The Quick Review:
Seeds of Rebellion improved the Beyonder series. I said I would come back to this series after rating the first book in the series 3.5 stars; Book 1 was enjoyable but could have been better due to the linear feel of the story. Brandon Mull cleared that up Seeds of Rebellion while keeping all the action and entertainment on par with the last book. While improving from book 1, this book read like a transition into a big conclusion in book 3.
The Longer Review:
I was more consumed in this story than its predecessor. The plot moves very quickly and the action hits the groups of adventures often. They are chasing after the slimmest chance of overthrowing Maldor. Everyone loves an underdog story. And this group is a set of very skilled members, which are going after the most finite amount of hope you can think of. The team of heroes does a great deal of traveling and set up in preparation of the final book. Jason actually makes it to every corner of Lyrian in this book. The final foreshadowing makes me anticipate a huge showing from book 3.
I thing Mull does a fantastic job at world creation. For those who have not attepted generating an entire world, it is not easy. This land had to be complete before book 1 ever debuted. It is not at an LOTR level, but he age group for this novel is younger than Tolkien’s target audience. And the amount of humanoid species he creative for the Beyonders realm is refreshing and breaks away from the typical elf/troll realms readers see so often.
The character cast is large. I had no trouble remembering them all but other reviewer’s have. Mull writes a few impressive sword fights involving Galloran. They were quick, exciting, and easily visualized. Mull creates many conversations that go deep into the psyche of Ferrin that I found very impressive.
Maldor continues to be one of my favorite villains. He does not contain a lot of depth. He is very atypical, as far as villains go. He values cunning and intellect, especially that of an enemy. He does not over monologue his plans. He is upfront, direct, and brutally honest in a matter of fact way.
The Characters:
Like I said before, the character cast in Seeds of Rebellion is vast, but managed well. Other reviews had trouble keeping track of them and connecting them. I did not lose track of the characters at all, and I had no trouble connecting with most of the core characters
Jason was less of a focus in this novel. His story opens the book as we follow him back to the beyond. I enjoy Jason as a character. He is witty and sensible. I enjoyed the comments and one sided dialogues he had with his accompanying Lurker during the beginning chapters. He is cool under pressure and level headed in stressful situations. Jason became less of a focus once Rachel and him joined up again. This was okay with me, his daring attempts in book 1 were out of necessity and incredibly lucky. He is training in swordsmanship and getting ready to take a bigger role in Book 3.
Rachel’s character shined in this book. She learns that she is an Endomic(magic) adept and progresses quickly in her sparse training from various support characters. She gains a lot of wisdom about being in control and not pushing her limits. I would consider Rachel the main character for this book, while Jason was the main character for book 2.
Nedwin played a minor role in book 1. We read a lot of back-story though conversations with Galloran about Nedwin’s past. He becomes a more pivotal to the group dynamic due to his skill set derived from his tortured past.
Tark and Drake continue with about the same amount of involvement throughout the book. They are 2 of the existing characters from Book 1 that develop minimally but play large roles. Corinne, who was briefly in book 1, becomes more of a main character, but isn’t someone who anyone can connect with yet. Aram is one of the new characters, he plays a big role in the beginning, and his role diminishes slightly as we progress.
Conclusion:
This set has grown on me. I’m very excited to read the last one. IT might not be a series Worth a hardcover purchase, but it is definitely a series YA fantasy fans should read.
Zero2Fiction 