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Spirit Animals: Fall of the Beasts #4
The Burning Tide
A jaw-dropping adventure from the New York Times bestselling series is here.
Long before humans walked the land, it came to Erdas. Wicked, patient, and hungry, it has slept beneath the surface of the world.
Now the Wyrm is awakening.
Conor, Abeke, Meilin, and Rollan are four heroes who are split between worlds, braving separate paths in order to stop this evil. With a strange and unlikely new group of allies behind them, the young guardians have a real chance at saving their home--but they will have to move fast.
An ancient trap exists, hidden within the folds of Erdas itself. Though it has the power to end this war for good, the means of starting the trap have been lost. The young heroes only have one shot. They must work with their spirit animals to uncover a secret older than time. If they can't, then everything will be consumed.
Long before humans walked the land, it came to Erdas. Wicked, patient, and hungry, it has slept beneath the surface of the world.
Now the Wyrm is awakening.
Conor, Abeke, Meilin, and Rollan are four heroes who are split between worlds, braving separate paths in order to stop this evil. With a strange and unlikely new group of allies behind them, the young guardians have a real chance at saving their home--but they will have to move fast.
An ancient trap exists, hidden within the folds of Erdas itself. Though it has the power to end this war for good, the means of starting the trap have been lost. The young heroes only have one shot. They must work with their spirit animals to uncover a secret older than time. If they can't, then everything will be consumed.
192 pages, Library Binding
First published January 1, 2016
148 people are currently reading
1366 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 89 reviews
February 7, 2023
Czysto teoretycznie mogłoby się zakończyć na tym tomie i byłoby w punkt, ale wiem, że jest jeszcze kilka nierozwiązanych wątków, dlatego już tuptam radośnie i sięgam po kolejny tom :D
March 29, 2022
J'ai adoré ce tome! Il se place de nombreux évènements surprenants qui ont même réussi à me faire pleurer.
Par contre, on dirait réellement qu'il marque la fin de la série. Je trouve que ça aurait une bonne conclusion bien ficelée. Bien hâte de voir à quoi va ressembler la suite.
Par contre, on dirait réellement qu'il marque la fin de la série. Je trouve que ça aurait une bonne conclusion bien ficelée. Bien hâte de voir à quoi va ressembler la suite.
November 5, 2016
Mini Review: It’s nice to see this series finally come to an end. As much as I have enjoyed it, I am glad it has wrapped up so well. It’s been a fun journey reading this series over the years!
Jonathan Auxier did a fantastic job, as I thought he would. I read his novel, The Night Gardener, and loved it, so I was really pleased to hear he would be the author finishing out this series. Auxier did a great job writing the characters and capturing their personalities. I feel like he got Rollan’s snark pretty well!
This was a very action packed finale, packed with twists, and the stakes actually felt high. I was very satisfied with the way it ended. I can only hope they won’t try to extend it into another series again.
The only reason this doesn’t get a higher rating from me is because I still think these last four books shouldn’t have happened. I liked the endpoint for the story with the first series and just wish that had been it. I recommend this series overall, but I would stop after the first seven books.
Jonathan Auxier did a fantastic job, as I thought he would. I read his novel, The Night Gardener, and loved it, so I was really pleased to hear he would be the author finishing out this series. Auxier did a great job writing the characters and capturing their personalities. I feel like he got Rollan’s snark pretty well!
This was a very action packed finale, packed with twists, and the stakes actually felt high. I was very satisfied with the way it ended. I can only hope they won’t try to extend it into another series again.
The only reason this doesn’t get a higher rating from me is because I still think these last four books shouldn’t have happened. I liked the endpoint for the story with the first series and just wish that had been it. I recommend this series overall, but I would stop after the first seven books.
September 20, 2017
I was shocked by the ending! When the Wyrm linked to Zerif and they became all powerful! But as soon as the warm entered Zerif's body, Zerif realized that the Wyrm was a horrible thing. He tried to fight it like how Meilin had to fight the Bile. Abel influenced Serif to fight it and for the good of Erdas, Zerif jumped off of a cliff and into a pool of lava. After he and the Wyrm died, all the spirit animals that Zerif stole were reunited to their rightful partners. All except Urawa who ran away. Abel searched and searched for her and she eventually found her. The war was finally over. Or was it?
