Peter Lerangis

Vespers Rising (The 39 Clues) Review

March 17, 2014 by Daniel Johnston Leave a Comment

Amy and Dan thought that when the clue hunt was over they could relax and be normal kids again. They thought that when they beat the vicious Isabel Kabra and secured the serum, things were going to be better.

So did we.

But Scholastic wanted more money.

For those who don’t know, The 39 Clues is a multi-author series in which Amy and Dan Cahill are surprised to learn that they are members of the most powerful family in human history. The source of their families power is hidden throughout the world in the form of 39 special clues. Unfortunately, their family members are also after the clues, and they’re willing to kill to get them. This is a great series for kids.

Learn more about The 39 Clues.

Even though The 39 Clues was originally supposed to be only ten books, they have kept the series running due to the success. I was pretty excited at the time that there would be another series because I just absolutely loved it.

The new series has to do with a rival family to the Cahills known as the Vespers. The Vespers are pure evil and will stop at nothing to steal the clues (and some other secret stuff) from Amy and Dan.

This book bridges the gap between the clue hunt and the fight against the Vespers.

Summary

The way this book is written is that it’s split up into four parts. As the series was multi-author, they also made this book multi-author. The first section is written by Rick Riordan, the second by Peter Lerangis, the third by Gordon Korman, and the last by Jude Watson.

The different authors travel through time and reveal different things about the Cahill family. It’s interesting to learn more about old secrets we’ve been wondering about for the whole series.

Riordan opens the book by telling us about what really happened at the time of Gideon Cahill. We learn about the Vesper founder, Damien Vesper, how Gideon’s kids got the clues, and what really happened when his lab was burned. We also learn about the mysterious ring.

The next story, written by Peter Lerangis, tells us about Madeleine Cahill, the founder of the Madrigal branch. Not many people know it, but Gideon and Olivia Cahill had a fifth kid named Madeleine. Madeleine was taught by Olivia to try to bring the warring family together. This is very well written and it tells us a cool story about how the Madrigal branch and the M started.

In the third section, written by Gordon Korman, we track the movements of young Grace Cahill. Grace realizes that the Vesper’s have stolen the ring from her father, James Cahill, and goes on a mission to Casablanca to recover it. Grace manages to get a pilot to take her there encounters George S. Patton. Patton tells her about the Vespers, but later learns that he may have tricked her. But Grace isn’t about to let the ring fall into the wrong hands.

Finally, Jude Watson takes us back to the present with Amy and Dan. They have returned home and are trying to start a normal life. However, they learn of the ring and are told that Grace wanted them to protect it. Amy starts wearing it, but soon after they are attacked while on the way to school. Luckily Amy knows jiujitsu, but the message is clear; the Cahill family better get ready for perhaps their toughest battle yet.

Review

This book is really good and interesting. I enjoyed learning secrets that I had wondered about for the two years since the series started, and also having the story moved forward. The adventures are very exciting.

If you haven’t read The 39 Clues, yet, though, then don’t read this book. This is a transition book for people who have already finished all ten books in the clue hunt series and are looking to tie up loose ends as they move on to the fight with the Vespers. Otherwise I’d recommend just starting with the first book of the current arc.

For obsessed clue hunters, however, this is a great book. After it they’ll be obsessed Vesper hunters 🙂

Click here to buy the book

Thank you for reading this review and if you’d like to keep updated with what books to get your kids just enter your email below.

Enter your email address:

The 39 Clues Book 7: The Viper’s Nest by Peter Lerangis Review

February 17, 2014 by Daniel Johnston Leave a Comment

I was more excited for this book than any other in The 39 Clues series. Some of you may find this surprisingly, knowing that I am one of the biggest fans of The 39 Clues, and also knowing that I really didn’t like Peter Lerangis’s earlier contribution to the series.

Why why I was so excited, then? Because in this book we learn the identity of Amy and Dan’s branch!

In case you don’t know, The 39 Clues is a multi-author series in which two kids, Amy and Dan Cahill learn that they are members of the most powerful family in human history. The source of their families power is hidden across the world in the form of thirty-nine clues, or chemical elements, which when put together will create a virtual superman potion.

