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Sunday, June 2, 2013

Keys to the Demon Prison by Brandon Mull (Fablehaven 5)

Keys to the Demon Prison (Fablehaven, #5)Keys to the Demon Prison by Brandon Mull
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Hmm, so I really enjoyed this series as a whole, and this was a satisfactory finish. It didn't blow me away though. The plot was an extension of what was already established in the earlier books and seemed a little rushed as Mull was keeping his word on finishing the series here. I see how both Seth and Kendra have matured, and how they still make mistakes, and how they are human. I recognize how much the setting has evolved, with the fantasy world fully explained. Seth ran from one impossible encounter to another, and eventually won his battle with his own "demon." Kendra's position in the fairy world is more secure now, with a long-term love interest to boot. It is hard to put my finger on it after these statements, but I still feel like it could have been more.

After ruminating on it for a bit, I've decided that my first two observations above are really at the core of my concern. First, the plot was clearly laid out, and progressed along a fairly straight line. There were no last minute plot twists (the dwarf's betrayal is the last I remember, and it was fairly early on...) Second, the whole thing felt a little rushed. I appreciate not having days of traveling around from place to place, but either this could have been two books (the first ending with the Fount of Immortality changing hands) or this should have been trimmed a little. The Singing Sisters could have been excluded, for example, with Seth going straight to the Totem Wall.

As usual, don't take my nit-picky criticism to mean that this wasn't a fantastic book/series, I just came away with a single concern that felt like it needed to be voiced. And now I have voiced it.

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