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So this past year @arien and I started reading the Keeper of the Lost Cities series. We got three-four books in before deciding to stop reading.
So I’m wondering what you guys think about the books.
Personally, I felt they were very intense, with all the mind control and brokenness, etc. At first I thought Sophie’s mind-reading powers were just kind of cute, but it got weird and creepy fast.
The thing that really turned me off for good was when the ogre king showed up in Everblaze. It honestly made me want to 🤮
I’d like to know if this is just me being super sensitive or if other people felt it was excessively creepy, too.
I don’t know who’s read them, so I’ll just tag a bunch of people. Feel free to hop on if you’ve read it!
@mineralizedwritings @felicity @esther-c @sarafini @orielle21 @madelyn @koshka @loopylin @theloonyone @elishavet-pidyon @ava-blue @whalekeeper @godlyfantasy12 @freedomwriter76 @lightoverdarkness6Dark is the Shadow, and yet my heart rejoices.
I have not read them, but definitely wanted to after hearing about adorable Keefe from somebody we may know lol.
I feel like I’ve heard other people say the mind control went too far, but I’m not one to judge because I haven’t read them, and I likely won’t.
"And so I left this world just as I had entered it. Confused."
@starofthenorth I can’t say ur being too sensitive because it just depends on what an insidiously can handle, as we discussed in the one forum (can’t remember the title)OH the dark writing forum.
But for me, KOTLC (Keeper of the lost series) IS MY ALL TIME FAVORITE SERIES!!! I absolutely adore it, and none of those things bothered me at all. The council totally makes me mad tho, as do all the stupid elven rules/prejudices.
But none of the other stuff bothers me and I didn’t really hear of it bothering others till I came here, but again It rlly depends on the person and if u can’t read it, u can’t read it! 😊
#IfMarcelDiesIRiot
#ProtectMarcel
#ProtectSebI haven’t read them, but I have a couple of friends (both also Christian) who absolutely love the books. So I don’t really have much of an opinion about them, but I’ll probably read them someday and figure out if I like them or not.
@starofthenorth I blazed through the first 8 books in like a two-week span of time over a year ago, so pardon me if my memory is a little fuzzy 😛
I can definitely see why you would find the books too intense! I was rereading some of book eight yesterday actually, and was like… wow everything escalated very quickly. It’s definitely more in the YA realm of intensity rather than middle grade, though the bright covers can be a bit misleading. Personally (from what I remember) I was okay with the intensity; the books’ treatment of emotions was super refreshing to me, and I felt like that counterbalanced some of the intensity? For example, the way the author handled Keefe’s relationship with his parents was very nuanced and something I haven’t seen a lot of in fiction. But again, it’s been a while since I’ve read the books and can’t remember many specifics 😛 There’s no shame in finding something too intense though! I’ve been there many times with various books/movies/video games.
(also hi; I’m Elizabeth!)
“Seven seconds till the end. Time enough for you. Perhaps. But what will you do with it?”
okay weird and unpopular opinion here
I thought KOTLC was a bit boring in the end.
It was an okay series until book six but then it got a bit predictable and relative and I felt the characters were never really in danger (common lengthy series problems)
As for the intensity I personally felt that it was intense but not that intense but I like reading things with complex magic systems and where characters actually die or are hurt. (I’m also the type of person who goes strait to hard mode whenever I play co-op board/video games (and then usually dies))
Also I read the books 2 years ago and looking back they pale in comparison compared to some of the stuff I have read recently ie the poppy war.
Based off of how you like keeper of the lost cities and partially off your WIP might I recommend the Stormlight Archive by Brandon Sanderson
I have never read them, but I’ve heard of them. I know my friend described it as almost a staple of YA fiction at her school. As in, pretty much everyone had read it.
I’ve never had a big interest in reading it before, but as of now, I’m still deciding if I want to or not.
It’s interesting to hear different opinions on it! 🙂
Write what should not be forgotten. — Isabel Allende
@folith-feolin u might wanna read book7-9 now that they’re out 😉)
#IfMarcelDiesIRiot
#ProtectMarcel
#ProtectSebI did read 7 8 and 8.5 whenever 8.5 came out 🤔 I just don’t know if I can convince myself to read 9 now (ironically for the opposite reason of the op) as I just came off of finishing the poppy war series and the Crowfall series (both series are Grimdarks that are crazy intense for lack of better word choice) and I’m a bit scared I will find Keeper number 9 boring.
Should I still read it?
@folith-feolin as I don’t read grimdark but I do know it’s definitely not something I’d probably read really at all, KOTLC, definitely isn’t as intense probably as what ur used to.
which is great for me XD XD XD
#IfMarcelDiesIRiot
#ProtectMarcel
#ProtectSeb@godlyfantasy12 @folith-feolin @starofthenorth @lewilliams @mineralizedwritings @esther-c @theloonyone
So yeah, the intense mind powers and extremely broken people was a turn-off for me, but I think an even bigger thing was how the kids were breaking rules (important rules!) and getting away with it/encouraged to keep doing it BY THE ADULTS IN CHARGE OF KEEPING THESE KIDS SAFE. It seems like a common topic in YA fiction, and I don’t think that’s the best message to send to today’s young adults. In the first KotLC book it was like, “Let’s break the rules and not tell the adults.” In the second it was like, “Let’s break the rules and tell the adults, who agree it’s the only thing we could have done.” In the third it was, “Let’s break the rules and tell the adults, who then proceed to help us break even more important rules.” LOL I know I’m overexaggerating, but that was how it felt to me. At first, Sophie did get in trouble for breaking important rules, but as the books go on it kind of stops, and she keeps getting special exemptions because she’s only 13, etc., like she’s not old enough to know she was consciously breaking rules.
That just doesn’t seem right to me. The breaking rules and getting away with it was a big problem for my parents, which is why I wasn’t allowed to read Harry Potter either. It wasn’t the magic, it was because Harry was encouraged to cheat and break rules, and that’s not a good example for us to follow.
Be brave. Be strong. Be bold.
-Christopher Blakewell@arien
Kids breaking rules is basically standard in all books where kids go to fantasy schools.Also It is a pretty standard topic in ya fiction (although at its worst kotlc is on the very low end of the YA maturity scale (I hardly classify it ya and neither does my local library)
Also Harry Potter increased the use of this trope tremendously within the fantasy school genre
Kids breaking rules is basically standard in all books where kids go to fantasy schools.
I think that’s @arien ‘s point. Just because it’s super common doesn’t make it right.
That just doesn’t seem right to me. The breaking rules and getting away with it was a big problem for my parents, which is why I wasn’t allowed to read Harry Potter either. It wasn’t the magic, it was because Harry was encouraged to cheat and break rules, and that’s not a good example for us to follow.
At least that’s what we believe.
Dark is the Shadow, and yet my heart rejoices.
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