A variety of things that probably only I care about

When I read the first two Fablehaven books, I was struck by how differently I would describe both of them. The first was a wild, dangerous fairy tale, and the second was a safe children’s book driven by cool ideas. I’ve now read the rest of the five-book series, and even though the narrative style has stayed consistent, I would still describe each one pretty differently.

Overall, Brandon Mull has written a very good series that I would recommend to younger “Young Adult” readers or to adults looking for a fun children’s fantasy.

Brandon Mull – Fablehaven: Grip of the Shadow Plague

Grip of the Shadow Plague is driven by a lot of ideas, but none of them are as memorable as the grossest and coolest moments of the previous book. Instead, the impression I took away was that this is a tightly plotted series with a lot of threads and characters being juggled at once. Many things from previous books are developed here, and many more are left hanging for later. Mull does this very well. The plot progresses smoothly despite the number of things going on, and nothing is left for too long without a payoff.

The plot is more about quantity than quality, though, with two new regions of the Fablehaven preserve, time travel, another set of magical challenges hiding a MacGuffin, another preserve, and the titular “shadow plague” being only some of the significant features. Everything feels consistent within its world (a huge step up from most Harry Potter-inspired stories), and if none set the imagination on fire like the previous book, the story is consistently enjoyable.

Brandon Mull – Fablehaven: Secret of the Dragon Sanctuary

Though it’s just as tightly plotted, Secrets of the Dragon Sanctuary is where the series feels like it’s unravelling. This isn’t just because it’s the third book in a row with that MacGuffin hidden behind a series of challenges. It also begins to fall into the Harry Potter trap in which an an ever-expanding magical world becomes inconsistent. In this case, the story opens up by revealing that of course there’s a magical attack that perfectly circumvents the good guys’ defenses, but that no one has thought to prepare for. In fact, the villains would have won in the opening chapters if an inexplicably foolish action hadn’t revealed them.

This beginning also involves the main characters dealing with a significant tragedy, and the story simply skips forward several days rather than portray their reactions. Whether its a weakness of Mull’s writing, or simply a lack of interest, he puts no effort into what should have been the most important character-building scenes of the series. That’s strange, given that the one big strength unique to this book is Seth’s continuing development, retaining his impulsive character as he grows and learns from past mistakes.

I had other quibbles with this book, as well. For example, Seth taunts an opponent with obvious falsehoods even though he spends a section of the book wearing a device that will kill him if he ever lies. A surprise near the end of the book involves the Society “crossing an unthinkable boundary”, which, honestly, would have been one of the first things a villain fighting the status quo would do. And most importantly, I had serious doubts about the morality of the heroes’ actions by the end of their quest.

Secrets of the Dragon Sanctuary gets by mainly on the strengths of the previous books, and it puts all the pieces in place for an interesting conclusion. On its own, though, it is the weak point in the series.

Brandon Mull – Fablehaven: Keys to the Demon Prison

Fortunately, Keys to the Demon Prison does pull everything together for the ending that the series deserves. With Mull’s excellent plot management, it’s not too surprising that just about everything is wrapped up in a satisfying way.

The big difference in this book is that it takes on many more trappings of swords-and-sorcery epics.With its matters of honor, fantasy royalty, and even dragon-slaying, the book loses a little of its focus on Kendra and Seth’s family. There are also some unnecessary history lessons that provide belated world-building with oddly specific details. (A couple speeches stand out so much that I’ve wondered if they are allegory for Mormon stories. I know nothing about that, though; Can anyone weigh in? Mull does arguably let his beliefs show through in the series’ moral lessons. Note that these are presented as good conversation-starters, and are all unobjectionable for children’s literature regardless of your religious beliefs.)

Don’t let the shift towards the epic scare you away, though. Fablehaven closes on a strong note, and it’s easy to forget about some missteps in book four when thinking back on the series as a whole.

Fablehaven: Grip of the Shadow Plague: B-

Fablehaven: Secrets of the Dragon Sanctuary: C

Fablehaven: Keys to the Demon Prison: B