Alcatraz Versus The Knights of Crystallia by Brandon Sanderson
Alcatraz versus The Knights of Crystallia is Brandon Sanderson’s third book in this YA series and I have several confessions to make. One is that I haven’t read the first two Alcatraz books. The second is that I am not Y. Not even close. Usually, I don’t feel that hinders my reviews of YA books. But as I read much of Alcatraz, I started to wonder if I’d become the old guy in a bathrobe yelling “Get off my lawn ya lousy kids!” while waving a hairy-knuckled fist in the offenders’ general direction. Maybe, gasp, I just didn’t get the “Y” in YA anymore. Read the rest.
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I grew up reading Roald Dahl and Norton Juster’s The Phantom Tollbooth…do they still write books like that for kids? What happened to stimulating the imagination along with expanding vocabulary? Oh god, does this mean I’m getting old? Oh man this sucks…
Justin, take a look at Bill’s review list. He’s read lots of YA and has ranked it there. There are several series that he really likes. Also, take a look at the kids page.
I love most of what Sanderson writes. However, I’m not sure continuing the Alcatraz series was a great idea, artistically. The first book was two things, and I can highly recommend it: First, it was a fun fantasy adventure with a good sense of humor; Second, it was snarky commentary on writing fantasy novels and the art of writing in general. Hilarious.
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The problem was, continuing that kind of self-referential humor indefinitely grows tired. It just doesn’t work for a series, so he had to transition to something else–a more standard fantasy novel–and it didn’t work as well for me in the second book. I haven’t gone back to try the third yet, but don’t let the third turn you off from the first. “Alcatraz Versus the Evil Librarians” was very fun.
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Andrew Cannon
peteandthedog.blogspot.com
Andrew,
Thanks for the info. Between my belief that Sanderson is quite a good writer and your comments on book one, especially the “writing about writing” aspect, I’ll give it a shot.
Join the club Justin. We meet in a dark, dank underground cavern with no lights so as not to see the visual evidence of our ever increasing age. We dress in bathrobes, slosh our favorite drink around (which of course isn’t as good as they used to make it), and clear our throats a lot while complaining. Should I mark you down for Tuesdays and Thursdays?
Phantom Tollbooth–mmmmmmmmmm