The Revenge of the Shadow King - The Grey Griffins

THE REVENGE OF THE

SHADOW KING

GREY GRIFFINS #1

By:  Derek Benz and J.S. Lewis

FIRST SENTENCE

“Avalon, Minnesota, was a perfectly boring town.”

SUMMARY
from goodreads

Max Sumner and his three best friends, Harley, Ernie, and Natalia--who form the secret club The Grey Griffins--seem to be the only people in their very normal Minnesota town to notice that strange things have started to happen. When creatures like goblins and fairies and unicorns, all characters from a card game the Grey Griffins play, begin to make appearances in Max's backyard, Max and his friends know something is terribly wrong. And it's up to them to stop the wicked creatures of the cards from destroying their town-indeed, their world.

REVIEW

After reading The Brimstone Key – The Clockwork Chronicles #1 earlier this year, I wanted more.  So, I decided to go back in time and read the verrrry first Grey Griffins book – The Revenge of the Shadow King.  I’m glad I did.

What I got, and it was what I wanted, was some background on the main characters.  Max, Harley, Ernie, and Natalia were best friends from the start and they spent their time playing a card game called Round Table.  I can only imagine how scary it was for the kids when the characters from the cards started coming to life!  How the kids reacted was priceless.  I would have been FREAKED OUT.

What I also got was ACTION.  I could not believe how much action was packed into one book.  Seriously – there was something exciting going on all the time. What sometimes felt like random events, eventually made sense by the end.  Plots and subplots all manage to meld together into a fast moving adventure.  This would make such a great movie!

I’m glad I took the time to go back to the beginning of this series and I will most certainly read the other Grey Griffins books in the future.  My little brother has big eyes for them too!  I am also excited for the release of The Relic Hunters – The Clockwork Chronicles #2 in the Spring of 2011 – a continuation of the kids’ steampunk adventure.

RATING

4        Plot

5        Characters

5        Attention Grabbing

4        Girlie Meter

4        Ending

22      TOTAL

5        STARS