"This series is unlike anything out there!" - Erik Weibel (Erik is 13)
This first Omnibus in the award winning Andy Smithson series includes: Book One: Blast of the Dragon's Fury Book Two: Venom of the Serpent's Cunning Book Three: Disgrace of the Unicorn's Honor
Andy Smithson has led a plain, average, unextraordinary life until he finds himself tasked with saving the kingdom of Oomaldee from a 500-year-old curse. With only his wits, his experience as a gamer, an ancient sword and a magic key to rely on, Andy finds collecting ingredients to accomplish the task challenging for such a feat requires battling dragons, deadly serpents, vulture-men and all manner of nasty, vile adversaries.
If these encounters are not deadly enough, he quickly discovers these feats pale in comparison to fighting the evil King Abaddon, monarch of Oomaldee's northern neighbor who is bent on conquering the land. Will he overcome grave difficulties at every turn to rescue the land? No pressure, but it's his skill alone that will save - or condemn - the kingdom forever.
Additional books in the Andy Smithson series set in the medieval times of King Arthur include: Resurrection of the Phoenix's Grace, Book Four - coming 2015 Books 5-7 yet unnamed
My Thoughts - 4 out of 5 Unicorns - I really liked it!!! ***I own Book 1 & 2, and I was given Book 3 in exchange for an honest review
Book1 Okay when I started reading this book, I was confused as to what was going on which made it a little slow for me. Of course, the confusion quickly cleared up. I definitely found myself chuckling thinking my son would love this book. Ah, who knew a fart could be so useful….lol Totally my son’s sense of humor. While I know this book is a middle grade book, I think most boys would find amusement and adventure in this book.
As a parent, I love that it brings up issues of truth, honesty, integrity, and perseverance. These are all things that tend to be difficult to teach our children, and I think the book does a fabulous job illustrating them. I think I’m definitely going to have my son read this book or read it with him in the future.
Andy and Alden are great characters and are easily relatable to readers. Definitely plenty of adventure, and I can’t wait to start the next book. I think this series will only get better with each book.
Book2 I bought this book back in July, and I really enjoyed the new adventure that Andy and his friends went on. This book had all sorts of mysteries and puzzles to solve. Action galore for boys who are imaginative and like to pretend that stick in the yard is a sword, and they are slaying a beast to protect all. As an adult, I found a few of the parts a little boring, but I think my son would love this book as well as many other reluctant readers who love their video game adventures.
L.R.W. does a wonderful job engaging the reader in the story. She is very descriptive making it easy to picture what is happening in your mind as you read. I think this next book is going to be my favorite, and I can’t wait to start reading it. One day, I will get this book and the next in paperback to share in my classroom library with my adventure seeking students.
Book3 Okay, this world just keeps getting better, and this book rocked :) Everything just worked for me, and I wished I could have read it straight through, but life had other plans. The only problem was that it ended, and I wasn’t ready for it to :( Now I have to wait, and as I’ve said before, I’m no good at waiting. I hope I don’t have to wait long.
It was non-stop action and unicorns to boot; I was in heaven :) I love how L.R.W. builds in life lessons and the struggles real life struggles even in this fantasy world. Andy is an awesome hero, and all of his friends rock :) I can’t wait to see what L.R.W. cooks up next in the series. It amazes me the creativity and imagination that an author has inside them. I know my reviews are not like other people’s review because I won’t tell you things that happen because I think the journey is part of the awesomeness and can’t take that from you. Andy meets some new people on his journey and encounters all sorts of trouble along the way.
I definitely plan to get this book for my classroom library because I think everyone can find enjoyment in this series. I need to make my son read it too (though audiobook would be better for him since reading isn’t his strong suit.)
I recommend this book to any boys who are adventurous souls & love keeping the bad guys at bay with their swords, dragons, puzzles, and those who find humor in a fart (this alone will attract my son).
My Thoughts - 4 out of 5 Unicorns - I really liked it!!! ***I own Book 1 & 2, and I was given Book 3 in exchange for an honest review
Book1 Okay when I started reading this book, I was confused as to what was going on which made it a little slow for me. Of course, the confusion quickly cleared up. I definitely found myself chuckling thinking my son would love this book. Ah, who knew a fart could be so useful….lol Totally my son’s sense of humor. While I know this book is a middle grade book, I think most boys would find amusement and adventure in this book.
As a parent, I love that it brings up issues of truth, honesty, integrity, and perseverance. These are all things that tend to be difficult to teach our children, and I think the book does a fabulous job illustrating them. I think I’m definitely going to have my son read this book or read it with him in the future.
Andy and Alden are great characters and are easily relatable to readers. Definitely plenty of adventure, and I can’t wait to start the next book. I think this series will only get better with each book.
Book2 I bought this book back in July, and I really enjoyed the new adventure that Andy and his friends went on. This book had all sorts of mysteries and puzzles to solve. Action galore for boys who are imaginative and like to pretend that stick in the yard is a sword, and they are slaying a beast to protect all. As an adult, I found a few of the parts a little boring, but I think my son would love this book as well as many other reluctant readers who love their video game adventures.
L.R.W. does a wonderful job engaging the reader in the story. She is very descriptive making it easy to picture what is happening in your mind as you read. I think this next book is going to be my favorite, and I can’t wait to start reading it. One day, I will get this book and the next in paperback to share in my classroom library with my adventure seeking students.
