So, i'm just going to plunge again into the world of Pendragon with book #5 Black Water. Let's see how this one goes....Here is the summary:Just when fifteen-year-old Bobby Pendragon thinks he understands his purpose as a Traveler -- to protect the territories of Halla from the evil Saint Dane -- he is faced with an impossible choice. The inhabitants of Eelong are in danger of being wiped out by a mysterious plague. The only way Bobby can stop it is to bring the antidote from another territory. Since moving items between territories is forbidden by the Traveler rules, if Bobby chooses to save Eelong he could endanger himself, his friends, and the future of every other being in Halla.As the previous Pendragon saga books go by the fifth book also follows the same formula of a new territory every book and this time its Eelong. D.J. MacHale's newest addition to the Pendragon series follows Bobby Pendragon to the jungle territory of Eelong, a world where humans are slaves and intelligent jungle cats rule the land. But there is a plague that is threatening to destroy Eelong, a plague that is hauntingly familiar to Bobby and the Travelers. Bobby soon discovers, after his failure on Veelox, that Saint Dane is changing the rules, and Bobby must make a monumental choice that will either save the territory of Eelong from total devastation, or throw all of Halla into danger.Some of the major questions that are bound to disturb the reader here - "Cats can walk, they can talk, and they keep humans as pets? What's the matter with this picture?(Kinda sound like Planet of the Apes doesn't it...with the difference of the animals that is) And since when are Mark Diamond and Courtney Chetywynde able to flume through space like their dear friend Bobby Pendragon, a fifteen year old traveler from Second Earth? Saint Dane said that the rules have changed, but have they really?"Bobby travels to Eelong in search of the evil Saint Dane. Little does he know what to expect. Back home, on Second Earth, Bobby's closest friends, Courtney and Mark, are awaiting the long expected journal from Bobby. Instead, they receive a message from another acolyte saying they need to go the flume on Second Earth. There, Mark accidentally activates the flume and Saint Dane appears before their very eyes. He tells Mark and Courtney that the rules have changed, leaving them with a small gift. After that experience Mark and Courtney do not know what to do and then all of a sudden, Bobby appears, frantically yelling and asking them what happened. When he returns to Eelong, the soon to be acolyte Boon is awaiting his return. Things are bad on Eelong, and sadly Bobby has no idea what Saint Dane's plans are for this strange planet. Boon takes Bobby to the city of Leeandra, "a city built in the air. Wooden huts of all sizes doting the sides of the trees, and busy sky bridges everywhere. The structures were high overhead and down low, with the lowest buildings only about twenty yards off the ground. The city was big. It all looked to be manufactured out of natural material. Wood, bamboo and woven vines. Nothing metal or plastic..." That is how Bobby describes the beautiful Klee city of Leeandra. But what's a Klee? Klee is what the cats on Eelong are called. Humans on Eelong are called gars. What makes this book unique to all the others is that it is the first time Bobby has been to a planet where everything is flipped. Cats are superior to humans, and humans are treated like dirt. And now Saint Dane has genocide in mind. He plans on starting the process by repealing Edict Forty - Six, which states that the Klees cannot hunt the gars. Yes as i said before a kind of visualization of the 'Planet of the Apes' besides the point that it is cats who are ruling not apes. So, Saint Dane believes that once one planet of Halla falls, they will "all tumble like dominoes." Saint Dane has Bobby thinking that this is all about Edit Forty-Six, but in all reality Saint Dane has a second agenda. Mark and Courtney decide that they MUST go to Cloral to find the traveler Spader because they believe that the same poison that was used in book number two will be used again on Eelong. Bobby thinks he has it all figured out. But that is not always the case.MacHale is a master storyteller, deftly combining hair-raising action, fantastic adventure, edge-of-your-seat, nail-biting suspense, and a bit of romance into the most surprising and twisted Pendragon story yet. Anyone who is a fan of the series will breeze through this book, eagerly devouring every bit of information and ultimately waiting impatiently for the next jump into the flume. For those who have never read a Pendragon book before, this is a great place to introduce yourself to not one whole new world, but ten whole new worlds that will take your breath away. Mr. MacHale should be commended over and over again on such a wonderful piece of literary art.But the bottom line still remains that this book does suffer from some of the same problems the first four in the series did--it's told in a voice that may irritate adults, and there's a feel of too much exposition at times. Also the fact that we are going to be laundered with every information that should have been present in the series since the beginning little-by-little in the last book(don't know how you all will feel but this is my opinion) That said, I was surprised at myself to see how excited I was to grab this as soon as I saw it. Problems aside, this is a great adventure series that sucks you in quickly, with entertaining characters and even more entertaining settings. Not my favourite but is a great way for killing time.