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
January 13, 2017
Wow what a ride! I think the creators of this series wanted to create a roller coaster ride of a series and this book was the hairpin turn section! I really enjoyed the series as a whole and this book in particular. Going from one adventure to another was masterfully done. Another great book and series finished.
August 30, 2024
Wowwww ok so that was the new arc? We got 4 books of half of our fave team miserably crawling through the underground hungry, scared and alone, and the other half spending it above ground taking bigger and bigger losses.
These books were miserable. Spirit animals series were always too much on the gloomy side (what's with these authors trying to otdo themselves by making these poor kids suffer in each book), but the past 4 books were pure torture.
They lost every ally they found along the way in a spectacular explicit detail, regularly including witnessing their new friends die in front of them, and in some cases being forced to go for the killing blow.
But they got some new recurring kid characters so that should count for something right? 🙄
Well that might have been the books saving grace but we still got only a handful of chapters with their POV so in the end it didn't even matter - Takoda felt exactly as two dimensional as Zerif.
A few highlights include Rollan trying to keep everyone's mood up by cracking jokes but that's it.
"I'm sorry I don't know any more" Niri shook her head. "But I know that if you fail, everything is lost."
Rollan scratched his head. "No pressure."
- Basically the series in a nutshell 😂 Thank you Rollan for being relatable and bringing the only shred of levity in these frankly depressing books.
Conor is usually optimistic but his arc was so tough and sad, I could barely stomach it.
Meilin's type A personality was punished time and time again by taking every schred of decency and control she might have had. Didn't she suffer enough in the first series while being under Gerathon's hold??
And Abeke's unbelievably heartbreaking arc because it wasn't enough to punish Conor we had to ruin her as well obviously.
Of course all that was topped up with almost zero spirit animals bond insight which is disappointing because it's one of the more interesting things about these books.
And of course our new additions, grey stone Takoda, magical Kirat who underwent an immediate spoiled kid to fearless leader transition (which happened unbelievably after a single rousing speech), and Tasha who's only quality seems to be being interchangeably "clumsy" (but at a level which is medically concerning) and an insanely gifted fighter when the plot requires it 🙄
Spoiler ahead if you care Shane's death made me so angry. We got just a few lines of interaction with him in all of the books and then he was killed off immediately almost off screen 😭 Shane was such a key character in the first books, and then we got his own story book so I was expecting him to see a more of him in the new arc! But we were robbed of him as well.
All in all that was incredibly disappointing. Do not pick these up if you liked the first arc.
I'm not sure if I'll ever get the energy to read the next 4 books or if I'll just cut my losses here and move onto something a lot more enjoyable.
These books were miserable. Spirit animals series were always too much on the gloomy side (what's with these authors trying to otdo themselves by making these poor kids suffer in each book), but the past 4 books were pure torture.
They lost every ally they found along the way in a spectacular explicit detail, regularly including witnessing their new friends die in front of them, and in some cases being forced to go for the killing blow.
But they got some new recurring kid characters so that should count for something right? 🙄
Well that might have been the books saving grace but we still got only a handful of chapters with their POV so in the end it didn't even matter - Takoda felt exactly as two dimensional as Zerif.
A few highlights include Rollan trying to keep everyone's mood up by cracking jokes but that's it.
"I'm sorry I don't know any more" Niri shook her head. "But I know that if you fail, everything is lost."
Rollan scratched his head. "No pressure."
- Basically the series in a nutshell 😂 Thank you Rollan for being relatable and bringing the only shred of levity in these frankly depressing books.
Conor is usually optimistic but his arc was so tough and sad, I could barely stomach it.
Meilin's type A personality was punished time and time again by taking every schred of decency and control she might have had. Didn't she suffer enough in the first series while being under Gerathon's hold??
And Abeke's unbelievably heartbreaking arc because it wasn't enough to punish Conor we had to ruin her as well obviously.
