Stargazer

The Land of Elyon #4

by Patrick Carman

Patrick Carman returns to Elyon for the thrilling conclusion to the bestselling Land of Elyon series. When last we saw Alexa Daley, she had defeated a threat in her homeland and was sailing with Roland Warvold across the Lonely Sea. She had no idea what adventures awaited her . . . until now. After a tragic attack by an evil force, Alexa and her friend Yipes are stranded in a strange community known as The Five Stone Pillars. Each pillar of rock has its own secrets . . . and its own challenges. As darkness descends, Alexa must risk everything to defeat it - even if it means taking to the skies.

Genres: Fantasy, Young Adult, Middle Grade, Fiction, Adventure, Childrens, Magic

296 pages, Kindle Edition

First published September 1, 2008

About the author

I have been a lifelong writer and storyteller. Salem, Oregon is where I spent my formative years and I graduated from Willamette University. After college, I spent a decade living in Portland, Oregon where I worked in advertising, game design, and technology.

I've written young adult and children's books for Scholastic, Little Brown Books For Young Readers and Katherine Tegen Books/ HarperCollins Publishers.

I've been fortunate enough to have had some bestselling series work: The Land of Elyon, Atherton, Elliot’s Park, 39 Clues, and Skeleton Creek. Here's a fun note...the books have been translated into approximately two dozen languages. Currently I'm developing a few new-media projects. Check out DARK EDEN to experience this type of cross-platform project.

When I'm not writing or creating a story, I spend my free time supporting literacy campaigns and community organizations, fly fishing, playing basketball and tennis, doing crosswords, watching movies, dabbling in video games, reading (lots), and (more than anything else) spending time with my wife and two daughters.

Reviews

[Sarah · Rating 5 out of 5]

Really 4.5 stars but I'm not too petty to round up. RTC. What a delightful series this was!

[Stargazer R. L. · Rating 5 out of 5]

I think everyone has their favorite fiction book of all time. This one is mine. Stargazer is the one and only best fiction book ever. In my eyes that is.

The Land of Elyon is the most wonderful, fantastic, brilliant, amazing series ever. It mixes everything I love to find in a book/series together into one beautiful series. Stargazer is the last of the five books and it always blows me away.

I love the world. It's so wonderful and beautiful and medieval and I want to live there.

I love the characters. They're all so lovable and fun and cool.

I love the animals. They're so cool and cute.

I love the title. It fits wonderfully.

I love the cover. It's so beautiful.

I love the story. It's wonderful.

I love Alexa. She is the most lovable heroine in anything I have every read. She's kind of who I want to be.

I cannot think of a single thing I don't love about it. It is totally epic.

And the ending is beyond imagining. The fantastic end to The Land of Elyon series was more happy and wonderful than any ending in my wildest dreams. The ending really impacted me and made me realize that if the author of a fiction book could write such a happy ending, surely the Author of Life has an Ending even MORE happy than this one waiting for His children.

In other words, I love this book very much. Thanks for reading some of my thoughts on it! :)

[Kogiopsis · Rating 2 out of 5]

Anddddddd I'm done!

This'll be my last Patrick Carman book, and much to my surprise Stargazer actually is a more solid finish. Still not good enough to sway my generally low opinion of this series as a whole, but... better than several of its predecessors.

There's still something downright nonsensical about the worldbuilding of this series. Nothing quite fits together; elements of geography, culture, and technology seem to serve the plot rather than create a sense of believable atmosphere. The Land of Elyon, as a place, feels cobbled-together and unreal - allegorical at best, which I suppose is the truth of the matter.

Plot-wise, same deal: plot just happens around the characters, rather than them actively having to take part and move it forward. Stargazer's stakes are high, but the antagonist's eventual defeat has literally nothing to do with any of the main characters of the story. They feel less like compelling protagonists and more like puppets, moved steadily along a path by authorial interference. (The fact that this book contains an instantaneous romance - from first sight to marriage in less than four days - doesn't help at all.)

There were a few elements that I did like here, though, which bumped it up from one star to two. The nature of the titaular Stargazer was one. In retrospect, given where Carman lives (which is also my former hometown) I should have expected it. As it was, it was a fun bit of nostalgia with a fantasy twist. Though the sheer scale of the Stargazer is a bit beyond belief. At one point a character mentions that its envelope volume is 600,000 cubic feet - for comparison, a balloon designed to fly over the top of Mt. Rainier has a volume of 245,000 cubic feet, and it is enormous. The good news is that Stargazer is absolutely big enough to carry everything it's supposed to carry, especially since unlike our hot air balloons it doesn't need heavy liquid fuel - but picturing it is nigh-impossible for me.

