Land of elyon9/4/2023 ![]() So, after loving the first book in THE LAND OF ELYON series, I was really excited to read Beyond the Valley of Thorns. The personal relevance they hold for me is kind of being outweighed by how shoddy they turned out to be. I may just go ahead and sell these, honestly. I've got three more books left before I'm fully caught up, and then. At least the first book's antagonist was (on first reading) a surprise, and somewhat nuanced this one is cardboard at best. It's cool, you're being killed, but just wait it out.Īnyhow: technical stuff? Plot is weak and kind of dull, victory over the antagonists is achieved easily and with minimal cost (one character death, with an amount of mourning completely disproportionate to his actual significance or development), and it all just feels. I know this works for some people, and I don't want to disrespect the power of faith, but - I'm struggling here with what comfort there is in a downtrodden, abused people being told "just wait it out". So essentially: the omnipotent being is watching you suffer, but it's still your own damn problem and you'll get no help from him. "Elyon is among us, close by, waiting in the shadows, until the cruelty runs its course and he returns to claim us." The thing about this is that not only is this not a subtle book, it's also not got a very reassuring religious message. ![]() (You can tell, because they're insane and sick. (Granted, some of the plans were only made about a year before this book takes place, but still - trusting a girl just entering her teens as the sole savior of multiple societies?) This time, she's literally been upgraded to God's Elyon's chosen one, facing down minions of the Devil Abaddon, who are literally complete and pure Evil. Once again, the plot rests on people having made plans loooong in advance for Alexa to Do Things, and once again I'm left wondering how in the world they knew she would be capable or even willing to embark on these adventures. ![]() I mean, I always knew that I was completely and improbably oblivious to religious symbolism in books (I had to be told that Narnia was religious - that clueless), but even ignoring that, this book is just. and boy, did tiny!me not have very discerning taste. So, I'm on a mission to reread a bunch of old series I never finished, and then actually finish them, and The Land of Elyon is the one I'm currently working on. When I'm not writing or creating a story, I spend my free time supporting literacy campaigns and community organizations, fly fishing, playing basketball and tennis, doing crosswords, watching movies, dabbling in video games, reading (lots), and (more than anything else) spending time with my wife and two daughters. Check out DARK EDEN to experience this type of cross-platform project. Currently I'm developing a few new-media projects. Here's a fun note.the books have been translated into approximately two dozen languages. I've been fortunate enough to have had some bestselling series work: The Land of Elyon, Atherton, Elliot’s Park, 39 Clues, and Skeleton Creek. I've written young adult and children's books for Scholastic, Little Brown Books For Young Readers and Katherine Tegen Books/ HarperCollins Publishers. After college, I spent a decade living in Portland, Oregon where I worked in advertising, game design, and technology. Salem, Oregon is where I spent my formative years and I graduated from Willamette University. I have been a lifelong writer and storyteller.
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