turn out to be right and the new lover is actually a horrible cardboard villain traitor evil person! And, of course, the main character gets the ex back. I hated it when it happened recently in a certain popular TV series, and I hated it in this book. It's just the worst sort of wish-fulfillment plot.I also have a bit of a problem with Essa as a character. Just because she can swing a sword or a stick or whatever, that doesn't mean she's "strong" in any way that matters (i.e. being smart). But then again, neither is anyone else other than the hero... which pretty much sums up the problems right there. (And that goes for certain other series/characters I can name as well).The fact that his friends weren't dead, that was also obvious. I do wonder if there's a way to pull off that trick (and make the Big Damn Heroes moment actually surprising and resonant), but I don't think there's a way to make an audience believe a character's dead without showing the body. Also, I have to mention that the last page made me groan. That moment is something I would expect out of a completely different type of work (i.e. the type of anime I know not to watch because I can see how dumb it is from a mile away). Thing I didn't like that I don't think is a flaw, just a personal taste thing - teen boy protagonists in adventure stories. I don't know what makes that particular mix always come off annoying to me, but it does.Positives: I liked the stuff between Conor and Jesse. I thought Jesse and his whole situation were pretty interesting. I also liked how he still remembered and thought about Fergal a lot. I remember when I finished the first one, I thought, "A sequel would be great, but it just wouldn't be the same without Fergal." Maybe that's why I put off reading it for so long. Yeah, so that's that. Another one done off of my backlog. less

Download links for: The Prince of Hazel and Oak

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