The Battle for Verdana is the fourth book of The Talisman Series. Rome, Julian and their four comrades resume their adventures, this time in the Pacific Northwest.
The world of dragons and knights is becoming more intricate. Brett was quite creative in designing this world, so kudos to him.
Here are my thoughts: The new characters are great. Rome is coming into a leadership role which will suit him. I feel awful for Clay every time he performs Chaos Eater, and it’s scary knowing that nobody can be trusted because they could be under the influence of a Nocturn.
Unlike the previous books, there wasn’t a summary of the past adventures the protagonists had taken. Additionally, Camela was not introduced.
Vocabulary remained at a high level, so the target age group will learn several new words. This book was edited better than its predecessors, and the writing style was also a bit different. I liked the narration better, except when the battles took place. With the number of allies and monsters increasing, it is hard to follow and keep up with the battle.
The characters’ dialogues seemed unusual in two aspects. So far in the series, while the story’s narration always included extensive vocabulary, the characters also spoke within their age level (except the Rider siblings, of course). However, in this book, it seemed that that division did not exist. Moreover, characters seemed to speak in ways that seemed unfitting for them. In fact, each time it happened, I thought they had been affected by the Nocturn.
There was foreshadowing in the book, but the unexpected twists blew them out of the water. The ending makes me think, “Brett, write the next book faster. I’m dying to know what will happen next.”
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