Scan barcode
lyakimov's review against another edition
3.0
I am pretty disappointed with this ending. It was left so open-ended and there were too many convenient fixes, like Callum walking through the gate again and cleansing his soul of all the million different evil warlords who had his soul previously. And also how everyone just randomly believed Alex was being controlled by Anastasia and just let him go. So....is Aaron just going to pretend to be Alex forever? He can never pretend to be himself? I did kind of like the last couple sentences because it showed that Aaron and Callum might be tilting into morally grey areas, obviously a little open-ended but that wasn't the problem I had with open-endedness. There was just stuff that was not really wrapped up at all. It was so rushed, within the last chapter, so many things happened. Also, why had we never heard of the golden gate before the last chapter? I don't know, maybe it was mentioned earlier but I didn't catch it.
There was little resolution on the fact that Callum has a ridiculously evil soul with 10000 evil warlords contaminating his memory, and suddenly after a chapter he is fine! We also really don't see him mastering his powers at all. He unlocks this new, huge power and then he immediately passes out. I feel like we should have gotten more development with him unlocking Constantine Madden's power. Callum and Tamara's relationship was so undeveloped and unnecessary. They could've stayed friends and absolutely nothing else would have been lost. Also, there was not enough Jasper! Every book, he has a new ridiculous hairstyle and aesthetic and I needed more of him.
I think that this series had such a promising plot but for some reason got lost in the middle books and led to things being super rushed and random. For example, in the third book, Aaron is killed by Alex, and then the fourth book has this huge plotline about raising Aaron from the dead. There was so much lost potential to this!! So you're telling me that Alex just killed Aaron and it wasn't for a specific purpose - he is Callum's best friend, and they want Constantine Madden's memories to come to the surface, so they purposely kill Aaron to trigger Callum into that kind of madness that Constantine had once his brother Jericho died. Nope, he just died. Why was this connection not made?? Things like this that could have enriched the series but plotlines are introduced so late into the story and resolved so quickly (especially in this book). Anyway, I am done complaining. This series was a good middle grade series with an interesting story but I just wanted more from it.
There was little resolution on the fact that Callum has a ridiculously evil soul with 10000 evil warlords contaminating his memory, and suddenly after a chapter he is fine! We also really don't see him mastering his powers at all. He unlocks this new, huge power and then he immediately passes out. I feel like we should have gotten more development with him unlocking Constantine Madden's power. Callum and Tamara's relationship was so undeveloped and unnecessary. They could've stayed friends and absolutely nothing else would have been lost. Also, there was not enough Jasper! Every book, he has a new ridiculous hairstyle and aesthetic and I needed more of him.
I think that this series had such a promising plot but for some reason got lost in the middle books and led to things being super rushed and random. For example, in the third book, Aaron is killed by Alex, and then the fourth book has this huge plotline about raising Aaron from the dead. There was so much lost potential to this!! So you're telling me that Alex just killed Aaron and it wasn't for a specific purpose - he is Callum's best friend, and they want Constantine Madden's memories to come to the surface, so they purposely kill Aaron to trigger Callum into that kind of madness that Constantine had once his brother Jericho died. Nope, he just died. Why was this connection not made?? Things like this that could have enriched the series but plotlines are introduced so late into the story and resolved so quickly (especially in this book). Anyway, I am done complaining. This series was a good middle grade series with an interesting story but I just wanted more from it.
eesh25's review against another edition
4.0
The Golden Tower is the last book in the Magisterium series and it's a fairly good conclusion.
This series has had its ups and down. It started off with a band; I loved The Iron Trial. The second book was almost as good as the first. The things I loved most were the plot twists and the setting. The Magisterium, despite being underground, is so vivid and colourful in my mind. It's the kind of place that I would love to visit. And the authors always delivered unexpected twists; especially the one in the first book, which kinda blew my mind.
But the third book, The Bronze Key, wasn't the best. I was hoping, since the fourth book was an improvement, that the series would have an epic end. That didn't really happen.
