Bone: Quest for the Spark Vol. 3

Bone: Quest for the Spark #3

by Tom Sniegoski, Jeff Smith (Illustrations), Thomas E. Sniegoski

The thrilling conclusion to the NEW YORK TIMES bestselling Quest for the Spark trilogy! The Nacht is growing stronger, and it's a race against time for Tom Elm and friends to find the final piece of the Spark before the entire Valley--and possibly the world--are plunged into eternal darkness. In this installment, the Queen of the Sky is brought down in the Pawa Mountains and our intrepid band of heroes is separated. What secrets can be found deep inside the mountains' caverns? Will the great mountain cat, Roque Ja, be ally or enemy? And will one of their very own betray them to evil?

Genres: Fantasy, Graphic Novels, Fiction, Comics, Adventure, Young Adult, Humor

288 pages, Paperback

First published February 1, 2013

About the author

Tom Sniegoski is the name under which Thomas E. Sniegoski publishes some YA and comics.

Reviews

[Chad · Rating 4 out of 5]

I thought this finished well, maybe the best of the trilogy. It starts off with the members of the quest party getting split apart. There they all make there way to the mountain where the Nacht sleeps. But first Tom has to find the rest of the Spark or it will all be for naught. This book had the most action and danger in it and was more than just being chased by rat creatures and evil spirits for the entire book. Tom and the rest of the party all get their chance to be heroes and we get an appearance from Roque Ja too.

[Joseph Hamm · Rating 2 out of 5]

A very disappointing series that is most definitely a cash-grab. The whole story feels like a rough outline of story vs actually being a story, and the characters are cliche. I know this is supposed to be a children’s series, and I shouldn’t expect anything super complex, but considering the original graphic novel is a masterpiece I would say I have every right to be hypercritical of the series.

The biggest issue of this story is it retroactively takes away from the importance of the original series. If the conflict found in that story is just one of many that occurred, then the severity of said conflict is not as impactful. For instance, this book states that the antagonists are somehow “scarier and more evil” than the ones in the comics, yet they are vanquished a lot easier. This is an issue that the spin-offs don’t have to worry about since those stories are either prequels or fun little side-stories.

The story also feels weird and out of place since there is literally no setup whatsoever in the original comics for this conflict. If there doesn’t exist the necessity for a follow-up story, then sometimes there shouldn’t be one.

Don’t read this series unless you’re a kid and want to have more adventures set in the world of Bone. And even then, just re-read the original comics.

[Jennifer Rodriguez-Aguilar · Rating 3 out of 5]

The book titled, “Bone, Quest for the Spark” by Jeff Smith and Tom Sniegoski is the third book of the trilogy and the final of the trilogy. Basically, the summary of this book is that revolves around a character names Tom. In this series Tom has now formed a crew with a lot of helpful characters that help Tom in his quest for new adventure. Bone is a fictional YA book with a lot of fantasy elements in the book with a lot of action. Moreover, this bone is also a graphic novel with great illustrated pictures. I really enjoyed reading the book and then following up with pictures to further see what my brain illustrated for me as I read the novel. Plus, the quality of the drawings are A1 sauce. Just perfect, exquisite. Great quality accompanied with the novel. Highly recommended. This book would be great for independent reading. I believe the children would really like the pictures of the graphic novel and the story line.

[Karissa · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the third and final book in the Quest for the Spark series. This was a great conclusion to this series. At the end there is a bit of hint that there might be future books set in the Bone world.

Tom and crew get separated and must each struggle to survive while searching out the final piece of the Spark. Roque Ja joins the story but will he be an enemy or an ally to our heroes?

There are a lot of great adventure and fantasy elements in this book. The characters are fun to read about. I think fans of middle grade fantasy will really enjoy this book. The story is pretty straight-forward but it's still a fun and entertaining read.

This book does a great job of wrapping up the storyline of the Nacht. There are mentions of a future evil that points at there possibly being future books in the Bone world.

Overall a very well done conclusion to this expansion on the Bone series. I still enjoyed the original Bone graphic novel series more. However this middle grade novel spin-off series was a lot of fun too and had some great fantasy and adventure in it. I would recommend both to fans of the Bones series and to those who enjoy middle grade fantasy adventure.

[hailey · Rating 3 out of 5]

YOU CANT JUST END IT LIKE THAT I NEED MORE NOW

[Eduardo · Rating 4 out of 5]

And now I’ve finished “Quest for the Spark”!

I figured out something that I felt was missing in the “Quest for the Spark” books: the Bones aren’t as important. It’s not a bad book, but the Bones that are part of the Quest don’t feel too important. In the original “Bone”, the Bones are sort of decoys of the quest when Thorn is the one who really matters, in-universe. But they’re still important to the story; they’re still central characters who affect things. Here, especially in this volume, the Percival, Abby, and Barclay Bone feel almost incidental, with only Percival being the one to actually bring something unique to the table.