In the fifth installment of the Pendragon series, Bobby is getting used to his role as Lead Traveler when his latest confrontation with Saint Dane leads him to Eelong. The "intelligent" race on Eelong are described as giant cats who can walk upright, as well as on all fours. Humans, known as Gars on Eelong, are relegated to the role of a pet/servant, sort of like dogs are used here. Bobby has to adjust to the different society as well as help foil Saint Dane's attempt to poison all the inhabitants of Eelong. The only way to save everyone on Eelong is to use the antidote developed on Cloral, another territory. Knowing that travelers aren't supposed to bring anything from one territory to another, Bobby must decide whether saving Eelong is worth breaking this rule. Will it cause more chaos and land Bobby right into Saint Dane's hands?Okay, I admit it. I really like this series. I put off reading it for a while, because I just figured it was one of those forgettable series where every book was the same plot over and over. While there's some of that here -- Bobby chases after Saint Dane and tries to stop his latest evil plan -- there's actually more here. Here, Bobby is starting to have an ethical dilemma. Should he save these people or are they supposed to die? When should he step in? I think this is something that will be explored in the later stories and will really allow his character to mature. I'll read the next one, mainly because I do want to know if this is the direction the series takes. C Rating.
What do You think about Black Water (2004)?
This book was amazing, the characters were great as well as the action and suspense. the fifth book in the pendragon series and probably the best one since the merchant of death. i especially like what he's done with this new world, the setting takes place in a jungle, a world filled with perilous dangers, extinct animals, vicious predators,and many other new things about the new territory. but its a really good read. and the abilities of bobby pendragon and the acolytes of his are completely new and unexpected. the traveler on this new territory is even more unpredictable. bobby pendragon just getting done with his training on zadaa with his traveler companion loor, is now on the journey to find and defeat saint dane again. this journey takes him to a jungle like world where the quigs (saint danes guardians of the flumes )are humans!!! usualy it would be a spider or a snake or even a wolf but not on this territory. the people here are even stranger, giant cats who can walk on two legs!!!they live in the trees in a village called alexandria. down below the trees is where only the brave can venture because the natural predators are the tangs, velocoraptor like creatures who only want one thing...meat. the cats of this territory have the humans as pets and laborers, they are the brave souls who go down below the village to gather food for the village. but there is more then just that village in that jungle world, beyond the mountains, there lies a place where the humans are the superior race, little does anyone know that both of their lives are about to collide and destroy the territory
—Adam Floyd
On the heels of Saint Dane winning his first territory, Bobby Pendragon travels to Eelong to stop the demon, rescue fellow traveler Gunny van Dyke and save Halla (everything that ever existed). After exiting the flume, he finds a world in which the dominant life forms are big cats, Kleees, and humans, Gars, are their slaves. While there, Bobby has to convince Kasha that she is the traveler from Eelong and prevent a civil war between the Klees and Gars. But he pushed to the limit by Saint Dane who has been disguised as a Klee representative and has been pushing for the Klees to mass murder all of the Gars. Saint Dane has made it so that the only way for Bobby to stop him is by mixing elements from other territories which is expressly forbidden by Traveler code and the rules of Halla. Bobby's friends, Mark and Courtney, have left their positions as observers and are now directly in the middle of the conflict because they are now acolytes, the assistants to the travelers. They go against Bobby's wishes and use the flume to travel to other territories and bring the necessary tools and travelers to Eelong. Now Bobby is faced with an impossible decision: Does he break the rules of Halla and use the elements from the other territories to stop Saint Dane and save Eelong or does he not and risk losing a another territory to Saint Dane? I loved this book because the character development is very evident and the reader is able to see the internal struggles within each person. I also loved the suspense within the book. I couldn't put it down.
—Matthew Quezergue
This book was so heart wrenching. The whole time I knew that what they were doing was going to get them into so much trouble but I just couldn't see another way to do it. This author is amazing. These books are written so well. They make you face moral delemas and the just confuse you in some parts because you just don't know what you would do in those situations. The ending to this one was really OMG!! I can't believe he killed her, it was really shocking, the characters are so relate able and Bobby is just so amazing with everything he does. I can't wait to find out what happens next. What I love about this series is that you actually have no idea what is going to happen, there are so many twists and each book just throws you away from what you thought was going to happen even farther. The first one was pretty strait forward but after that things just became insane and now there isn't a traveler for one of the territories, two of the travelers are stuck somewhere, and one of the territories is toppling. Who knows what is going to happen next, I am almost scared to find out.
—Corrin Bulmer
