The thing is: the floating castles are dream-like, filled with semblences - lifelike beings that are somewhat sentient, but not entirely. And while this one is basically your typical first in a series, introduction to the world book, the world that Mull creates is a fantastic one.Ĭole finds himself sold to the Sky Raiders: a group of pirates that go out over the Brink - an endless chasm - and raids floating castles for anything they can sell.

Part magic, part dreams, part vicious, part insane it’s a crazy, wild ride of a world. One of the best things about this new series by Brandon Mull is the world.

And once you’re there, they find, it’s practically impossible to leave. And ends up as a slave.) The world is the Five Kingdoms, and Cole (and his friends) are on the Outskirts. Cole goes down the hole after them, hoping to save them. Then on Halloween, he and his friends go to a haunted house and end up slaves on a different planet. He has a crush on a girl, he has friends, he gets decent grades. It’s happily situated with the rest of Brandon Mull’s books in the middle grade (grades 3-5) section of the bookstore.Ĭole is your average run-of-the-mill 7th grader in your average run-of-the-mill American suburban town. And there’s a lot of talk about “liking” girls, but it’s pretty innocent. Support your local independent bookstore: buy it there!Ĭontent: There’s some intense action, but it’s pretty tame, after the kidnapping scene. First sentence: “Weaving down the hall, Cole avoided a ninja, a witch, a pirate, and a zombie bride.”

The five kingdoms sky raiders