Hachja, wieder einer dieser Coverkäufe, welche zusammen mit dem Klappentext ein unglaublich spannendes Buch versprochen haben.Aber hält es auch, was es verspricht? Hat es mich fesseln können oder war ich einfach ( mal wieder ) total enttäuscht. Lest selbst.Blake ist zwölf Jahre alt und lebt derzeit mit seiner Mutter und seiner jüngeren Schwester Duck in Oxford. Während Duck nach einem großen Streit seiner Eltern, seinen Vater mehr denn je vermisst, geht Duck anders mit der vorrübergehenden Trennung um und lässt sich nirgendwo mehr ohne ihren gelben Regenmangel - welcher an eine gelbe Ente erinnerte - blicken.Als Blake in einer der zahlreichen Bibliotheken ein altes Buch findet, ahnt er nicht, dass das Buch eigentlich ihn ausgewählt hat und was es damit auf sich hat.Gemeinsam mit seiner Schwester macht er sich auf den Weg, die Geheimnisse des Buches zu ergründen und das sogenannte letzte Buch zu finden. Duck, welche in dem Buch nichts als leere Seiten sieht, weiss anfangs nicht, wie sie mit all dem umgehen soll und doch ist ihre Neugierde geweckt und die beiden machen sich gemeinsam auf die Suche nach dem sagenumwobenen Buch.Im Gegenzug dazu wird die Geschichte von Endymion Spring erzählt, welche eine Reise in die Vergangenheit bedeutet. Obwohl es geschichtlich etwas anders ist, als es damals war - was jedoch am Ende des Buches vom Autor selbst aufgeklärt wird - schreibt das Buch seine eigene Geschichte, schreibt quasi ein neues Buch.Der Schreibstil hat mir wirklich gut gefallen. Er war flüssig zu lesen und anhand der Beschreibungen hatte ich oftmals das Gefühl, selbst mitten in Oxford in einer der Bibliotheken zu stehen. Blake war mir von Anfang an sympatisch und ich wollte gemeinsam mit ihm herausfinden, was es mit diesem mysteriösen Buch auf sich hat.Obwohl ihm eine Menge Steine in den Weg gelegt werden, lässt er sich nicht richtig davon abbringen und Duck ist ihm dabei oft eine große Hilfe, wenn auch manchmal etwas unbewusst.Viele Personen, die es gut oder auch schlecht mit den beiden Kindern meinen kreuzen ihren Weg und auch Endymion Spring muss in seiner Zeit lernen, dass er nicht jedem Vertrauen kann und darf, der ihm auf den ersten Blick vielleicht sogar sympatisch war.Das Buch beherbergt Themen wie Freundschaft und Liebe, aber auch die vorrübergehend Trennung der Eltern der beiden Kinder spielt eine Rolle. Der historische und auch der gegenwärtige Askept konnten mich persönlich überzeugen und ich kann dieses Buch empfehlen, auch wenn vermutlich so manch anderer, meine Meinung nicht teilen wird.
Though not perfect, this book captures the imagination from the start. I was surprised to see exactly how in-depth the historical references were; characters and events, the great historical mysteries. Fust is a typical caricature of a villain in children's novels and his parallels to Faust should not go unnoticed fans of legends, myths and folklore. The only problem I had is the Peter-Endymion-Blake similarities. I understand the boys are all curious, innocent, young men but their personalities rather blended together. This was perhaps intentional to understand the dynamic between Endymion and Blake; why one chose the other. Duck was a complimentary companion to Blake, smart enough to be the Velma of the group when needed but annoying enough to motivate Blake; as siblings so often work. This was a surprisingly pleasant read that young fans will adore exploring while simultaneously learning about the Printing Press and historical events. Older fans will enjoy the references and intricately rejuvenating stories of old stories, reminding them of their love of books and help them rediscover the magic of books. There are many library scenes that will have bookworms exploding with wonder; even if they're nothing but the mundane Oxford world, free of minotaurs, knights and dragons, save for the pages of the millions of books the libraries hold.
What do You think about Endymion Spring (2006)?
The intertwining stories were interesting and held a beautiful artistic style all their own. The historic notes in the back were intriguing, but seemed awfully biased. I did enjoy learning what inspired this particular story, though. Some qualms with this book, though, were with the characters and voices. These children were supposed to be American, but used British slang. All of the professors, minus Diana, sounded exactly the same. One could have easily slapped a different name on the speaker, and we would not have even noticed. I also wished more came from Duck. Her character remained a pretty flat, annoying, little sister.
—Jessi Leavell
As a fan of books, I had fun with this - it's actually a pretty good choice for an ambitious pre-teen or young teen. The biggest thing that irritated me, however, was what seemed to be the lack of editing. If two children are born and raised in America and spend a few weeks in Oxford, it's pretty unlikely they would be using British terms (paperknife (letter opener), correspondence (mail), candy string (cotton candy) or calling their mother "Mum"). Even if it DID happen (which is something I'm not remotely convinced of), I find it odd that this wasn't edited with the American terminology, or even some sort of narrative explanation of what "candy string" is, which I had to Google because the context didn't make it 100% clear. I have a first edition paperback, so perhaps this was changed later, but I'm surprised it wouldn't have been picked up in the first edition hardcover and changed in time for the paperback. I don't think this would bother me so much if it was blatantly obvious what everything meant.I feel as though I'm coming off as ignorant and that I am entitled to books being edited the way *I* want them, but I've read plenty of books by foreign authors that were edited appropriately. This was just worth noting, I suppose.ANYWAY, aside from that really, minor, irk of mine, I think this story could really instill a love and respect of books to anyone who isn't already there.
—Stefanie
I read this when I was about 7 or 8, and it always struck me as a good book. However, eventually I wanted to read it again, but couldn't remember the name. This was frustrating, because I could literally remember almost everything in the book, even the names of the characters (which I usually forget). Anyway, one day, I was thinking about it and decided to go to the library to find some books to read. While browsing the selection, I stumbled upon a book with a very odd title. I was intrigued, so I picked up the book and read the description. I realized that I had finally found the book, and marveled at the odd coincidence that led me to find it.I read the book again, and I remembered how great of a story it was. It's a good book for any young or old fantasy reader.
—Jack
