Earl Interviews Author Brandon Mull

Jonathan Stroud Interview

The Amulet of Samarkand by Jonathan Stroud

Nathaniel is a 12 year old magician's apprentice, which means: he is being raised by a complete stranger, is forced to live in a small attic room and has the power to summon deadly demons of incredible power. Usually 12-year old magician's apprentices are content to summon small mites and minor imps- demons that are easily controlled. Nathaniel, however, is an ambitious one, so he summons the powerful and willful djinni, Bartimaeus. He then sends him on mission to steal an artifact from one of the most powerful magicians in England. What could go wrong? Oh did I mention that powerful magicians generally eat young apprentices for breakfast?

Nathaniel is a great character, but the real gem in this book is Bartimaeus the wise-cracking djinni. Bartimaeus is part shape-shifting action hero, part comedian and part celebrity insider for all of history (it's seems like he's met just about every important person who has ever lived). Combine Bartimaeus with an awesome magic filled adventure, conniving magicians and a deadly plot and you end up with one of the best fantasy stories that I've read in long time. Give this one to kids who love magic, adventure and good books grades 4+.

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Also check out this interview with author Jonathan Stroud!

by Patrick

Kenny and the Dragon by Tony DiTerlizzi

Kenny Rabbit loves books, especially fairy tales, so when his father comes in hollering about a dragon up the hill Kenny has to go investigate. After arming and armoring himself as best he can with a variety of cookware and household cleaning utensils he goes to meet the dragon. The dragon proves to be shockingly urbane and introduces himself as Grahame, like the cracker, but with an 'e' on the end. Kenny finds that he has a surprising amount in common with this gentle dragon and the two soon become fast friends. The trouble starts when the townspeople discover a dragon is living nearby and call in the king's men to slay "the vicious beast."

Kenny and the Dragon is a charming story about unexpected friendship. It features Tony DiTerlizzi beautiful drawings and witty prose. Give this one to Fantasy Buffs grades 2-5.

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by Patrick

Brisingr by Christopher Paolina

Christopher De Paolini's third book in the Inheritance Cycle is a marked improvement from his last book Eldest, but ultimately suffers from the same flaws.

First let me start by saying Eragon was wonderful, the book pulled me in and left me wanting more. Eldest on the other hand was only satisfying because I was desperate to hear more about Eragon, the plot in Eldest was forgettable at best and groan worthy at worst (the whole Luke- I am your father rip-off, c'mon really?) Brisingr, also has some groan worthy surprises (don't worry I won't tell you what they are I'll let you suffer thru them on your own terms). Also, like Eldest the story seems to drag on without any clear direction at time (I cite the lenghty foray into dwarven politics as a shining example- and if you're wondering no nothing surprising happens feel free to skip those 100 pages if you like). However, the story had it's strong points as well. For example Eragon's character is pretty freakin' rad. I enjoyed all the battle sequences with him punching thru shields, leaping over walls and cleaving things in half. He also has a dragon and she's always blowing fire and eating things, that's pretty sweet too. *Mild spoiler alert, skip to end of paragraph to avoid* His new sword, also freakin' rad. It lights on fire whenever he says it's name (disappointingly it's name is fire) and it plays an integral role in the aforementioned cleaving things / enemies in half.

If Eldest had been the first book in the series, I wouldn't have read the next book, Brisingr however, is good enough it to pass the first book test and I would continue reading the series based on it's merits alone. Give Brisingr to fantasy buffs, dragon aficionados and people who like saying words like "oathbound," "shadeslayer," or "aye" grades 6+

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by Patrick

The Dragon's Child by Jenny Nimmo

Dando the Dragon can't fly. And he's lost- lost in the land where dreadful Doggins lurk, and where dangerous humans have arrived. He has to find his family, but can he make the journey alone? He's not so sure.

Yesterday I decided to look up "forgettable fantasy story" in the dictionary, much to my chagrin The Dragon's Child wasn't listed, but it should have been. I read this story only a few days ago, but already it has begun to fade from my memory. The book is like a connect-the-dots where the dots are clichés and the lines are mediocre prose. My favorite part about the book was the gimmicky dragon-shaped cover (the dotted lines in the picture denote the edge of the cover).

Give this book to children who love things that are dragon-shaped grades 2 to 4.

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by Patrick

The Cabinet of Wonders by Marie Rutkoski

The book opens with the return of Petra's father from the palace, where he has just completed a most beautiful clock with a hidden secret. But the power hungry Prince has kept the inventors eyes as well, which have unique properties of their own. Determined to restore her father's vision, Petra sets out to steal back the eyes, and meets a delightful assortment of characters in the process.

I imagine it was no easy feat to craft a world in which a gypsy boy possessing 'ghost fingers' that extend past his physical hands, and an old woman who cries tears of acid, co-exist harmoniously with our clever protagonist in a quasi-historical Prague, but the author does so seemingly without any effort at all. The story moves at a very nice pace, characters were easy to keep track of, and the quirks were nuanced in so well that I was left eager for the next book.

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by Scott