Also... there was a great sense of closure to Alexa's arc, even if it did lean a little more on reveals related to her heritage than I would have liked. Carman gave her a pretty lovely emotional arc, despite the lackluster plot. The ending was a little pat, but... it was surprisingly satisfying.

Overall, I still don't think this series is... well, good. It's a visibly novice effort, lacking a lot of the coherence and polish that a more practiced writer might have brought to it. However, at the end of the day, there's a simple truth about books for young readers: whatever keeps them reading is good, so I suppose... if this series floats some kid's boat (does that qualify as a pun?), then more power to them. As an adult, I'm content now to wash my hands of them.

[Leah · Rating 3 out of 5]

There is a bit of action and a small mystery with a few surprises. Most of the story is about the new location and defeating the monster seems secondary. It was an interesting location. It's different from the other locations in this series. The instalove was too much. I do like the characters, but they should have taken more time. Everyone is happy in the end, so I guess that's what matters.

[☆☆Hannah☆☆ · Rating 3 out of 5]

Now that I've finished reading this series over again. I have decided that it's still good but not as good as before. Alexa is preparing for the last battle with Abaddon. She is at the Five Pillars. Here she and Yipes meet some new friends. Together they fight and when it's all done they all move on to better adventures.

[Lil' Bamboo · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great ending for the pentalogy. It is an excellent book for children, however as an adult I can see a lot of plot holes and simplistic solutions of certain situations and problems, which I do not remember carig about when I read it as a child. But in overall, it was a cool adventure.

[David Fandel · Rating 4 out of 5]

Read to Lily

[enlam · Rating 5 out of 5]

I want to live on the pillars more than I want to live in Narnia or Middle Earth, if that says anything.

[Kate · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.75/5 stars

While I appreciate this fourth book of the Land of Elyon series, I was a really big fan of how the third book was wrapped up. I don't really think this addition was necessary.

The story had nicely concluded, Abaddon had been defeated, and though most of the major threads were tied up, there was the promise of future adventures for Alexa.

It was fun to reunite with the some of the beloved characters, but I just wasn't as invested in this part of the story.

I did enjoy seeing Alexa form new relationships with the people of the Five Pillars, and that Yipes was able to find someone special. I also really loved how Alexa was established as the Warvold explorer by air. It was lovely that she found a niche all to her own.

I just think the series would have been fine without the tale of Stargazer. (Maybe I'm just really upset about the death of Roland--before he really even gets a chance to connect with Alexa! Stupid plot devices. *fumes*)

[Brenda · Rating 5 out of 5]

closer to a 4.5, but the child in my wont let me give it less! thats why i give all these 5s cause these are all for kids. anyways, this is my favorite book in the elyon series. i absolutely loved being pulled in from the world we just came to know to a new place. it has a sort of medieval feel, and the isolation only adds to the appeal. its like a hidden magical world full of strange new things like the skimming ropes and i quite loved the ending when abaddon was killed by the two pillars. its such a huge coincidence that he was in the spot so that the fifth pillar would hit him, and how did alistair know that would happen in the first place? i dont completely get it, but its so fun to read! i loved loved loved reading about this new world. great ending to such a magical series.

[Brit McCarthy · Rating 2 out of 5]

It's no surprise I didn't really enjoy this. I only just enjoyed the first book and found the subsequent books only decreased in quality the bigger the world got. My issues were the same with every book, and they were the same here. Overall, I just feel the scope of the world - the structure, its timelines, its history - nothing fits together nicely. It's very haphazard and doesn't feel fluid. I also thought this picked up more or less where we left off, but Alexa feels older somehow.

This series just wasn't for me, and no, it wasn't the age group. There's plenty of wonderfully crafted children's and middle grade series out there, but this one missed the mark for me.