The biggest problem was the villain. Alex is... cartoonish. His motivations are weak and there's no menace to him. Yes, he's very powerful and the steps taken to defeat him were interesting, but the character didn't have much to it. The whole series, to me, lacks a proper villain. Part of me thinks that the authors changed direction mid-series, since this book was originally supposed to be titled "The Enemy of Death". Whatever the case, the lack of proper direction later in the series was what made it not-epic.
There were a lot of things I liked about the book though. Mainly, I love that Aaron is back, and is in Call's head, of all things. It provided some great humour and I liked seeing Call and Aaron's friendship. Also, it was nice to have someone criticize how pessimistic Call is. Like in this scene,
Also, I still do quite like the characters. Jasper, for one, is endlessly intriguing to me. He can be a completely self-absorbed jerk but he's also always on Call's side. Provided that he gets to constantly whine about being on Call's side. It's hard to figure him out but he keeps things entertaining. Just like Call's point-of-view does.
In the end, if I had to describe how the series was for me, I'd have to go with somewhere between 'okay' and 'good'. The books were short and entertaining and even the last three gave us some surprises, but they didn't have enough depth to secure a place where I can say it's a fandom I'd be a part of. I liked them and I would recommend reading them, but maybe not for adults. I feel like, if I were a middle-grader, I would have appreciated them books a lot more. And that's who I'd recommend them for.
This series has had its ups and down. It started off with a band; I loved The Iron Trial. The second book was almost as good as the first. The things I loved most were the plot twists and the setting. The Magisterium, despite being underground, is so vivid and colourful in my mind. It's the kind of place that I would love to visit. And the authors always delivered unexpected twists; especially the one in the first book, which kinda blew my mind.
But the third book, The Bronze Key, wasn't the best. I was hoping, since the fourth book was an improvement, that the series would have an epic end. That didn't really happen.
The biggest problem was the villain. Alex is... cartoonish. His motivations are weak and there's no menace to him. Yes, he's very powerful and the steps taken to defeat him were interesting, but the character didn't have much to it. The whole series, to me, lacks a proper villain. Part of me thinks that the authors changed direction mid-series, since this book was originally supposed to be titled "The Enemy of Death". Whatever the case, the lack of proper direction later in the series was what made it not-epic.
There were a lot of things I liked about the book though. Mainly, I love that Aaron is back, and is in Call's head, of all things. It provided some great humour and I liked seeing Call and Aaron's friendship. Also, it was nice to have someone criticize how pessimistic Call is. Like in this scene,
Everything his dad had been afraid might happen had come to pass, except for the dying-in-the-tunnels part.
It wasn’t too late for that either.
Do you just think about the worst stuff possible? Aaron asked. Like this Evil Overlord point system. We really need to talk about that.
Also, I still do quite like the characters. Jasper, for one, is endlessly intriguing to me. He can be a completely self-absorbed jerk but he's also always on Call's side. Provided that he gets to constantly whine about being on Call's side. It's hard to figure him out but he keeps things entertaining. Just like Call's point-of-view does.
In the end, if I had to describe how the series was for me, I'd have to go with somewhere between 'okay' and 'good'. The books were short and entertaining and even the last three gave us some surprises, but they didn't have enough depth to secure a place where I can say it's a fandom I'd be a part of. I liked them and I would recommend reading them, but maybe not for adults. I feel like, if I were a middle-grader, I would have appreciated them books a lot more. And that's who I'd recommend them for.
yukarin's review
4.0
It was good but the endin did not feel right to me. It felt rushed and too convient for our main characters. Also: Did not buy the romance.
cjg0316's review
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25
_aoibheann_'s review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
coraldraes's review
adventurous
dark
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
katieinca's review against another edition
4.0
Probably the funniest of the five, for spoilery reasons, which I love. But some plot decisions that felt a little wtf. Also an ending that ... is not... as morally satisfying for grown ups as it may be for kids? And because I failed to mention it before, I do appreciate that this is more diverse than a lot of stuff in the genre - our 2nd-mainest character is named Tamara Rajavi, Celia has two moms, Charlie and Kai are boyfriends - you could do worse.
izzy_readz's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0