Fantasy fans will be delighted to delve into the mystical realm of K.E. Boyer’s Ninelands—where all the elf worlds meet, time is measured in microseconds, and unbelievable sights are an everyday affair.

One morning, twelve-year-old Jamie Collins hears strange sounds coming from the attic. Being the son of a wizard and capable of magic himself, this doesn’t seem too odd. But when he goes upstairs to explore, he discovers something totally unexpected: Minkel, a delightful, elfish creature, who intends to take him to Ninelands, a place Jamie never knew existed.

Meanwhile Zard—the future head of the Ketch clan of wizards, who are at odds with the Council of Elves—wants to capture Jamie for his own dark purposes. Suddenly Jamie finds himself caught in a dangerous web of magic and he must choose whether or not he will train to be a wizard and join his father in the fight against evil.

The first title in the Jamie Collins’ Mystical Adventures series, Ninelands is filled with unforgettably imaginative characters and settings you’ll love immediately.

Reviews...

Review: by Midwest Book Review
Ninelands K. E. Boyer

The first title in author K. E. Boyer’s new “Jamie Collins’ Mystical Adventures” series, “Ninelands” will prove to be an enduringly popular fantasy novel for young readers ages 8 to 14. Very highly recommended for school and community library Fantasy Fiction collections, it should be noted for personal reading lists that “Ninelands” is also available in a Kindle edition ($7.99).

Review: Great Book!
By LisaLovesBigBooks on July 5, 2015
Format: Paperback

This story is about a boy named Jamie. He is a boy who was witnessing strange and weird things ever since he was a child.

The main character is curious, a bit funny and in my thought a little magnificent. He likes to try new things and investigate new things.

I think Junior High and Grade 6 with like this book a lot. Well, I liked it. I recommend this book to my friends in Grade 6 and above. I read this book in 14 days which is fast for me.

This author has written other Jamie Collins books.

–Ella (age 10)

Review: I would love to see this as a movie or television series
By Amazon Customer on May 10, 2015
Format: Paperback

This book is well written and draws you in very quickly. The characters are interesting and engaging, the story line is creative and very well developed. I want to know more about these kids and their adventures! I would love to see this as a movie or television series.

Purchase here!

 

Review:  Publicada por Rebeca Leal à(s) 20:52

Ninelands by K. E. Boyer

Published by: K. E. Boyer

Date of Publication: April 15th 2015

Genre: Middle Grade, Fantasy
Page Count: 220

Source: I received a copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

Review:

"Ninelands" is the first book in the Jamie Collins' Mystical Adventures series and I have quite a lot to say about it so keep reading!

Firstly there's something I really want to get out of the way so let me start with that. This is definetely one of my book pet peeves: characters that talk to themselves... a lot... and in an unrealistic way... It just never sounds right to me, like the character is slightly dumb... But I'm aware it may mean nothing to other readers so I want to make clear that this is just my opinion! Now, I took the liberty of picking an excerpt to better demonstrate my point of view:

"He scratched his head and glanced into the hall.

-Maybe Mom dropped something up in the attic.

But the attic door was closed.

He went to the top of the stairs to listen.

-Mom is down in the kitchen with Megan.

He went back to his room and looked up at the ceiling.

-So what made all of the noises?"

I'm hoping you got my point so lets move on to more important aspects of the book, the characters (apart from the talk-to-self thing) are adorable and I found it impossible not to love them instantly. Now take this super fun kids and put them in this amazing world called Ninelands and you have the potential  to tell a pretty fantastic story! But that's the main problem I found in this book... It just has a lot of potential and never really makes use of it. I felt lik 80% of "Ninelands" sounded more like an instruction manual about how a certain world is and how things happen there than actually about living in that world. I know this is the first book in a series and therefore I expected the rest of Jamie Collins' Mystical Adventures to be incredibly captivating and magical and mind-blowing. But "Ninelands" specifically felt more like the novela before the series than the actual first book to me.

On the other hand, I did really enjoy some ideas this book explores. And to be fair and not just quote an excerpt I dislike from "Ninelands", I will also quote my favourite:

"It all starts with a child's imagination. That is why humans are always coming up with new tools. Or new and better ways of doing things. In your world, children's imaginations grow and magically change to become creative. So that they can invent things as grownups. To imagine something and turn it into an invention for all humans to use is pure magic."

A slow-paced book introducing a possibly adictive and really fantastic series, that's how I would describe "Ninelands".

Purchase here!

 

Review of Jamie Collins’ Mystical Adventures: Ninelands  by John Mueller

(excerpts from a very long version)

There aren’t as many gentle books today as young readers really need. Most of the books out there today seem determined to teach the young reader about all of the ills of life. In doing so, they often rob the child of his or her childhood. Jamie Collins’ Mystical Adventures: Ninelands (Volume 1) is a gentle story, meant to nourish the young reader’s creativity and provide good entertainment. It’s a delightful story that ties together many childhood characters: Santa Claus, Easter Bunny, and Tooth Fairy. The idea is that all of these characters are elves and somehow associated with Ninelands. Santa actually appears twice in the book and the latter mention adds to the Santa Claus saga. It’s the kind of story that builds a little on what the reader already knows and then adds to it.

The book is theoretically targeted toward the middle school reader and probably hits the mark from a reading grade level. However, this really isn’t the sort of story a middle school reader would enjoy reading—it isn’t a Harry Potter type story (except that both stories involve the use of magic). For example, the protagonists never really go on any sort of adventure or do anything of note except to explore (with help the help of their mentor) this new place. Yes, there is an attack, but the Alvar patrol (the equivalent of the Ninelands military) thwarts the attack, so the characters really aren’t in any danger.

Ninelands will appeal more to a younger, early grade school, reader. The manner in which the book is written, the topics discussed, and the overall tone will make a younger reader feel an almost parental comfort during the reading of the story. It’s a story that offers security—throughout the story the author describes the various security measures in place to keep the characters safe.

This is a fanciful book and exceptionally creative. Characters travel around on spoons and within beams of light. They have snake guardians and magic crystals for communication and other needs. Even though the descriptive text lags terribly for the first quarter of the book, the remainder of the book more than makes up for any deficit. A reader is immersed in a world of wonder—of plants that play games and cats that talk. The one glaring omission is a good description of the main character, Jamie. The book never tells the reader what Jamie looks like to any real degree, so it’s hard to draw a mental image of him....

Believability is stretched a little when Mike and Abby, Jamie’s friends, are told they’ll perform a subordinate role to their friend and they simply accept it without so much as a groan. In fact, they seem quite delighted to help their friend. Younger children love to exist in this sort of world, where there is no selfishness and everyone agrees with everyone else. It’s a supportive kind of view that doesn’t exist in the real world. A book for a middle school reader would be more realistic—Mike and Abby would complain, at least a little, and Jamie would complain a bit more about having to allow his little sister, Megan, help.

Is Ninelands a good book? Actually, it’s a really good book if you’re in the lower grades of grade school and have someone to read it to you. The fanciful world is quite appealing and I can see younger children getting quite caught up in it. After the first quarter of the book, the level of description really is quite good and I can see it helping the younger reader create mental images of what this wonderful world must be like. I really like the fact that this book doesn’t repeat the same tired vistas found in many other books—there are surprises and new things to explore. It’s the sort of book that a younger child will want read more than once because you really can’t get everything out of the text with just one reading. If you have a younger reader, you really do want to explore Ninelands because it’s fascinating place to visit.

Purchase here!