There are other little things that bothered me; Stillman the dragon feels really odd, with his name (compare this to the Red Dragon, who is only known as the Red Dragon) and should have been at least referred to earlier. Gerta is rather forcefully a love interest without enough development other than, “Tom thinks she looks really pretty now, I guess.”

All of that out of the way, it’s still a pretty good ending to the story. Tom, Percival, Randolph, Lorimar, and even the Rat Creatures get satisfying conclusions to their stories, which have been developed over the last couple of books. While I complained about Stillman a bit earlier, I do think he’s a cool addition to the cast and world, and I really appreciate us finally getting a viewpoint character who is a dragon, even if he’s a little one.

And while I complained that the Bone characters are not as relevant to the proceedings, there is something here that feels very much like “Bone”: someone who seems like a no one is the person that makes the biggest difference in the end. In this case it’s Tom, the son of a turnip farmer, who always wanted to be a hero, but finds it’s quite different than he expected.

Oh, and Roque Ja's back! He's cool.

The story did just about everything it set out to do; more and more I think that’s an accomplishment when I read or watch fantasy stories. In short, while it’s not as good as “Bone” was, and it’s not a necessary continuation, it’s still very good, and if you’re dying for more “Bone” after finishing the original, it might scratch that itch for a bit.

[Nino Bouret]

This book is very good. It's about a race against time for tom elm and friends to find the final piece. it has a lot of action. The book titled, “Bone, Quest for the Spark” by Jeff Smith and Tom Sniegoski is the third book of the trilogy and the final of the trilogy. Basically, the summary of this book is that revolves around a character names Tom. In this series Tom has now formed a crew with a lot of helpful characters that help Tom in his quest for new adventure. Bone is a fictional YA book with a lot of fantasy elements in the book with a lot of action. Moreover, this bone is also a graphic novel with great. What an epic ending to a three part epic adventure. Last summer I binged the Bone comics and this is a spin off book trilogy with some illustrations from the original author! I loved the twist at the end, the action and the surprising amount of nostalgia. Cannot get enough of this world and it's characters. I thoroughly enjoyed the story, characters and plot with brief cameos from a couple of characters from the Bone comics for added fun. Having been a year since reading book two I did find my memory hazy, as the book jumps right into the story with no triggers to get you oriented; but as I read, events started to fall into place and after a couple of chapters I was feeling quite at home again.

[Riley Rowley · Rating 4 out of 5]

Even though I did enjoy this book a decent amount, I don't think I have much to actually say about it. There isn't really much that stands out in this story to talk about, positively or negatively. A few negative aspect I did noticed was that prose of this final book felt a bit basic and stale, and the climax of the story didn't exactly feel all that climactic, instead it feels like it just came and passed without much weight to it. Now, a few positive elements I picked up on was that pacing of the plot was improved from the previous books and didn't feel too fast or slow, and this book had two returning characters from other Bone books participate in the story, one from the mainline series and the other from a companion book. The character from the companion book actually gets their own little introductory plot line and has their own POV sections, which is something I quite enjoyed.

Besides that, this is just a decent finale book; it ends the overall series story in a satisfying enough way, with it all circling back to where it started; has a healthy amount of action that keeps it from being a slog; and is overall about the same level of quality as the two previous books. I enjoyed it, and I think anyone who has been satisfied up to this point will also enjoy it. Not much else to it.

[Miranda · Rating 5 out of 5]

WOW WOW WOW! What an epic ending to a three part epic adventure. Last summer I binged the Bone comics and this is a spin off book trilogy with some illustrations from the original author! I loved the twist at the end, the action and the surprising amount of nostalgia. Cannot get enough of this world and it's characters. Highly recommend.

[Carmen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Really great adventure trilogy for kids. Easy to keep turning the pages. This was not your graphic novel like the other Bone series by the same duo Tom Sniegoski and Jeff Smith but had a few illustrations interspersed. The books had some humor even as an adult that made me chuckle. This trilogy, Quest for the Spark, could be read and understood without having read the original Bone series.

[Brian · Rating 4 out of 5]

Parker’s review: I like the book because it’s about exploring, the Spark, and the bad guys (bat creatures, the Nacht, the rat creatures, and the evil spirits). I like the good rat creatures because they gave the king their squirrel Frederick to eat for breakfast, lunch, and dinner.

[Larry Wegman · Rating 2 out of 5]

Of course they will. This series isn't as thoroughly developed as the original one. It wouldn't be bad, though, if not for the infusion of New Age religion.

[Amisha · Rating 5 out of 5]

plain awesome

[Jeff Elden · Rating 1 out of 5]

If Jeff Smith isn’t my guide to The Valley I don’t want to go.

[Katherine · Rating 4 out of 5]

All the elements of the quest come together. All parts of the Spark are found. Battles, escapes, chaos abound. Return home.

