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The Indigo King (Chronicles of the Imaginarium Geographica) Review

I got my family hooked on this book series and they insisted I buy this one. It may not be what you're used to because of the dramatic twist of events that occur throughout the book that will keep you guessing but it is still an excellent book to add to your collection
It is amazing how James Owen interweaves so many mythological, historical, and legendary stories together into one frame of reading with each of his books. I would recommend this to anyone; especially for those who have read "Here, there be Dragons" and "The Search for the Red Dragon" books.

This time the book revolves around the Holy Grail, Camelot, Odysseus, and events past. It continues the tale surrounding John, Jack, and Charles but this time puts a dark twist on the events that they themselves cast into the frame and that they will have to unravel through time; or more like through the unraveling of time. They will have to travel to the past to fix the present which is not looking to be a very nice place to visit let alone be stuck in.

The Winter King returns and this time you get a chance of understanding who he is and how he became the Winter King. Also, the answer to the identity of the Cartographer of Lost Places is finally revealed.
There are also new characters to join the fray of things including: Hugo Dyson, Uncas son of Tummeler, Fred grandson of Tummeler, Hank Morgan, Chaz, and quite a few more.

From inside of the cover - On a September evening in 1931, John and Jack, two of the Caretakers of the Imaginarium Geographica discover a cryptic warning on a medieval manuscript--which is not only addressed to them but seems to have been written by their friend, Hugo Dyson! But before they can discover the origin of the strange book, Hugo walks through a door in time and vanishes into the past.
And in that moment, the world begins to change.
The Frontier, which separates our world from the Archipelago of Dreams, has fallen. Dark and terrible beasts roam throughout England. No one can be summoned from the Archipelago. And both worlds have fallen into darkness under the reign of a cruel and terrible king.
The only hope to restore the proper order of things lies on a forgotten island at the edge of the Archipelago, where a time travel device left by Jules Verne must be used to race through history itself--from the Bronze Age to ancient Alexandria and the founding of the Silver Throne--in one night. And in that single night, John and Jack will find that the only way to save their friend and stop the chaos destroying the world is to solve a 2,000-year-old mystery: Who is the Cartographer?

The Indigo King (Chronicles of the Imaginarium Geographica) Feature

ISBN13: 9781416951087
Condition: NEW
Notes: Brand New from Publisher. No Remainder Mark.

The Indigo King (Chronicles of the Imaginarium Geographica) Overview

"Answer the question unanswered for more than two millennia, and perhaps you may yet restore the world."

On a September evening in 1931, John and Jack, two of the Caretakers of the Imaginarium Geographica, discover a cryptic warning on a medieval manuscript -- which is not only addressed to them but seems to have been written by their friend, Hugo Dyson! But before they can discover the origin of the strange book, Hugo walks through a door in time -- and vanishes into the past.

And in that moment, the world begins to change.

The Frontier, which separates our world from the Archipelago of Dreams, has fallen. Dark and terrible beasts roam throughout England. No one can be summoned from the Archipelago. And both worlds have fallen into darkness under the reign of a cruel and terrible king.

The only hope to restore the proper order of things lies on a forgotten island at the edge of the Archipelago, where a time travel device left by Jules Verne must be used to race through history itself -- from the Bronze Age to ancient Alexandria and the founding of the Silver Throne -- in one night. And in that single night, John and Jack will find that the only way to save their friend and stop the chaos destroying the world is to solve a 2,000-year-old mystery: Who is the Cartographer?

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Customer Reviews

The time traveling here almost gave me an aneurism. - Kris - King of Prussia, PA
Books that involve too much time travel make my brain hurt. I thought this one was going to give me an aneurism. This is much more about time travel and the implications of the time paradox then anything else. Yikes. And it still had lots of the holes/problems of the first two. Granted, I think I liked the story of this one best - finding out who the cartographer is. But, I am utterly unsatisfied with the way it ended. Learning that there were additional conflicts between who the Winter King was and Arthur - but none of them amounted to much... really? That's what you are going to tell me?

The first thing I had to do was accept that the time travel stuff makes virtually no sense. If Verne could do all he could, and knew all that he knew, so that our trio (as modified here) could change history, why didn't he just do it himself? Because the author would have to be even lazier then he already is and we wouldn't need all these pages!

You need the background of the first two books for this one to really make any sense. This author, unlike a lot of then in the serial YA novel business, doesn't really provide much summary/background if you've missed the predecessors. So, one would probably be a little lost without having read the first two books. Although after reading the first two, my brain was a little overloaded with all the (what I am calling) "name dropping" that went on here. Back to the display of all that the author has read. And if you are not as well read as he is, then it's hard to appreciate some of this.

