Andrew Auseon is a writer of novels for young people, and a designer of video games. He holds a B.A. from Ohio University and a Masters of Fine Arts in Creative Writing for Children and Young Adults from the prestigious Vermont College.
He lives in Baltimore, Maryland with his wife, Sarah Zogby, and their two daughters.
This book is tricky to rate because if you are into gaming and fantasy worlds it rates a 4 but if not, it can be a bit tedious and rate a 3. To understand the story you need to have read book 1 and 2 because this story picks up where the last one ended: Ben saving the universe by drinking all the power and magic collected over centuries and the immediately falling into a deep sleep/dream state. To Ben, everything seems real and he is struggling to see things as just a dream and not a reality. His friends have gathered to try to find a way for Ben to wake and to save him, but as always, things are complicated. And because they are still in middle school, they have to go to school, and appointments...oh, and of course there is potty humor scattered throughout the book. The highlight of the book is how the characters are able to work through complicated human relationships, the main one being between Ben and his father. So overall: a nice story that will be a hit with gamers.
I loved reading the latest Spellbinders! Merv was my favorite character throughout the series, and I love how their story wrapped up. No spoilers, but the big reveal at the end made my jaw drop! If you love great adventures and big laughs, you should read this book.