Crispin: At The Edge Of The World (2006) - Plot & Excerpts
Crispin: At the Edge of the World picks up right where its critically lauded predecessor left off, with Crispin and Bear fleeing after Crispin's noble sacrifice of his birthright as the lord's son in exchange for Bear's life, the man who had slowly morphed to become the type of father figure that Crispin had never previously known. Now, though given free pass to leave the city where the endgame action in Crispin: The Cross of Lead had reached its climax, Crispin and Bear find themselves in no less danger than before as they try to put distance between themselves and their enemies as quickly as possible. The failed revolt that Bear had been integrally connected to was sacked by government soldiers, and the men that had somehow survived the deadly effects of the stricken rebellion have placed the blame for the plan's failure squarely on Bear's broad shoulders. They are on his track, now, and will kill him if given an opportunity to do so. Revenge burns hot when a whole group's dreams for the future begin to disintegrate, and Bear has become the obvious target for most of the wrath pouring forth from the broken revolutionary movement. It's no longer as easy for Crispin and Bear to move around the English countryside as it was in the previous novel. Bear suffered severe injuries in that first book, and incurs further wounds near the start of this one, making him a near-invalid who depends on Crispin to physically help him hobble at top speed away from their enemies. Even when Crispin manages to find a seemingly peaceable English town, he knows that it will not remain so for long; Bear's pursuers are relentless, and hiding from them on a permanent basis is an impossible notion. While trying to avoid ensnarement by Bear's dogged foes, Crispin comes to learn more about the man who has become his surrogate father. Bear's demons run deep, traceable back to his days not so long ago serving as a fighter in the Hundred Years' War between the English and the French, and it's obvious that he performed some actions as a soldier that haunt him worse than any of the wrong decisions he has made since that time, things too terrible to even confide to Crispin. Crispin is worried about Bear; the necessarily rigorous speed of their flight, added to the mental weight of Bear's dark past and the physical toll exacted by his considerable injuries, are clearly becoming a severe strain on the man, and there's no telling how much longer he can hold out under such conditions. But what would Crispin do without his brave friend and leader, the only one besides Crispin's mother who has ever shown any sign of caring about the boy? Crispin knows that he must save Bear, no matter where the journey to hide his sizable companion from his enemies may take them. Along the way, the duo of Crispin and Bear meet a couple of new characters, some of whom become major players in the odyssey of this embattled young peasant from the 14th century. The new figures will have a dramatic impact on the story as it unfurls, and shed light on some facets of Crispin's and Bear's personalities that we didn't really see in the first book. I think that readers will be surprised by the Crispin: At the Edge of the World turns out, how it lays the groundwork for the final work in the Crispin trilogy that I hope will prove a fitting end to Crispin's memorable journey. I think that the time period in which this book and its companion volumes are set is a good fit for Avi's writing. His unique brand of descriptive phrase resonates well in the context of feudal England, and his double ability in forming good characters and finding adequate means to express the vivid nature of the lands that they inhabit just seems to fit in well at this particular spot in history. I no doubt preferred Crispin: The Cross of Lead to this its sequel, as I perceive greater imaginative power and surprising plot developments of more depth and seasoning in the former novel, but this is a good book, as well. I wonder how the story will ever reach a fitting conclusion in just one more installment, but I'm sure that Avi has what it takes to close the deal in the best way possible. I would give two and a half stars to Crispin: At the Edge of the World.
The book that I read was Crispin: At the Edge of the World by AVI. This is the second book in the Crispin Series. I really enjoyed how the author include tremendous discription and detail while talking about the characters and the plot. The book was slow to start but then really started to shine bright like a diamond. In the begining there was Crispin. Crispin was a young man looking for free land so he didn't have to be ruled by a king. Then later on Crispin met a man named Dragovich. So Crispin and Dragovich snatched a boat and set out in the sea looking for new world. Then towards the end Crispin and Dragovich sailed for a very very long time then they reached what they thought was the end of the world. To find out the rest of the story you will have to read it for yourself. I would recommend this book to anybody who enjoys adventure or anybody who loves to read good types of fiction/fantasy. A couple of things I really liked about the book was that after you got going in the book you never wanted to put down the book and that it was a kind of a quick read that seamed to be a lot shorter than it actually was. Also it was there was a lot of dialog and discription that allowed for me to be able to see the book not just read it. Some things that I disliked was I couldn't get into the beginning of the book and it wasn't very good in the beginning but, that was probably mostly what I didn't liked about the book. Overall it was a book well worth reading and I enjoyed reading the book.
What do You think about Crispin: At The Edge Of The World (2006)?
Crispin: At the Edge of the World by Avi is the second book that follows the journey of Crispin, Bear, and now Troth. Bear and Crispin are now running from the brotherhood Bear was apart of, due to the fact that they think he had betrayed them. While running, they come across Aude and Troth who assist in caring for Bear while he is wounded. Throughtout the book, they take Troth on their travels when Aude -- the woman who has become a mother type figure to her for her life -- died. But of course, nothing ever goes easy for them. The chapters in this book were a lot better when it came to suspense and just overall structure. At the end of each chapter, I was craving to find out what would happen next. They were also longer which was a good thing. Since longer chapters means some parts were explained in more detail, and it also felt like we were apart of the overall journey.Secondly, I felt like Crispin's ignorance of the ocean was very believable. But the book was written in his point of view, so the explaining of things when they actually got to the ocean and the boat was a little bad. Considering he didn't have any knowledge of what a boat even was, in his mind he certainly knew what every piece of it was. In my opinion, Avi should have made it so when he described what he saw, it would be vague and not accurate. That would have made his ignorance a lot more believable.
—Read Between the Pages
Crispin and Bear escaped Great Wexly at the end of Crispin and the Cross of Lead, but Bear's health is frail after being tortured and when he takes an arrow Crispin knows they won't be able to go much further without some help. They meet with a young girl, Troth, whose face is disfigured, and an old woman, Aude, who helps take care of Bear. Then Aude is killed by an angry mob and Bear, Crispin, and Troth must flee. They stay for a while in a village that has been attacked and is rebuilding, but
—Sarai
I really like this one. Much more so than the first book in the trilogy. Many reviewers are of the opposite opinion. Makes me wonder if they're influenced by the Newbery awarded to the first book.Crispin: Cross of Lead was really predictable and the relationship development between Crispin and Bear was rushed. Also the changes in Crispin's behavior happen too quickly making the climax unrealistic and difficult to accept.Crispin: At the Edge of the World was so different from Cross of Lead (COL) it almost seemed like a different story altogether. It picks right up where COL left off but is faster paced with more action sequences. Bear's character changes drastically through the book as a result of an injury. Crispin stays more in character this book and a new character is added to the mix -- a girl named Troth who has a cleft-palate. There is one conflict after another and this book has considerable violence. The violence, however, fits the setting and is not glamorized in any way. I'm eager to find out what becomes of the players.
—Britt Watkins