Of course all that was topped up with almost zero spirit animals bond insight which is disappointing because it's one of the more interesting things about these books.
And of course our new additions, grey stone Takoda, magical Kirat who underwent an immediate spoiled kid to fearless leader transition (which happened unbelievably after a single rousing speech), and Tasha who's only quality seems to be being interchangeably "clumsy" (but at a level which is medically concerning) and an insanely gifted fighter when the plot requires it 🙄
Spoiler ahead if you care Shane's death made me so angry. We got just a few lines of interaction with him in all of the books and then he was killed off immediately almost off screen 😭 Shane was such a key character in the first books, and then we got his own story book so I was expecting him to see a more of him in the new arc! But we were robbed of him as well.
All in all that was incredibly disappointing. Do not pick these up if you liked the first arc.
I'm not sure if I'll ever get the energy to read the next 4 books or if I'll just cut my losses here and move onto something a lot more enjoyable.
December 15, 2022
There's a lot of "of courses" in this one. Of course Mulop can happen to hide them from Zerif and communicate with all other great beasts. Of course Conor escapes. Of course each and every one of the glowstones were irrepairably broken. Of course Xanthe happens to get there right as they breach the city and OF COURSE she brings a whole army that evens the odds, of course Zerif thinks the Wyrm is under his control even though this same situation literally just happend with Shane and Gerathon. It's very predictable and everything conviently works out with flawless timing.
On pg. 94, "She recovered and quickly placed Jhi into passive state" on pg. 96, "Meilin fell to one side, trying her best to protect Jhi from falling rubble." On pg. 98, "Meilin brought Jhi into passive state." No where does it mention her being brought back after she was put away on pg. 94. She just brought Jhi out so rubble could fall on her then immediately put her back? Lol.
Takoda summoned Kovo, the Wyrm's biggest threat. Naturally, you'd think that means Takoda would have a target on his back. Apparently not to everyone else though because no one noticed the Wyrm snagged him. The Wyrm wants Takoda? Wow, I never saw that coming.
On pg. 144, "Rumfass the Ram."
Zerif took Uraza and Abeke didn't think it would be used against her at some point? She's the one preaching about how it's war and things must be done, then refuses to shoot Zerif?
It's kind of annoying that Kirat is suddenly a completely different person now that Rollan had a pep talk with him. Suddenly Cabaro sees him as worthy based on one speech he gave to a bunch of kids. He wasn't changed through war, conflict, or loss, it was literally just Rollan handing him an amulet. You don't suddenly change your entire personality the way he has without more than just that. I get the necklace is important to him, but after that he is suddenly the best leader, the best at plans, and the most mature of them? I wish there had been more of a growth arc for him than that and more of a bonding arc with Cabaro. He has been calling him stupid, lazy, and admitted he would give him to Zerif conscious-free, but all of that washes away and they are best friends all of a sudden because the speech was good?
On pg. 155, Shane saves Abeke from Uraza. She thinks if he knew how she felt about him he would still be alive. You think if he knew you loved him he wouldn't have saved you? Pretty sure that's not how it would go.
I don't understand why they are calling it The Thing now. It's still just the Wyrm that took Zerif over. It didn't magically become something other than itself.
I adored the ending. I don't want to spoil anything, but I was nearly in tears. I'm really happy with how the story progressed to this point. The story was good, but unfortunately it doesn't make up for this book's bad editing and poor character development.
On pg. 94, "She recovered and quickly placed Jhi into passive state" on pg. 96, "Meilin fell to one side, trying her best to protect Jhi from falling rubble." On pg. 98, "Meilin brought Jhi into passive state." No where does it mention her being brought back after she was put away on pg. 94. She just brought Jhi out so rubble could fall on her then immediately put her back? Lol.
Takoda summoned Kovo, the Wyrm's biggest threat. Naturally, you'd think that means Takoda would have a target on his back. Apparently not to everyone else though because no one noticed the Wyrm snagged him. The Wyrm wants Takoda? Wow, I never saw that coming.
On pg. 144, "Rumfass the Ram."
