Review: "The Beyonders" series by Brandon Mull//Eomer Takes Over My Blog

Hey y'all! Samantha here, briefly. I am so burned out from school it isn't even funny, and as evidenced by my last post (heh heh) my writing quality is taking a serious nosedive. So, my lovely twelve-year-old brother Eomer is here to take the reins of the blog for a week (dude, I love you. You're the best) while I study for finals and try not to die. (I may still comment on other blogs. We'll see.) I hope you enjoy whatever crazy things he comes up with (please note, I don't endorse anything he says XD), and I will see you next week with a refreshed brain! (After reading his review, I must add: he's twelve. Also, everything in this post is his. Just a disclaimer.)

Yo. Name’s Eomer. Before we get started, here are a few things you need to know:

a. Sam NEVER says she loves me unless she wants me to go away, is in front of friends she wants to impress, or thinks I just did something naïve and amusing. (Sorry, it’s true.)

b. This is my first time blogging, so cut me some slack here, peeps.

c. About me. I’m a Libra who enjoys baseball, Minecraft, annoying my siblings, sparkling cider, Italian sodas, the sun, annoying my siblings, Dungeons and Dragons, (stick a sock in it, haters.) annoying my siblings, and Star Wars. I am an extrovert, which in my family, is not common. (PEOPLE! How do they not see how great it is to be with PEOPLE?) Despite this, I love reading, and some of my favorite authors are Brandon Mull, Jeff Smith, Rick Riordan, and Tui T. Sutherland.

Now that all the fluff and feathers are out of the way, we can get down to my review. The Beyonders books, by Brandon Mull.

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Jason Walker has often wished his life could be a bit less predictable—until a routine day at the zoo ends with Jason suddenly transporting from the hippo tank to a place unlike anything he’s ever seen. In the past, the people of Lyrian welcomed visitors from the Beyond, but attitudes have changed since the wizard emperor Maldor rose to power. The brave resistors who opposed the emperor have been bought off or broken, leaving a realm where fear and suspicion prevail.

In his search for a way home, Jason meets Rachel, who was also mysteriously drawn to Lyrian from our world. With the help of a few scattered rebels, Jason and Rachel become entangled in a quest to piece together the word of power that can destroy the emperor and learn that their best hope to find a way home will be to save this world without heroes.

Worldbuilding/Writing Style
Peeps, the worldbuilding in the world of Lyrian is only a few steps behind Tolkien’s Middle Earth. Sue me. The maps are intricate, the locales are detailed, he spends a lot of time in there. I do not have many complaints there. On Writing Style. He writes third person, which is, well, not exactly my favorite. Sorry, Brandon. It’s my second favorite, however, and the writing style is, overall, good. I get the feeling that you could give Brandon a hypothetical situation to put his characters in, and he could tell you exactly how they would act in under thirty seconds.

Plot
It’s a series, so the plot is very complex. That said, he does quite a good job of keeping the story moving without wasted action, like in some action movies. He keeps up contrast by having relaxed spaces between the fight scenes, whatever. I love the whole idea of an emperor who is also the last magician. There are some good twists, but not too many. At this point, I am gonna stop before I start gushing spoilers.

Characters
The characters are pretty darn good. One of the few objections I have is that they are, perhaps, too perfect, always doing the right thing. Jason is a great character. Some series when a character is sucked into another world, they have the characters sorta forget their old lives and just stay, but Jason only really cares about getting home, at least for most of the first book. Rachel, the other MC, is rather stuck up, and I love how the two bicker sometimes, and don’t get along, like they’re actual people. My other favorite character is Ferrin. *Those who have not read these, do not highlight.* Ferrin is a hugely conflicted character, and what with his broken loyalty to Maldor, and his previous betrayal, he doesn’t trust himself. I like this. I like flawed characters. (*end spoiler*)

Romance
I will not talk about this and YOU CAN’T STOP ME! MWA HA HA HAAA-ahem. Yes.

Content
UMMM. The worst I can think of is those unnatural beings, the *Torivors*

Overall rating
4.5 stars. I am not as tough as my sister.

Reminds me of…
Not much. Sorryyyyyy

If you were sucked into a magical world, what would the first word you would say be? Would you care more about discovering or getting home? What kind of creatures would you hope/hate to meet?