The 39 Clues is one of my all-time favorite kids series, and I consider it was a part of my childhood. If you haven’t read it yet, then you might want to start with the latest books and then backtrack your way from the first book. If you have read it, though, than read on!

Summary

As you probably already know, there are four main branches in The 39 Clues, one for each of the children of Gideon Cahill, the patriarch of the entire Cahill clan. The Ekaterina, Lucian, Tomas, and Janus branches all want to be the first to find the clues.

Amy and Dan, however, don’t know what branch they’re apart of. That’s a problem that has dogged them throughout the entire series. The matter of Amy and Dan’s branch was the thing that intrigued clue hunters (including me) the most. We all had a pretty good idea; after all, clues throughout the series hinted that Amy and Dan were actually Madrigals, a secretive group that everyone is afraid of.

Before Lerangis tells Amy and Dan’s branch, however, he first continues the story from the last book. Irina just sacrificed her own life to save Amy and Dan, and they can barely believe that the vicious ex-KGB agent would do such a thing. Their suspicion of Nellie also continues to grow, but they little choice but to trust her for the moment.

Amy and Dan realize that Irina’s last words-“I’m with you and you’re with me and so we are all together”-were actually the words to a song called marching to Pretoria, a city in South Africa. Amy and Dan quickly discover that the clue has to do with Shaka Zulu, one of the greatest warrior kings of all time.

Amy and Dan also discover that Winston Churchill was involved with the clue, and infiltrate the Tomas stronghold. They are helped throughout the book by Professor Bardsley, a friend of Grace.

Although Amy and Dan find the clue in the stronghold, they are once again attacked by Isabel. Isabel offers them Amy and Dan a chance to join her family, but of course they decline. Isabel is about to kill them once again, but their ingenuity and the help of Professor Bardsley keeps them alive.

The Professor was such a good friend of Grace’s that he has access to her plane, The Flying Lemur. Amy and Dan, however, accidentally spill a vial full of poison onto Dan’s arm. They head to Grace’s secret house in Madagascar to get Dan some medicine.

Dan gets the medicine, but he and Amy also get far more. They find Grace’s notebook, that has the secret of their family branch. If you want, you can click here to see what that branch is. Me; I’d read the book.

Review

This book was a pretty mediocre one, to be honest. The plot itself was good enough, but the way it was written wasn’t. It literally gave me a headache to read it because a lot of it wasn’t clear. I wanted to stop and try to reread, but I just pushed on so I could get to the branch revealing.

There was some historical information in the book about Shaka Zulu and South Africa, but it wasn’t understandable at all. All that I remember is that Shaka Zulu was a great warrior of some kind and that there was recently slavery in South Africa. The slavery could’ve been a powerful moment, but it was pretty weak the way Lerangis wrote it.

The style was a little more matching the other authors than in book 3, but it still wasn’t quite there, and wasn’t really any better. In fact, it might have been worse. This book was more of a blend between his style of writing and the other authors, but it only meets halfway and is kind of like an orchestra not sure of what note to play.

Either way, this is a necessary book for any serious fan of The 39 Clues. This book contains perhaps the most important information in the whole series. I’d just skim through it and to the end. If you’ve been paying attention, I don’t think you’ll be very surprised.

Thank you for reading this review and if you’d like to purchase the book you can do so through this link. You can also like my Facebook Page or enter your email below to get more book reviews.

Enter your email address:

The 39 Clues Book 3: The Sword Thief by Peter Lerangis

January 20, 2014 by Daniel Johnston Leave a Comment

When The Sword Thief by Peter Lerangis first came out all the way back in early 2009, I was stoked. I had already read the first two books in The 39 Clues series, the last one being One False Note by Gordon Korman, and the series was progressing along well. Great story, great mystery, and great characters. What more could you want?

