Home > Categories > Books > Kids - General > Tombquest #3: Valley of Kings review
If Alex and Ren are going to stop the Death Walkers, they know they have to find the powerful Lost Spells. So they head to the Valley of the Kings, deep in the Egyptian desert -- where they discover that Egypt is in the grips of madness. Voices in the air whisper dark secrets and flashes of light burn across the night sky.
But their hunt for the Spells keeps getting sabotaged. Every step they take, The Order is hot on their trail. There's no dodging, no hiding. Is someone leaking their secrets?
Is there anyone they can trust?
Read the book by New York Times bestselling author Michael Northrop, then continue the adventure online! Build an Egyptian tomb of your own, hide treasure and protect it with traps, then challenge your friends!
Product reviews...
I am kinda guttered that I did not read the first two books beforehand. I didn't feel like it lessened the story at all but I would of liked to have gotten the backgrounds on everyone and more of an explanation of what was happening. The book itself didn't really bring up past events instead it was a story of its own to which I really enjoyed.
I found the style of writing very fast paced and really desciptive. I found the action scenes pulled me right into the events and I was completely lost to my surroundings insead I was racing through the pages. I enjoyed reading about Egypt and the pyramids and especially getting more of an insight into the Valley of the Kings, the Death Walkers and also King Tut. The chapters are nice and small and so much can happen in such a small amount of time. It is a very fast read and I found my mind did not wander that much which was refreshing. It definitely left me wanting to read the next book to find out what would happen next.
Another element to the book is the ability to play a game online with a secretive code that you can enter. The Death Walkers are rising and bringing plagues of evil to the world, its up to you to stop them! I know if I was younger I would of jumped at the oportunity to play the game. I think $16 is fantastic value for a book and a game. definitely one that I will be keeping for my girls although I am thinking it will be a couple of years before they will be ready to read it.
Initially, I wasn't sure how I would find this book, as it's the third book in the series, but I've only read the first one. Thankfully, this series seems to allow you to skip a book. The only downside was that I missed a few key details, but that didn't affect things too much. I found this book to be better than the first one, it was a little less mysterious, and things just seemed to make sense.
The characters were well-created, they all behaved like real people, which allowed me to become more immersed in the story.The plot was really twisted, there were several mysteries that popped up along the way, and in many cases I was shocked by what popped up when they were solved, the biggest of which being towards the end. This whole "Jack-in-the-box" scenario kept me interested, gave me a constant drive to keep reading. Books like that are the ones I like the most, as they're specifically designed to keep you engaged, meaning you get bored less.
I found that the main way to get past the discontinuity caused by not reading the second book was to basically not read into things too much, if a character or event was mentioned in the book and wasn't part of the story within the book, I just took it as a given, I didn't ask any questions. With this done, I was actually able to enjoy the book and understand it well enough to prevent any overwhelming confusion, which always ruins the story for me.
The plot wasn't too complex, which was good because while I enjoy the stories with the REALLY twisted plots, not everyone my age shares that enjoyment, so I think this book successfully caters to a good range of potential readers. If I was to ever get my hands on book 2, I would probably come back and read this book again, just to get the story flowing straight again and paint over the edges, because discontinuity is just too frustrating for me, it just never makes any sense.
Overall, I would say this book has an intriguing plot, a good story, and an excellent design. It seems like it owuld appeal to quite a few readers, particularly in the "Young-adult" range. To I look forward to the next book, as this one ended with more than one cliffhanger, something I don't see often. I hope you enjoy this book as much as I did, as it is a good book. Just... remember to read the others first!
Random listing from 'Books'...
Rex looks like an average 6 year old, living on his parents' moog farm and going to mini galactic citizen school, but he's going to be King of Space!
With the help of unsuspecting friends, Rex creates an army of warbots with dung-blasters and begins his conquest of the known worlds.
But when he goes too far, only one person can save him from the wrath of the Galactic Alliance his tough-talking mum!
All trademarks, images and copyrights on this site are owned by their respective companies.
KIWIreviews is an independent entity, part of the Knock Out News Group. This is a free public forum presenting user opinions on selected products, and as such the views expressed do not necessarily reflect the opinion of kiwireviews.nz and are protected under New Zealand law by the "Honest Opinion" clause of the Defamation Act of 1992. KIWIreviews accepts no liability for statements made on this site, on the premise that they have been submitted as the true and honest opinions of the individual posters. In most cases, prices and dates stated are approximate and should be considered as only guidelines.
"Internet is so big, so powerful and pointless that for some people it is a complete substitute for life."
Andrew Brown