Review

Summary: Rolin, son of Gannon the beekeeper, is fascinated by the mysterious, green-cloaked people who occasionally appear in the village and then disappear into the forest. His curiosity - and talking trees - whisk him off into an adventure.

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Notes: Seriously, not enough people know about these books! They are awesome! You know how the English have a... different imagination than us Americans? At first, I thought that this author was English. He isn't, as far as I can tell. Back to the book: there are griffins, dragons, goblins, trolls, bat-wolfs, trees that take you to other worlds, elves, and much more. Each main character in each book has a personal difficulty to overcome, whether it's a strange rash (book four), a disability (book six), or something else. Like Lord of the Rings in its scale, it is much easier to get into. I love every book (all seven) in this series. My test of how big of a fantasy reader you are is to ask (after inquiring if you've read Narnia and LOTR) if you've read this series. Read this book, then recommend it to everyone! It deserves more fans.

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Age of Main Character: almost old enough to get married.

 

Violence: evil sorcerer kills the King of the Trees, dragon fire, scourging in book six, telescope that traps people, dangerous green marsh fog, evil creature trapped inside of a tree. trolls attack a character's home, general fantasy peril. (that's for the whole series)

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Romance: yes. Not mushy...but almost every book ends (or starts) with a wedding.

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Scary Themes: The afore-said violence along with, well, the reader (and characters) don't know why things are happening all the time. For example, why are the river barges being robbed, the crew are missing, but there's no sign of violence? (book four) Several of the characters are bullied. 

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Genre: High Fantasy