The 39 Clues is a multi-author series written by super popular, bestselling authors about orphans named Amy and Dan Cahill. When their grandmother Grace dies, they learn they are members of the most powerful family in human history. The source of their families power is scattered throughout the world in the form of thirty-nine different clues. Whoever finds all the clues will become the most powerful person in history.

Amy and Dan, of course, are not the only ones who want the prize. Their treacherous, back-stabbing relatives will do anything possible to find the clues first.

As with all books in The 39 Clues series, I finished The Sword Thief the very day I got it. Although it was an interesting book and moved the plot along, I remember not being very satisfied with the book.

Summary

At the end of One False Note, Amy and Dan find samurai swords by the location of the clue. They take the hint and head off to Japan. Before they are able to get there, however, their cousins, Ian and Natalie Kabra, manage to trick them and leave them stranded in the airport.

After that, Alistair Oh offers to help Amy and Dan and create an alliance. After all, Alistair has resources in Seoul, Korea, and he has wisdom and age. Amy and Dan do not fully trust him, but they agree to work together for the time being.

Amy, Dan, and Alastair realize that the clue is hidden in the history of Toyotomi Hideyoshi, a great Japanese warrior and son of Thomas Cahill, the founder of the Tomas branch.

The Holt family, however, are also hot after the clue and manage to trap them in a subway. It looks as though it’s about to curtains for the Cahill kids, but Alastair rescues them before they end up being hit by a train. We get to see the human side of the Holt kids as they balk at the idea of killing Dan and Amy.

Unfortunately, the three of them accidentally go into the abode of sword-wielding Yakuza, or Japanese warriors. Nellie, their au pair, is able to save them, along with Ian and Natalie Kabra. Amy, Dan, and Alastair agree to form an alliance with Ian and Natalie. The reason for that is partly because Amy has sort of a crush on Ian, and Ian is acting as though it’s reciprocal.

The clues point to Korea, and the six of them go to Alastair’s house. We learn more about the Ekaterina branch and about Bae Oh, Alastair’s uncle and leader of the Ekaterina branch. After Alastair’s dad died, he lived miserable years under his uncle. On the plane ride to Korea, however, he learns for the first time that Bae Oh arranged for Alastair’s father to be murdered.

At Alastair’s house, he shares some of his own information with the others. We learn a lot more about the clue hunt, specifically that the thirty-nine clues are thirty-nine elements that when mixed together will create a sort of philosopher’s stone. They travel to the mountain Pukhansan, and Dan tricks the others regarding the location of the clue.

The end is an interesting and treacherous tale, where we learn the true intentions of Amy and Dan’s relatives. Will Ian and Natalie steal the clue, or will Amy and Dan outsmart them once again? More importantly, will Alastair Oh survive?

Review

Like I said before, I consider this to be one of the weakest books in the series. Although Gordon Korman talked about how he used The Maze of Bones as his bible in writing One False Note, Peter Lerangis clearly did not do the same. The book is written in a very different style from the rest of the series. The other books are written in an exciting, detached, and realistic way. This book is much more relaxed, the tone is more informal, and it is not nearly as action-packed. Plus, it is kind of difficult to understand. As a result, the book loses some of its educational value and I don’t remember any of the historical information, very different from the author books.

Although some of my friends who were reading the series at the time told me that they liked the break from the action, all of them stopped reading after this book. None of my friends who started the series actually read the fourth book. Plus, books one and two were both #1 on the bestseller list for a long time. This book was on the bestseller list, but did not hit number one. None of the subsequent books in the series did, either.

There are some good parts to the way Lerangis writes, though. He introduces a possible romance between Ian and Amy that has continued throughout the series to the current books with different boyfriends and hints of crushes. This was the subject most frequently discussed among clue hunters during the Cahills vs. Vespers arc, and was in my view a valuable addition to the series.

This book has some good information about the clue hunt that moves the story along, so it’s a must for dedicated clue hunters going back through the early books to read. Overall, however, the writing is not nearly as good as in the rest of the series and on its own I would not recommend it.

Thank you for reading this review and if you’d like to purchase the book you can do so through this link. You can also like my Facebook page or subscribe through email below to get the scoop on books.