This was an excellent and quick book. The story itself wasn’t very original; a fairly typical coming of age fantasy novel, but it really didn’t matter because it was so enjoyable. There is plenty of action and adventure to keep things moving along and to keep it exciting, but there is also a balance of slower more thoughtful moments. There were a lot of similarities between this book and other fantasy series such as Lord of the Rings and Shannara, but it was presented in a different enough way to make it enjoyable, without feeling like it was a copy.The story is nice and teaches good morals lessons through the actions of the good characters, such as friendship, caring for others even people you don’t know, forgiveness, mercy and accepting of those who are different from you. There were some twist and turns in the story, adult readers that are familiar with fantasy will more than likely guess what those are, but those who are less familiar probably won’t.The characters are great, again nothing original but they had good personalities and there was good dynamics in the group. Xerxes (a talking walking stick) was hilarious and made a lot of great remarks. The characters also go through a lot of development through their quest, especially considering this is a fairly short book aimed and younger readers.There were a couple of religious undertones, such as a character seeing what he thought was an angel, but there probably isn’t anything that would bother anyone no matter what their religious beliefs are.This would be an excellent book for young readers who love fantasy, for anyone who is looking for a fun, quick fantasy book. I especially enjoyed the character and plot development of this book. It is the perfect "epic" story for MG readers: awesome storyline and set-up for following books, but not so long as to be intimidating to middle readers. If we could take the tone of Lord of the Rings and make it 10-year-old friendly, we'd have The Rock of Ivanore.The characters are what totally make this story shine--especially Xerxes, the talking, walking-stick. Love him! Every one of the boys is individual and likable, with unique traits that add something to the overall storyline. I love the pacing and world building and easy readability. This is the perfect choice for middle grade fantasy lovers!
What do You think about The Rock Of Ivanore (2012)?
While I appreciate the effort, I couldn't get past the poor writing.
—urcrazydaisy
great book can't wait for the next one to come out.
—Abhi
