Pendragon: The Merchant of Death && The Lost City of Faar

Pendragon

Book One: The Merchant of Death, 2002

Book Two: The Lost City of Faar, 2003

D.J. MacHale

Reading Level: Middle Grade-YA

When I was younger, I was absolutely obsessed with this series. I compared it to Harry Potter and recommended it to all of my friends. After rereading the first two books in the series, I have to admit, I was wrong for comparing it to Harry Potter-- HP doesn't have the fan base it does for no reason-- but I would continue to recommend this series to my friends regardless.

The Pendragon series is not fantastically written. However, that can be explained by the premise of the books: they are written as journal entries from Bobby Pendragon, who is a 14-year-old Traveler. This means that he "flumes" through time and space to different Territories to try to bring peace and stop the nasty Saint Dane from wreaking havoc. That being said, it makes sense that the journal entries aren't high-quality literature. What makes these books wonderful is not that the writing is beautifully crafted, but rather that the story itself is crafted in such a way that pulls a reader in from the very first paragraph.

As previously stated, these books are told from Bobby's perspective, with chapters thrown in which are written in 3rd person showing what his friends Mark and Courtney are doing with Bobby's journals while he's living his adventures. MacHale does an excellent job of building suspense; the journals will end right when something exciting happens, which will make you read faster through the alternating chapters to get back to his story. The descriptions aren't perfect, but coming from Bobby's perspective you can see through his eyes what he's going through, and through his journals you can feel his frustration, anger, fear, and hurt as he travels.

I think readers of all ages will be swept away by Bobby's story. I would especially recommend these books to a young, reluctant reader- boys and girls can both find entertainment from them, and I can promise that once you're done with the first you'll be dying to know what happens next.