The idea to better tie the Arthurian legends to all the other stuff going on here is a neat idea. Although these days, it seems that's what everyone is trying to do. But, here, the author is again trying to cram thousands of nods to hundreds of legends and myths into very, very little space. I again found myself reading at a much slower pace then normal to make sure I was paying enough attention, trying to catch all the clues. But often, the characters would say something like "Could it be..." like the reader has come to the same place and has the conclusion in their minds - and my thoughts at those moments were "what in the world is this about?" And the conclusion left me totally perplexed.

As for the characters here - well, Chaz is the most interesting. And he's sort of a new character. The new badgers are cool. And so is Archie. Jack, John and Hugo - almost don't need them in this book. Which is a shame. But, then again, all three of these books so far have been pretty poor when it comes to the character development. The trio is clearly not the trio, with Chaz instead of Charles. And Hank? Well, my opinion of that was that he was unnecessary and merely another way for the author to show off what he's read.

The method for time travel here was interesting. A projector? Really? The talking animals and the Whatsit are more believable.

I struggled with the idea of Jesus being a "myth" - I am not saying that he was real or not. My problem is the fact that it is really hard for me to see how modern religions mesh with the notions of ancient mythology or fictional writing and putting it all together. If I was a religious fanatic (which I am totally not) I probably would have been very offended by a number of things in this book.

It turns out to be an awful lot about "faith" - in what, it's left for each reader to decide. But that's the end message.

I would have loved to have some of the time travel stuff make a little more sense - or be explained a little. I don't like that in the universe Owen has created is the idea that I don't have many of the rules. It feels like he makes them up as he goes along. Which is very inconsistent with what he must be doing because of the way all the characters are weaved together. There were also a number of abrupt chapter jumps in this book which did not have smooth transitions. When we first meet Circe we don't have any clue as to why. Why introduce us so early if we don't have any idea why.

Again, this too tries to weave together too many legends, myths, etc., in much too little plot and writing. And the premise that we need to find out the true name of the Winter King - it turns out to not matter at all. So, why send me on that wild goose chase. Finally, I really don't like the wimpy half-hearted effort to set up what must be the next book. The last little chapter with Burton - please. That was a waste of my time. I am left wondering if I really want to read the 4th book. I know at a minimum, I am reading a few other things first.

I am bored of this world. Which is a shame since I think it's a great idea, I am just not sure the writer has faith that it is too. And I am bummed that they changed the cover art with my version of this one. But, oh well, not buying the 4th installment anyway (might library loan it, if I can get the energy to do so).

Sadly disappointed - Chad Lawrence - Lewisville, TX USA
This book has probably the best prose and most engaging story of the Chronicles so far. I also enjoyed seeing how the characters developed in other timelines. Except for one major disappointment with the book, I felt this was the most enjoyable of the series.

The major disappointment I have with this book is its reference to the ridiculous idea that Jesus sired children during his time on earth. I'm not sure why the author decided to include this plot element, since it played a minor part in the story and the problem it dealt with could have been resolved some other way. But the fact that it's there almost made me put the book down for good. I decided to finish the story, hoping something would come to light showing this idea is completely false, but nothing of the sort happened.

Adding and subtracting elements to myths and legends that everyone agrees are false is not an issue. But when you make major changes to a historical figure that is worshiped by many, it becomes a problem. It's especially disturbing because the protagonists in the stories are all well known Christians, and none of them believed that Jesus had children. In fact, they would have been quite offended at the notion. The author mentions in his notes at the end that part of the inspiration for this story was a C.S. Lewis letter that mentioned a walk with Tolkein and Dyson that led him to believe in Christ. I wish the author would have focused more on what the conversation would have really been about instead of including this ridiculous idea about Christ's children that completely undermines the hope given by the true story of Christ.

I understand that this is fiction, and the author has made changes to myths and other fictional stories throughout the series, but I believe that this issue crosses the line of what is appropriate and what is not. I've already purchased the fourth book in the series so I will be reading that hoping that a better explanation is given for the Rose character. If not, my time with the Caretakers of the Imaginarium Geographica will be done.

Another Amazing Story - C. L. Strand -
The Indigo King takes us not to the Archipeligo but to times within our own 'history'. The premise behind this novel is very intriguing, and the author's note confirms the real life event that inspired parts of the story. While this book is much darker than the previous stories it also leaves alot to be considered. There were drawbacks, namely that I missed 'scowler Charles' Chaz just wasn't the same and I just couldn't bring myself to accept Fred and Uncas as a replacement for Bert.
One last thing, which I felt was glaringly obvious and I would wish to ask the author: If the binding requires your true name how would you bind with the names Uncas and Jack?
Overall, great read, amazing series and just the right amount of mystery and confusion. Also the historical/ literary referances abound.
Another great book from a great author!

*** Product Information and Prices Stored: Jun 28, 2010 15:55:07

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Monday, June 28, 2010