Jake Ransom and the Skull King's Shadow (Jake Ransom Series #1)

Fun read

Truely enjoyed this young adult title from James Rollins. While not as good as some of his adult fiction, I did enjoy the read. I will definately check out future titles of Jake Ransom.

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

Highly recommend

The author is very articulate. Due to his graphic descriptions, it takes gut sometime to keep reading. Very well done. Any of his books are a great read!

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

Great Book

Its not like his other novels.. but i love how he captures the history entitled to the story. Great stuff!!!

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

Fun Archaeo-SciFi-Fantasy

My 7-year-old is really enjoying this book. Me, not so much, but I'll rate based on the target audience.

I'm a James Rollins fan for the most part. I enjoy his stories which always move at a fast pace, are very well written, have a solid amount of viable science and history to make things believable, and have characters deep enough to sustain interest. Jake Ransom is no different, but adds more of a fantasy angle.

The book is definitely written towards young adults...maybe 6th grade and up. My son's in 2nd and certainly wouldn't be able to read it on his own, but he loves the adventure and mystery that Rollins strongly builds in each chapter. Think of Jake Ransom as a young Indiana Jones - that's pretty much the pull of the story and characters.

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

I would recommend this to any and all ages! I finished this boo

I would recommend this to any and all ages! I finished this book in one day! You can't put it down!! I absolutely loved this adventerous tale and you will too! I'm going to get the second book, Jake Ransome and the Howling Sphinx right now!! Hopefully he will have completed another by the time I'm finished! MOVE OVER HARRY POTTER! There's a new craze in town!

A have-to read!!!!!!!!!

It's so weird when everyone just appears in the middle of the desert/storm !! And when those flowers turn out to be people!!!

Weird people........

Whos doin all this nicknamy crap? Its pretty gay. Good book though! (^:

Moonstar to Rebelpelt

Soulstar wants to see u at backup plan first result.

Best book

This is the best book i will ever read

0 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

Blaah

The pyramid looks copied from The Red Pyramid by Rick Riordan, still like The Red Pyramid better

Coming from a twelve almost thirteen year old dont blameme if u dont likee me

0 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

To Enthusiasts of Adventure Fiction

The Story:
Young archaeologist. Ancient civilizations. An unknown evil. I was drawn to the story from the very beginning. Jake is a version of a studious Indiana Jones. He's had the training, but he's lacked the adventures, until now. And he's prepared for them, though not always in the manner he suspected. Surprisingly, his sister, who seems at the outset to be just another beauty queen in the making with her sights set no higher than the Captain of the Football Team and the next Big Cheer, turns out to be up to the challenge as well. They manage to hold their own throughout the adventures of the book, making allies and finding a niche for themselves among the people of Calypsos. Jake, the scholar, makes friends with the local masters of alchemy, men who study the magics of the land. Kady finds herself welcomed in the halls of the Vikings and discovers a unique comparison between baton twirling and sword throwing.

Jake also makes two close friends during his time in Calypsos: Marika, the Mayan daughter of one of the master, and Pindor, the Roman son of one of the Elders of Calypsos. The threesome manage to end up in the center of all the goings-on of Calypsos, which will, in the end, put them at the center of the Skull King's attempt to takeover the city and control its magic. The ways in which the trio, along with help fromKady, Pindor's older brother and Kady's squad of youthful Viking warrioresses, combat the evil of the Skull King is exciting and unique.

The Writing:
At first, I was leery of what I would find on the page of this young adult novel. But from the first few pages, I was hooked. The writing is descriptive but easy to read, with simply constructed sentences that don't try to do more than convey the essence of the story. It isn't Hemingway, for nothing is hidden under the language, but it is to the point and reveals just what the reader needs to know to paint a vivid and compelling picture of the scene and the characters interactions.

Better yet, just when I thought I knew what would happen next, something quite different occurred. The plot did not try to point me in the wrong direction, throwing up red herrings to lead me astray, but led me along naturally with the opinions and concerns of the characters, until they, and I, found out that we were mistaken. Sometimes to a dangerous degree.

And the Skull King, when he finally made his appearance, was not of the usual 'Mwahaha' variety of villain. He was terrifying in the manner of Voldemort or a Ring Wraith (and indeed shares qualities with both of these villains). What drives him hasn't been completely revealed, as this is only the first book of a series. But it is obvious that he will not stop to get what he's after and the depths of his cunning and plotting have only to be touched upon.

Recommendation:
I enjoyed this book immensely and have the second one on order now. The fact that I found the book sitting in a bargain bin made it all the more enjoyable, like finding a ruby sitting among costume jewelry. I recommend it for any enthusiasts of adventure fiction, and it is appropraite for readers age 12 and up. I'd set the age lower except it can be a bit frightening at times, and the loss of parents can be the hardest material for younger readers to handle. That said, mature 10-year-olds could easily handle the writing and language.

This book is the shit

0 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

Best book (almost)

No text was provided for this review.

I like it

I read this book at school and i enjoyed readin it

0 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

Is+it+good%3F

+My+son+is+fourth+grade+and+I+wanna+see+if+he+can+read+it.

0 out of 3 people found this review helpful.

Liked it.

Great book by this author.

great story!!

The book was a great adventure... I read it with my daughter and she was just completely absorbed by the story! Can't wait until the sequel arrives so we can see what happens next!!!

My sons favorite book!!!

Bought this for my 10 year old son. He said that it was the best book he has ever read, finished it in less than 3 days. Liked it so much we gave it to the school library so that other kids could read it too.

good read

I read it in two days!

Fun

This was a fun book to read. I can't wait until my nieces and nephews are old enough to read this book.