Island of Graves

Guest 5 months ago

It is bad. First up, we're back to our usual stupid 2-3 page chapters. The plot is fast-paced, but also dragged out. It feels like a couple chapters are spent on learning about one thing. I don't want to see Aaron in multiple chapters learning his lesson; that all could be condensed into one decently-long chapter. I am surprised on how this book is 528 pages. Now the plot, well we see that Aaron is dumped on a island with the scientists, and there he learns to actually not be a stupid whiny baby for once, and that's cool. Although it's the problem like last time, you need more in-story time. We need months or years spent at a certain place, and more chapters so we can learn about the place and how the characters are affected by this place. In the Island of Fire. We should've had the stuck characters stay there for a bit longer than what seems to be a couple months, so we could see how them staying in the cellar and healing and living in the new society changed them. This is the same thing. If we got Aaron to stay on the island with the scientists a year, we would probably understand that he went on a long journey of self-discovery and empathy, combined with many chapters showing us how, but we just get a month of him getting beaten up? Then, he suddenly becomes wiser than a lot of the characters in the book from that, IN A MONTH?! The other conflict, the war with Gondoleery is horrible. No leader, with a brain, would just try an assassination attempt, and then decide to bring back Aaron. They had so many other options. One is "Who controls the food controls the people", and if Alex followed that quote and decided to offer food to the Quillens. He could potentially acquire their trust, and he could also aid a revolution by the Quillens. It would be great to see the Quillens change their serious, boring moods to enthusiastic and maniacal. Then they overthrow Gondoleery, and the Quillens and Artimeans join together to become one nation. Then in the second book, we could've had Queen Eagala stumble upon Aaron, and use him as bait for Alex. We would get an actual decent storyline where we see Alex struggle as he questions if his brother joined the opposition, or he was captured. This would be more fulfilling for a story conflict where tensions between the Stowe brothers finally rest, but this is not my book. The other options is the "bluff your way through everything" method, or housing the Quillens in Artimeans. So many things, but we get the worst one, but there is one thing that is the worst. THE NAMING OF THE BABIES. I can't lie. Who chose these names. Fifer? You wanted to have a musical name, then choose Viola. It's an instrument, and it's a decent name. Fifer isn't a bad name, but I'm pretty sure no one knows what a fife is, except people in Scotland or near there. Thisbe isn't a bad name. It's pretty good, but it's outdated... by a couple thousand years. Just don't let Alex or Mr. Appleblossom name children ever again. Also, there's America in this book. So you're telling me that they don't know America, but they know Ovid and Shakespeare? In conclusion, this book is 4.542673814/10. Would recommend to smooth-brains.