REVIEW: The Indigo King by James A Owen

 

 

The Chronicles of the Imaginarium Geographica: 

The Indigo King (3)

by James A Owen

Genre(s): Fantasy, Mythology/Lore, Adventure, Young Adult

Pages: 375

Published:  January 2008

Publisher:  Simon & Shuster

Official Summary:  "John and Jack are mystified when they discover a cryptic warning on a medieval manuscript—a warning that is not only addressed to them, but seems to have been written by their friend, Hugo Dyson. But before they can discover the origins of the book, Hugo walks through a door in time—and vanishes into the past.

In that moment, the world begins to change. Now, the Archipelago of Dreams and our world both suffer under the reign of the cruel and terrible Winter King. Dark beasts roam the countryside, and terror rules the land.

John and Jack must travel back in time—from the Bronze Age to the library in ancient Alexandria to the founding of the Silver Throne—to find the only thing that can save their friend and restore both words. The solution lies in the answer to a 2,000-year-old mystery: Who is the Cartographer

 This is book 3 in the series.  Learn more about the first book, Here there be Dragons or read my review of it.

OR for book 2, The Search for the Red Dragon.  

Review:  What a fantastic web this book weaves! This book has a very strong plot on time travel. An aspect of the book I was not expecting but honestly I think it made for a wonderful addition to the series.

There is a rule when time traveling all should be aware of. And that is that one small change in history can forever alter the present... and not always for the good. This time our heroes must find out what happened in the past and try to fix it. Time is short and answers are limited. There is a heavy emphasis on the time of Merlin and King Arthur in this book. Lots of historical figures and places crop up in this book.

James A Owen really seems to have an intricate way of storytelling and he has so many aspects he pulls together. Some times this confused me but how he manages to finish his masterpiece is impressive. There are a lot of twists in this book and no real way to say how it will all turn out. Like all the previous book there are a lot of references to other books and movies.

Overall I did enjoy this volume. There is a lot of second guessing in this book and at times I didn't like where it seemed to be headed but in the end it works out. It was not something I could just sit and read. I would have to read a bit, stop and let everything sink in and then continue. That or a lot of note-taking might have worked. But a lot of event and both mythical and historical figures are thrown at us and it can be a bit overwhelming. James A Owen has a unique creative aspect in how he blends everything together to make an original story. I am quite curious to see where the series goes from here.