Book3 Okay, this world just keeps getting better, and this book rocked :) Everything just worked for me, and I wished I could have read it straight through, but life had other plans. The only problem was that it ended, and I wasn’t ready for it to :( Now I have to wait, and as I’ve said before, I’m no good at waiting. I hope I don’t have to wait long.
It was non-stop action and unicorns to boot; I was in heaven :) I love how L.R.W. builds in life lessons and the struggles real life struggles even in this fantasy world. Andy is an awesome hero, and all of his friends rock :) I can’t wait to see what L.R.W. cooks up next in the series. It amazes me the creativity and imagination that an author has inside them. I know my reviews are not like other people’s review because I won’t tell you things that happen because I think the journey is part of the awesomeness and can’t take that from you. Andy meets some new people on his journey and encounters all sorts of trouble along the way.
I definitely plan to get this book for my classroom library because I think everyone can find enjoyment in this series. I need to make my son read it too (though audiobook would be better for him since reading isn’t his strong suit.)
I recommend this book to any boys who are adventurous souls & love keeping the bad guys at bay with their swords, dragons, puzzles, and those who find humor in a fart (this alone will attract my son).
***This book was reviewed for Reader's Favourite***
Lee’s Dawn of Hope collects together the first 3 books of the Andy Smithson series. As a whole, the omnibus was quite enjoyable. Below, I’ll go over each book included.
We start with Blast of the Dragon’s Fury, where we meet Andy, a young boy having a very odd day indeed. Things only get weirder when he is pulled into a fantastical world and charged to break a centuries old curse that keeps the King alive, while those he loves pass on. To do so, Andy must obtain ingredients. First among them is a red dragon scale.
The next book is Venom of the Serpent’s Cunning. Here Andy returns to the magickal land of Oomaldee, where he must again help the royal family, this time by retrieving another ingredient. He must also retrieve the source of the curse, which has been stolen, causing the King to sicken. An old foe returns, and we meet new ones. We get to learn the truth behind the King’s curse.
Third in this book bundle is Disgrace of the Unicorn’s Honor. Andy returns again to Oomaldee, to retrieve a unicorn horn to help the ailing King. This time he is plagued by a being visible only to himself, urging him to bring the horn back to his mother instead. Then, his friends are kidnapped, held for the ransom of a unicorn horn. Andy has no intentions of harming the unicorns, but seeing if they would be willing to gift him a horn for the King. Now he's afraid he will not be able to retrieve enough for everyone relying on him.
I found the writing of these stories to be a little clunky at first, even for an intended younger audience. A bit more variation in sentence length would enhance the rhythm, and including more words that are ‘difficult’ would help the readers increase their own vocabulary stores. You can see a definate progression of improvement from one book to the next though. I love seeing writers grow into their element.
Lee did a great job of weaving valuable morals into these stories, showing their importance in amusing ways. Humour plays a big part of all of the books. I enjoyed most of it. While not prudish, I've never been a fan of fart jokes, even when I was younger. Many kids do enjoy that brand of humour though.
In addition to displaying morals, the stories teach kids to think creatively. Everyone has their own dragons to fight. Bulimia, anorexia, bullies, crippling anxiety, parents/teachers who do not listen to a child’s needs. The list of ‘dragons’ is endless. These stories present creative ways to handle everyday problems the reader may be facing, which is a great thing in my opinion.
I just finished reading all three of this series (book set--best way to go) and I really love it so much. If you have kids it teaches them several things, that they need to persevere, tell the truth, love versus hate, etc. I also love that there is so much mystery and action in the books. We start with Andy of course--a 21st century boy who isn't really doing very well, doesn't get along and gets picked on. Then---something strange happens and he finds himself in another time with Kings, Vulture men, Giants, Dwarfs, etc. Andy makes friends with Alden whose mother works in the kitchen and with Hannah and the three of them have many adventures. What about at home--he has a sister but does anyone at home know what is going on and why Andy disappeared? Loved these books and don't want to give away the wonderful plot so you will have to buy the set and read it!! I highly recommend this series (I just realized there is a prequel--going to buy it and read it now) and then I will go slow on 4 and 5--I think she is coming out with book 6 this year!!
Andy Smithson is a twelve-year-old boy who travels between the real world and the cursed fantasy city of Oomaldee, where he is of royal lineage. He faces a series of challenges which involve making good moral decisions to save his family and the people of Oomaldee.
This Middle Grade fantasy collection contains the first three books of the series, and is a cross between King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table and Lord of the Rings. It would appeal to fantasy lovers ages eight and up.
These books are amazing so I recommend these books to anyone that likes medieval kind of books (sorry if I spell wrong or if I no make any sense) all I have to say is I LOVE THESE BOOKS!!!!!!!😀😍😍😍😍😀😀😀😀😍😍😀😀😸😸😸 plus I no 12 I 11
This I wrong I was to put the review here but I stupid and put it in the title box I sorry but if the author reads this tell her I love her books (I dosn't have to be author but at least so she knows) sorry again for spell bad😭😭😭😭😭😭
I was thrilled to find these in boxed sets! From start to finish, excellent! Yes, it is Middle-Grade adventure and yes, I am an old lady! So what?! Get over it. A good book is good no matter the target audience!
What is funny, is older people love these middle-grade adventures - it's the kids that have lesser reviews. I saw this with the 39 Clues set of books too.
Try it - I totally enjoyed this, from Book 1 through Book 6, including the Prequel. Now on to the conclusion of the series with Book 7 coming out soon.