[Bailey · Rating 5 out of 5]

I've always loved the Land of Elyon books, because they are kind of subtle in the beginning, as Alexa's adventure is just beginning, and then there is a very exciting and tense part where it gets you on the edge of your seat and wondering, "What's going to happen next?" and it always ends up different then you think it will. Finally, the end is always happy, and it brings everyone together with friendship, and love. These are great books! I congratulate Patrick Carman for making such a readable, wonderful, heart warming series.

[Kimberly Ann · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the final book of the series.

Alexa, Yipes and Ronald find themselves traveling across the Lonely Sea on their way to the Five Pillars...little do they know that something very evil is shadowing them. Upon landing at the Five Pillars the evil one has destroyed their ship and has put into motion its plans to take over the Five Pillars.

With the help of Sir Alistair Wakefield (thought to be long deceased) hidden deep with the 4th Pillar....and his marvelous inventions......the battle to overcome the evil one and the saving of the Pillars has just begun.

[Amanda · Rating 5 out of 5]

Amazing! Great ending to a great series. Yipes was back, along with a few new characters I fell in love with from the beginning. Alexa has finally fulfilled her destiny, with some new friends to help her of course: Marco, Mathilda, Jonezy, and more continue the fun in this action-packed conclusion.

[Diana Maria · Rating 5 out of 5]

I fell in love with this world and its soft clutches hold me sure and strong. Quoting Coldplay's lyrics...'I want something just like this'...

[Lily · Rating 5 out of 5]

In what book series can you find at least five great characters dead, a main character who hates talking cats, and cool rocks? The Land of Elyon, of course! But right now, I’m only reviewing the fifth book, Stargazer, in which we have a character die in the second chapter, an evil god in the form of a sea monster and two slight romances. When our favorite main character, Alexa, finds herself on giant stone pillars, she makes the best of it and even finds a man over two hundred years old! Of course, he knew about her existence, and had even made her a hot air balloon! I like this part because her uncle traveled by sea and her father by land, so it made sense for her to travel by air. Overall, it was an amazing conclusion for the series, though I wish there were more books after this.
One of the aspects of this book that I love the most is the unexpectedness of both funny and serious moments, such as when you find out that Abbadon, the evil god, was controlling Matilda, the first friend on the Five Stone Pillars Alexa met. Another example is when Elyon grants Alexa the power to talk to animals without a Jocasta at the end of the book and when Phylo, the last lost child, is the one to discover a way to defeat Abbadon.
I also like the amount of details when reading the book. If I didn’t have aphantasia, I’m sure I would be able to imagine all of these beautiful scenes in perfect clarity. There are multiple instances where the description puts together a full scene, but my favorite by far describes the third pillar, where there is a maze of vines where people skim using a piece of rope with knots on either end to hold on to called a slider.
My final point to bring up is that the characters are so well developed. There are lots of characters, but they have so much personality to them that I can’t help but wonder how long it took to perfect each one of these characters. Take Marco, for example, who at first you seem very distrustful of, yet slowly learn to like as he comes out of his shell to these newcomers. I really admire how much work obviously went into these characters, and hope that I can find concept art somewhere.
In conclusion, I thought it was a prodigious ending to this magical series and hope you consider reading all of these books. I know I enjoyed reading about the feats of this young heroine of only thirteen in this book. You might find a few hidden gem characters, as well!

[Steven R. McEvoy · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is book four in the Land of Elyon trilogy. At the end of Into The Mist we leave Yipes, Roland and Alexa heading towards the five pillars community hidden out in the sea. Yet a great evil, defeated once, has followed them and desires to make this place its new home and its dominion. Abaddon is this great evil, and is full of a vehement hatred because of his defeat and the new form he has been forced to take. Abaddon has taken a form much like a great octopus, with scales of iron and enough spite to want to destroy the whole world. Stargazer begins right where Into the Mist leaves off. The book opens with the destruction of the Warwick Beacon, with Captain Roland Warvold going down with the ship.

Alexa must face a world without the guidance and protection previously provided by the Brothers Warvold. She is in a strange place, where the rules and customs are unknown to her. Yet it is also a place of great adventure. Five stone pillars rise up out of the sea; the community living there resides on the first three. The first and shortest is for crops, the second has a freshwater lake on most of the surface, and the third is concave and has the most homes. The fourth is convex and is uninhabited, and finally, the fifth towers into the sky and the top is not known or visible to the inhabitants of the islands. They make their way from pillar to pillar by a series of rope bridges and slide down natural vines like zip-lines. And as much as Alexa would like to just explore this new place, Abaddon has informed her that he plans to destroy it, or make it his own. He is slowly eroding the fourth tower by tearing chucks from the stone, as it is the narrowest. They fear that it will topple into the third and cause a cascade effect.