[Bryson s · Rating 4 out of 5]

I think this was a great book. I hope that I can get the next book and read it to see what happens next in the text.

[Nikki in Niagara · Rating 4 out of 5]

Page turning finish to this fantasy quest trilogy! I thoroughly enjoyed the story, characters and plot with brief cameos from a couple of characters from the Bone comics for added fun. Having been a year since reading book two I did find my memory hazy, as the book jumps right into the story with no triggers to get you oriented; but as I read, events started to fall into place and after a couple of chapters I was feeling quite at home again. This is a great read that doesn't turn dark and has a slight sense of humour that continually lightens the story when the plot does get intense. I didn't feel a lack of illustrations this time with the book either. The others followed a one illustration per chapter rule and this does generally as well but either I've grown accustomed to it or the little trick they pulled worked. You see it starts off with two illustrations per chapter for several chapters then it settles back into to the one-per routine and even skips illustrating very short chapters! Worked for me though. I loved Smith's art and Sniegoski pulled off a satisfying ending for all the characters involved. This book does completely conclude the trilogy plot-wise, however the final paragraph of the book sets up the situation for a completely new plot. From this I'm gathering the next book will be called something or other, Book One; starting a new trilogy. I hope so, anyway, as I prefer trilogies over multi-book series. Good show! A fun middle grade fantasy quest trilogy.

[Brad McKenna · Rating 3 out of 5]

The final chapter in the Quest for the Spark trilogy yield a twist that has to do with Tom and the final piece of the spark. While it wasn't a big surprise it was well done.

I liked the Bones that were in the story and the other characters were good as well. However, this chapter introduced new characters and had parts of the story told from their POV. I think the last third of a story is too late to do that. By this point I was invested in the current characters and every time the POV of The Natch or the wild men was introduced I groaned.

That said, it was a nice return trip to The Valley. Mr. Smith created a fantastic world and Mr. Sniegoski was a worthy successor. It's not his fault I wanted more of Fone Bone.

[Kim Heimbuch · Rating 5 out of 5]

Let me start by saying that this book just screams to be picked up and read. The vibrant cover and metallic book name are designed to catch the eye and be picked up as if magic flows through the spine. I had to battle my little sister to read it first and I wasn't let down at all. Bone is a unique type of novel that is made entirely of colored glossy paper, larger text, and full-page illustrations definitely adding reader appeal and bringing to it a life unlike any book I have ever read before. Now seeing it is part of a series, I am hooked and will be picking up the first two. See the full review and more at http://www.musingwithcrayolakym.com/3...

[Amy · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Bones are back! This is the last story in the "Quest for the Spark" series. Tom and his friends race to find the final piece of the spark before everyone they care about is put in a magical, unending sleep by the evil Nacht. This is the second series set in the Valley with Bone characters. The first series was a straight up graphic novel. This series is more of a chapter book with cool art work. If you like adventure, magic, and bizarre rat creatures I suggest giving the Bone books a try.

[Isaac Badejo · Rating 4 out of 5]

I thought this book was really adventurous and all because the dragon stillman gets to blow fire and I would stay up at night trying to fall asleep but I couldn't because it was so cool and if you come across this book you should read it because it has magic and dragons and I thought this was the second favorite book I've ever read so like I said if you come across this book pick it up and read it it will definitely improve your reading.

[Anne · Rating 3 out of 5]

Book 3 in the spin-off trilogy from the popular graphic novel Bone. Color illustrations by Jeff Smith add the familiar feel of the graphic novel version to this prose edition. It has the familiar characters of the original but in new situations. Could be a great stepping stone to draw in a reluctant or struggling reader who enjoyed the graphic novels.

[Jonathan Carlisle · Rating 3 out of 5]

It's hard to match the magic of Jeff Smith's 'silent wonder' with the completely written word, but this series is still fun. BUT, unlike the original Bone series, I'm not really looking for this to continue. If this is what we get when we want more Bone, then quit while you're ahead.

[Marilyn · Rating 3 out of 5]

A satisfying conclusion though the journey lacks spark (yup, that's me being punny). And though this is a novel, I really missed Jeff Smith's illustrations. Though there are some drawings in there, I think I'd like a lot more...as in an entire graphic novel more.

[Daniel Cooksey · Rating 3 out of 5]

I wanted to like this more, but the ending ran out of steam. Doesn't compare favorably with Jeff's outstanding GN series.

[Brenda Kahn · Rating 3 out of 5]

Non-stop action, spunky heroes, new creatures both friend and foe make for a satisfying conclusion to the trilogy.

[Nuno Torres]

nothing

[Kathy · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a fun wrap up to another adventure with Bones. I hope there are more to come.

[Crystal Louis]

good

[Aidyn Aubrey · Rating 5 out of 5]

I started the book and it talks anout the powers page 12