Friday, October 15, 2021

Castle (The Seventh Tower #2) by Garth Nix

 The Fall


The Castle is the second (of six) books in The Seventh Tower series.  When we last left off, our hero Tal was trying to get back to the castle with Icecarl maiden/would be warrior Milla.  Both of them need sunstones, but Milla has been injured on their journey, so we start with the two of them recuperating on an Icecarl ship, but soon enough we find ourselves in the bowels of the castle with Tal's Uncle Ebbitt, an eccentric old man who seems to know more about the inner workings of the castle than he should.

The Good: Nix has developed a fascinating world.  The book is action-packed and it's so short that an adult can finish it in one sitting.  Tal and Milla's relationship is developing and while I'm not sure theirs is a true friendship, both of them have proven their loyalty to one another in interesting ways. 

The Bad: Okay, I understand the titles now. Each title is the setting where the book takes place and Nix ends the books as soon as we're moving away from the setting. But the endings are incredibly abrupt and it's quite off-putting. Neither The Fall nor Castle would be a satisfying book on its own - each is clearly part of a larger story. I'm also not super crazy that at the end of each book Tal is given a new item to find, but I guess that is the hero's journey. Find the MacGuffin!

My Overall Impressions: It's a good kid's book. I think it would be a fabulous read along book for a certain child at a certain age. I'm definitely going to get the next book in the series from the library and the next time I have an afternoon with not a ton on the agenda, I'll be happy to curl up with it.

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