Book of the Dead (TombQuest Series #1)

Awsome

The beginning is very slow, about the first eighty pages, then it gets better. Despite the beginning, this is another good Scholastic series.

Synopsis: You know that life isn’t good when you’re 12 and you’re gonna die. The doctors don’t know what disease you have and they can’t help you. That’s Alex Sennefer’s life. That is, until his archaeologist/museum curator mom (think Indiana Jones – she works for the Metropolitan Museum of Art) finds the Lost Spells of the Egyptian Book of the Dead, and uses it to bring Alex back from the dead (he had been dead for 10 seconds). Great, right? Well now a bunch of strange stuff is going on – museum mummies changing positions, strange weather patterns – and an ancient cult rising. The Death Walkers threaten everything in the world and Alex (and his best friend, Ren (who is a girl)) have to stop them. What I Liked: This is a great start to a new series. There are 5 books planned for the series with the last one being published in March or April of 2016. Unlike Scholastic’s other multiplatform series, Tombquest will be written by just Mr. Northrop (the other series have different authors writing different books). Multiplatform means there is an online game to go with the books. I think that’s cool and a way to bring kids into reading when they may not be so interested in reading. Mr. Northrop really built up a great story. Alex is a great character, and Ren really reminds me of one of my classmates. The beginning of the book is a bit tense because Alex is always sick, but it builds up for the adventure that is going to happen. The book is non-stop action-packed. The dialogue was hilarious and very realistic. Plus, the online game for it is really cool! The game is easy to use and appropriate for kids. It requires a Scholastic account (free to sign up for). I think it would have been better to have an example of the game on the main page so kids and parents could read what it is about before signing into it, but that’s only a minor point. The graphics are very cool. You can build your own tomb and raid others’. It is a nice compliment to the book. I like how there are lots of little touches in the book – like the chapters are numbered with Egyptian numbers and there is an Egyptian alphabet in the back of the book. Mr. Northrop wrote a great adventure with a satisfying ending but left a ton of questions and plenty to write about in the next book. I am looking forward to the next adventure!

This book was AWESOME!!

Ancient Egypt, Modern Danger Alex Sennefer has been sick all of his life, but it is getting worse.  In fact, after a particularly rough couple of days, he is rushed to the hospital, where the prognosis is not good.   And then Alex makes a miraculous recovery.  But he wakes up to strange stories happening all over the world.  Might it have to do with the recently found artifacts in the Egyptian exhibit his mother was setting up?  Can Alex and his best friend, Ren, help stop the evil that has been unleashed?   The book was a bit slow to get going despite a few teases about the story to come, but once it did start, it rushed forward with a bang.  I found my heart racing and palms turning sweaty as I was reading a few of the scenes late in the book.  The characters were good and helped pull me into the story.   The ending sets up the next book and definitely leaves things open.  With the set up for the series out of the way, I expect it will be a fast paced, heart pumping read.

AMAZIN BOOK!! ONE OF THE BEST IVE EVER READ!!!! A MUST READ!!!!!!