Book Review: Sky Raiders Five Kingdoms by Brandon Mull

One of my favorite books is Sky Raiders, by Brandon Mull, the first book in the Five Kingdoms series. I like this book because Brandon’s worlds are so intricate and precise, with their own distinctive and easy-to-understand governments that would have been difficult to create. This makes it very believable, realistic, and easier to put myself in the story. I also like this book because of the magic involved. The powers Brandon Mull grants to his characters are so unique and creative and add a new sort of originality to the worlds he designs. Brandon Mull sparks a new interest in his readers’ minds, making them hungry for more of his creations.

This book is very well-explained, and you don’t have to read others of his books to know what is going on.

One of my favorite parts of the book is when Cole, Jace, Twitch, and Mira escape from Skyport in a flying lifeboat, fleeing from thousands of legionnaires trying to capture them. There is a lot of action, comedy, and thrill in this scene. I like this point in the story because it starts drawing you into the world, and starts adding the beginnings of a fantastic and epic journey that will exceed readers’ greatest expectations. I also love it when authors mix humor with action and adventure.

There were a few things that I didn’t love about this book. It seemed that there were some unresolved and unfulfilled parts of the story. I wanted more thoughts and a few more distinguishing details to make it complete. There were components that I wanted information about and I feel like it was not received throughout the series.

Another issue that I had that was not my favorite was that after they rescue Mira’s power in the first book there isn’t much mention of it ever again. It made this effort of recovering her power seem pointless. The story could have had more detail explaining this, or incorporating this into the storyline. There were similar issues with other elements, like Mira’s sisters’ powers as well.

Lastly, the book focuses more on Cole’s power throughout the whole plot and that seems strange to me because his magic enhances the other character’s talents, and they should have a big part of the book as well. I feel like the author could have developed all of the characters more and it would have been a stronger story.

Overall, I think the book was well written and had a very good plot. It had many twists and turns, and a direct conflict between characters. This book is very fun to read. I also liked that it had clean language and no extreme violence.

Amazon ratings for this book are 4.5 stars and Goodreads reviews average 4.21 stars. I would give Sky Raiders 4.7 stars because it was a fun and action-packed novel, with plenty of comedy and adventure. I would definitely recommend this to anyone who loves fantasy and fiction.

If this book was to be made into a movie, it would most likely be rated PG-13, because there isn’t that much violence, but there would be some scary scenes. This book is more directed toward teenagers and young adults.

If you liked the Five Kingdoms series, you’ll also like my book. It’s full of action, adventure, humor, magic, mystery, creative characters, and mythical creatures. All things that make a fantasy super fun to read.

What did you think about Sky Raiders and the rest of the Five Kingdoms series? Do you agree with my star rating?

Stay magical,