Doubleborn

The Flaxfield Quartet #3

by Toby Forward

For years, a cruel wizard named Ash has been trapped in a magical prison-but now, she is poised to escape and get her revenge by unleashing an army of vicious monsters. Only three stand in her way: Sam, the apprentice of the wizard who imprisoned her, Starback, Sam's steadfast dragon companion, and Tamrin, a runaway wizard apprentice.

Tamrin and Sam have only just met-but neither of them can deny the strange force that links them. They must discover the secret behind their connection in order to defeat Ash and protect everything they hold dear. But can two apprentices and a single dragon alone prevent the total destruction of the land they call home?

Toby Forward's lyrically written, much-lauded series continues in this fantasy saga perfect for fans of Cressida Cowell and Angie Sage.

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

336 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2012

About the author

Toby Forward is the author of many books for children, including Shakespeare's Globe. He has also written for adults. Toby Forward lives in Liverpool, England, with his wife and two daughters.

Reviews

[Michael Earp · Rating 5 out of 5]

[Kes · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book finally starts to bring the plot threads together. In the first book, there is a question of what an oak is (leaf, tree, branch), and it's nice to see that brought up again in conversation. I really liked this part:

"Attics," said Shoddle, "embrace lost lives. They hold all the remains of people long gone. Toys and books, unfashionable furniture, dresses too small for women grown stout, letters and bills, boots and shoes, things too precious to throw away, too useless to leave lying around. Not this attic. This attic was empty, quite empty, save for one thing."

To no-one's surprise, we learn here that Sam is Tam's "twin" (though twin is not an accurate word). We learn a little more about the history of magic (the three magical events).

I also liked how straight-forward the dialogue is - it felt very real. That's not much else I felt about this book - even the magic system feels subservient to the culture around magic (i.e. not to use it). Plot lines are simple (people are good or bad), but this is expected of a children's novel.

This felt like a huge improvement over the previous installment so this is a well-deserved 3 stars.

[Sally · Rating 5 out of 5]

This latest instalment is both more bewildering than ever and starting to bring strands together, in a typically contrary fashion. A lot happening but room for some reflections [pun intended]: I particularly liked the frog stone story. Book Four had better be spectacularly satisfying! I expect I will have to go back and re-read all of them afterwards.

[Rick Stuckwisch · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a well written, exciting, and enthralling series. Something of a "high fantasy" for young readers and listeners. Pretty fascinating, actually. The story line has built strongly from the first book, and it is quite a gripping tale. Eager to see how everything unfolds and comes back together in the fourth and final book (Starborn).

[J.R. Wilson · Rating 4 out of 5]

An amazing story with deep thought provoking questions. Forward tells a story of two individuals, who are a part of the same person, on a journey of saving the world while looking to becoming more than who they think they are.

[Glen · Rating 3 out of 5]

I won this novel in a goodreads drawing.

It's a fairly good fantasy, with the usual doom bringing wizard, with the faceless, brainless army, and the plucky young folks who need to save the world. Some weird stuff with mirrors make this one a little different.

I can't say it really breaks any new ground, but at least it isn't some dour dystopia, and that's worth something all by itself.

[Jennifer Heise · Rating 2 out of 5]

There are interesting concepts here, still, and glimpses of interesting characters, but the writing just fails to work for me and I find the plot disjointed and bumpy. But I keep reading because I want to find out how it ends. What does that say about me?

[Becky · Rating 5 out of 5]

Surprises and twists and excitement. Now, on to the final book.

[Christine Ditzel · Rating 3 out of 5]

Actual rating: 3.5