Alexa is once again thrust into the middle of a great adventure, but an adventure filled with the unknown and with mystery. She must find a way to save this new place she has just discovered. For the first time, she must do great things with only the help of Yipes, her friend small in stature but great in heart and will. But the lord of Elyon has even more in store for her than she can imagine. As she proceeds to try to discover a way out of this situation, she begins to see her own life path and purpose.

Patrick Carman has been nominated for numerous book awards for this series, including winning the 2007 Lamplighter Award and the Cochecho Readers Award 2005-2006. This book lives up to that heritage or even exceeds it. So give the book a try - it is strong enough to read alone, but is also part of a great series.

[Sierra 🌸 · Rating 3 out of 5]

December 31, 2024
3.5 stars. I liked this more than the first three books in this series. I unfortunately have aged out of being able to enjoy this series as much as I used to, but I really do love the settings in this world – The Land of Elyon and the 5 Stone Pillars both. I love the whole thing with skimming on the vines. I loved Sir Alistair’s cave of wonders. Given the fact that no one in this series ever seems to actually be dead, it’s hard to feel the appropriate amount of sadness in the moment when it happens, but now that the series is over, I am very sad about Roland. The fact that Alexa did not really seem concerned at all by the fact that the Warwick Beacon was destroyed and so she had no way home and might never see her “parents” or her brother or her friends again was…something. I don’t think she ever even so much as wonders how she’s going to get home. She’s just going with the flow. I’m sorry, but it was so uncalled for that Matilda lectures Alexa on needing to trust her slider when she’s about to sail out over open air where a fall will kill her and she JUST had a slider break on her. I’m upset that Alexa didn’t save the book that Sir Alistair was trying to give her with all of his knowledge in it. That would have been such a vital thing to have now that he’s gone. I want to complain that Yipes and Matilda jump straight to marriage, but I kind of love it in a fairytale way. I hate that Abaddon tried to destroy/take over the 5 Pillars and I'm glad he didn’t succeed. I mean, I knew they would defeat him, but I thought the 5 Pillars were going to get destroyed in the fight. I’m glad that the people who want to stay there can stay. I liked the little hint of a romance between Marco and Alexa. I, of course, could have used more of that. I loved the element of Thomas being most at home on land, Roland at sea, and Alexa in the air. That was cute. This used to be one of my all-time favorite series and I will forever be crushed that it did not hold up for me. But these last 2 books at least worked better for me than the first 3.

[Danielle R · Rating 2 out of 5]

"I had to imagine this was the dream of every good person -- to find the world in need of the thing you love doing." -Alexa Daley, Stargazer

I'm honestly shocked by how very little I enjoyed rereading this series. It was one of my favorites as a child and I should have left those nostalgia goggles on. Alexa is a very boring cardboard cutout and she's a death sentence for any old person that crosses her path. She kills Warvold (twice), John Christopher, Roland, and Alistair. It's hard to believe these brilliant men who have survived so many adventures (building three walled cities, fighting an evil god-being, sailing the uncharted ocean, building a flying machine) can't outlast a teen girl. They all made elaborate plans involving her, but all die off in the end. Seems to me that they could have taken care of things all on their own and lived.

Seriously, Alistair built his flying machine, hollowed out a cavern where he found a pocket of magic so we could have one more moment of talking animals, AND devised a way to kill Abaddon who even Elyon (aka God) failed to totally kill. What did he need Alexa for?

So, all the old guys died and went to Heaven. Yipes got married to another super-small person. Alexa spoke to God (sorry, Elyon) one more time and got her ability to talk to animals back forever (but Yipes didn't, which seems unfair). Murphy the squirrel made a cameo. Oh, and Alexa found a love interest in Marco, who she previously hated and thought tried to kill her.

I've never been so happy to finish a series. Perhaps I should rethink my plan to revisit some of my childhood favorites. 2/5

[Cindy Nguyen · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Land of Elyon - Book 5: STARGAZER
This is a tale of friendship, trust, discovery, and belonging as Alexa and Yipes journey to the Five Stone Pillars. There, they explore the secrets of each pillar and acquainted a noble person from the path of yesterday. As an evil force threatens to destroy the community, Alexa and her adventurous crew must save the people - even if it means soaring in air with Stargazer.

