Tag Archives: fantasy

The Games Gods Play by Abigail Owen (2024) – BR00299 (R2026) – 🐸🐸🐸🐸⚪

The PolyBlog
January 27 2026

Plot or Premise

The Olympic gods still rule Earth, and once every hundred years, they choose champions to compete in the Crucible to see whose patron will lead the Gods for the next 100 years.

What I Liked

The trial of the Crucible is covered by this first book in the series instead of being spread out across multiple novels. In addition, the love interests ensure that nobody mistakes this for Percy Jackson stories aimed at a younger audience. Hades is awesome, while most of the rest of the Gods are caricatures. The trials are generally good throughout, with relatively realistic challenges and solutions.

What I Didn’t Like

When we first meet Lyra, I thought she was in her teens. Everything about her screams mid- to late- teens. A few chapters in, it reveals she’s 23. Wait, what? She is nowhere near streetsmart enough for 23, particularly with the life she’s been living and work she has been doing. Way too naïve. Equally, Lyra’s supposed curse is never fully explained, including how her existing friends “show up” for her during the Crucible but had never done so before, and she makes a couple of new friends relatively easily, but had never been able to before either?

The Bottom Line

Gods, have you met death yet?

The Fires of Heaven by Robert Jordan (1993) – BR00282 (2025) – 🐸🐸🐸⚪⚪

The PolyBlog
July 7 2025

Plot or Premise

The Fellowship is running around trying to reunite in Salidar while Rand starts to marshal his forces against the Forsaken and the men they lead.

What I Liked & Didn’t Like

The book includes a lot of travel from point A to B, with not a lot happening in between that matters too much to the overall story. Siuan, Leane, Min, and Login are trying to travel to Salidar to meet the self-exiled Aes Sedai, with numerous minor incidents, including an encounter with Gabriel Bryne, who begins to follow them. Meanwhile, Nynaeve and Elayne are running and hiding, running and hiding, and end up working for a travelling circus (aka a menagerie) doing high-wire work and acting as the target for knife-throwing and arrow-shooting. However, while they travel, they also hunt at night in the Dream World where they encounter Moghedien, Lanfear and Birgitte. Two battles with Moghedien end up about as good as one can hope when facing a Forsaken, and even Birgitte is returned to the living realm.

Meanwhile, Rand leads the Aiel to Cairhien to face Sammael and the Shaido Aiel. Moiraine starts listening to Rand and obeying him, in exchange for talking his ear off all day long, sharing info and advice that he’ll need for the future. Sammael escapes but the large battle is magnificent, with a reluctant and departing Mat turning into a massive tactician who faces superior forces, unrelenting odds, and wins three major victories. So much so that men start to follow him, even if he isn’t a Lord. The info in his head gives him insights into battles he was never part of in his life, hundreds of years of history that gives him a tactical advantage, whether he wants it or not. However, it doesn’t help him understand how Melindrha, the woman sharing his bed, is — spoiler alert #1 — revealed to be a Darkfriend in the end.

However, the real climax is seeing Rand go supernova on Rahvin in Andor after he hears of the apparent murder of Morgase. He burns the castle corridors with Balefire while running through traps and other realms. Nynaeve joins him for the final battle, and — spoiler alert #2 — three more Forsaken seem to be addressed — Rahvin by Rand, Moghedien by Nynaeve, and Lanfear by Moraine.

The Bottom Line

Too much travel, not enough General Mat

The Lost Hero by Rick Riordan (2010) – BR00192 (2021) – 🐸🐸🐸🐸⚪

The PolyBlog
June 7 2021

Plot or Premise

A new trio of Jason, Piper and Leo has arrived at Camp Half-Blood and are ready to set off on a quest, but something seems off about not only them and their memories, but also about their participation in a ritual for the children of Greek Gods at all.

What I Liked

The new trio are fun, and there’s enough mystery in both who they all are and why they don’t remember to keep things interesting. Jason has a lot of power, and some knowledge but a goddess has stolen all his memories. Piper has a big secret, namely that someone is whispering in her ear and in her dreams, when all she really wants to do is be in love with Jason. Leo also has a past, too much fire, and he’s really into machines. All great powers to have, and nothing like what we had with the previous campers.

What I Didn’t Like

The amnesia thing for Jason lands a bit trite at times, as he remembers just enough to move the plot along but not enough to be totally useful. The wind gods start off interesting, as does the flying dragon, but eventually they become almost clichés. And the entire media thing is way too Neil Gaiman/American Gods for my taste.

The Bottom Line

Seven half-bloods shall answer the call but we’ll start with three for now.

Keys to the Demon Prison by Brandon Mull (2010) – BR00185 (2020) – 🐸🐸🐸🐸⚪

The PolyBlog
March 14 2020

Plot or Premise

Almost three separate stories together — an opening reset of who is on which team, separate adventures for Kendra and Seth, and then a merged final battle.

What I Liked

Seth’s story is almost readable now, although I still feel most of the time it could have simply been one kid’s story, not separate ones for Kendra and Seth. I like his adventure to retrieve a magical sword, and the final magical battle is decent.

What I Didn’t Like

The final battle seems less intense than the previous one at Fablehaven with the dark plague. Almost “battle-lite” rather than the final battle. The final “solution” is a bit simplistic, more trick than strategic, and a bit of a let-down. And some of the threads of the story, particularly with Seth, are left unresolved.

The Bottom Line

The final battle isn’t as big as expected.

Secrets of the Dragon Sanctuary by Brandon Mull (2006) – BR00182 (2020) – 🐸🐸⚪⚪⚪

The PolyBlog
January 27 2020

Plot or Premise

Two stories converge, one of faux Kendra and one of a Dragon sanctuary.

What I Liked

The story of Kendra and a duplicate is interesting, but a bit slow for most of it. But once the Dragon sanctuary is involved, it takes off again.

What I Didn’t Like

Seth is being stupid again and it is really starting to take away from the story. If it was just him in the story, I would have stopped reading long ago. Plus the faux Kendra story is pretty one-sided for most of it. Finally, the teams are separated in the sanctuary, and everyone relatively carries on as if it is “business as usual”, despite thinking the others have died. Really?

The Bottom Line

Great dragons, bad story.