I was very inspired by this fascinating book with Alexa's realistic adventures and vivid descriptions. I love the author's creativity to visualize the beyond-imagination setting and passion to write such a masterpiece. In my opinion, Stargazer is the best story in the Land of Elyon series and one of the most legendary books I have ever read. I also admire the development of friendship between Alexa and Marco, how Marco risked his life to save the stranded Alexa and they gained each other's trust. I love this book a lot!

[Shazza Maddog · Rating 3 out of 5]

The final story of Alexa Daley and her world has her sailing to the Five Stone Pillars to rescue the children that sailor (and Alexa's uncle) Roland Worvald, took there to keep safe. Unfortunately, Abaddon has followed them and destroys the ship and possibly the only way to leave the Pillars.

But the Pillars themselves are fascinating - stone towers in the ocean where people live (at least on three of them), with their own ways of surviving and having fun.

Abaddon however has its own plans on destroying the pillars and the people living upon them - which means Alexa, Yipes, and their new friends must figure a way to either stop Abaddon for good or rescue everyone on the Pillars.

A nice coda to this story. It made up for some of the errors in the third book and leaves our heroes in a good place for the finale.

[Kim Dennis · Rating 3 out of 5]

I’m not entirely sure that my 3 star rating is fair. It had been a long time since I’d read the first three books, and I felt like I was lost a lot of the time. I was also a little frustrated that I didn’t realize until I started that there was a book between 3 and 4. That also left me feeling lost. Therefore, I had a hard time staying interested until the last 50 pages or so. Then I did enjoy it.

Having said all that, I would recommend the books to my younger nieces and nephews. I liked the Christian overtones and the happy ending.

[Laura AP · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was OK, but completely unnecessary to the overall first trilogy (much like book 4). I didn't feel like it particularly delved deeper into the world of Elyon nor that it provided Alexa with a bigger emotional journey, though I can see why the rescue of the lost children would be something necessary. However, it lacked the original brilliancy of the first ones, and thus I wasn't that excited for reading it.

[Celeste]

when i was a kid i saw these books in my school library constantly and without ever picking them up i hated on them so so much (like, every time i saw them.) and then we got this one and i liked the cover so i checked out the back and thought "huh actually it looks pretty good" and then read the whole series. i don't remember my feelings (they were conflicted. i liked it and i was bored) and i don't rate books from elementary school without rereading anyway but i wanted to share that story

[Joli · Rating 5 out of 5]

A great wrap up to a series that I've thought about off and on since I was a kid. Revisiting the series has shown me how much these books impacted my early writing, and really inspired my visuals and storylines. Every character makes his impact, and leaves the story all the better for it. Highly recommend picking this up if you're looking for a solid book series in the realm of fantasy, or if you have a young reader about Alexa's age or younger.

[Twyla · Rating 5 out of 5]

My favorite part was when Alexa has found her home, at the very end of the book, travelling between the five pillars and Elyon on Stargazer. My least favorite part was when Abaddon came back and almost destroyed all five pillars. This is my favorite of the four books in this series that I have read, although I missed Odessa and Murphy and the other animals.

[Lizy Bailey · Rating 5 out of 5]

The end of this series was perfect. This is a story you must read as an adult to understand the fullness of it. I read it when I was a girl, and loved it for its fun and exciting qualities. Now as an adult, though, I see the Gospel themes in it and the similarities between God and Elyon. It is a sweet, sweet series.

[Jennifer · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was an exciting book with the perfect ending. I am so happy to have found this series. The characters feel like home to me, and I will dearly miss them now that I've finished reading about them. But the ending left me completely satisfied, and I can't think of a more perfect culmination of such a long journey. I highly recommend this fantasy series.

[Mars · Rating 4 out of 5]

I still have fond memories of reading this book growing up. It was one of the few books that had me completely immersed in its world, where the characters were well defined and I could vividly picture them.
A very good read for anyone who likes fantasy, and a series I plan to return to.

[Mary Chreene · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was such a fun and interesting series.
Perfect for upper elementary children to start their fantasy reading and immersing themselves in the world of talking animals, Magic, monsters, and more.