Zerif took Uraza and Abeke didn't think it would be used against her at some point? She's the one preaching about how it's war and things must be done, then refuses to shoot Zerif?
It's kind of annoying that Kirat is suddenly a completely different person now that Rollan had a pep talk with him. Suddenly Cabaro sees him as worthy based on one speech he gave to a bunch of kids. He wasn't changed through war, conflict, or loss, it was literally just Rollan handing him an amulet. You don't suddenly change your entire personality the way he has without more than just that. I get the necklace is important to him, but after that he is suddenly the best leader, the best at plans, and the most mature of them? I wish there had been more of a growth arc for him than that and more of a bonding arc with Cabaro. He has been calling him stupid, lazy, and admitted he would give him to Zerif conscious-free, but all of that washes away and they are best friends all of a sudden because the speech was good?
On pg. 155, Shane saves Abeke from Uraza. She thinks if he knew how she felt about him he would still be alive. You think if he knew you loved him he wouldn't have saved you? Pretty sure that's not how it would go.
I don't understand why they are calling it The Thing now. It's still just the Wyrm that took Zerif over. It didn't magically become something other than itself.
I adored the ending. I don't want to spoil anything, but I was nearly in tears. I'm really happy with how the story progressed to this point. The story was good, but unfortunately it doesn't make up for this book's bad editing and poor character development.
September 19, 2017
I really love the Spirit Animals series as a whole. I agree with many others that it should have ended with the original 7 book run, but these books have been satisfying for more so far. That said, I've got some problems with The Burning Tide. The story picks up immediately after The Return.
Everything that I liked in The Return (the pacing, characterization, and plot) was gone in Burning Tide. The ending felt rushed and underwhelming. The plan to defeat the Wyrm was . . . stupid? The switching perspectives combined with the ever growing cast of characters made the entire story just run out of control. By the end I was still wondering who was supposed to be important to the story other than the original four characters. I was also a bit confused by the fact that this is the end of the Wyrm story arch, but there are two more books to follow. Book 6 comes out in October.
I wanted to see more backstory of Kovo's history and the "birth" of the Great Beasts. I think tying their power to the Evertree and the Wyrm was a great touch. However, there wasn't much there. Also, I think that if that much was being done to explain the origin of the Wyrm, then the finale for this arc should have been extended into another book. I know that there are two companion novels to the story in the POV of the Great Beasts, but the first focuses on the first war with the conquerors.
Overall, I enjoyed this read, but it was very underwhelming for me. 3/5 stars.
Everything that I liked in The Return (the pacing, characterization, and plot) was gone in Burning Tide. The ending felt rushed and underwhelming. The plan to defeat the Wyrm was . . . stupid? The switching perspectives combined with the ever growing cast of characters made the entire story just run out of control. By the end I was still wondering who was supposed to be important to the story other than the original four characters. I was also a bit confused by the fact that this is the end of the Wyrm story arch, but there are two more books to follow. Book 6 comes out in October.
I wanted to see more backstory of Kovo's history and the "birth" of the Great Beasts. I think tying their power to the Evertree and the Wyrm was a great touch. However, there wasn't much there. Also, I think that if that much was being done to explain the origin of the Wyrm, then the finale for this arc should have been extended into another book. I know that there are two companion novels to the story in the POV of the Great Beasts, but the first focuses on the first war with the conquerors.
Overall, I enjoyed this read, but it was very underwhelming for me. 3/5 stars.
August 9, 2023
This one is my least favorite this time probably but i remember what happened with my heart when I first read it. And the plot with Abeke... I mean we all love her. And even though I dont know why, but i dont like the writing here, the last chapter is so so amazing. I mean i could die to spend even a minute with Abeke and Uraza. And yeah I dont know why I do not very like the writing, cuz like Jonathan Auxier is one of my favorite childhood authors. And I love the writing of his other books. This one just felt so quick. There was a lot of going on but with so many plot holes...
Sooo well you may be wondering why I gave it 5 stars.
Cuz we love Abeke and Uraza.
And cuz this series is a HUGE part of my childhood and yeah basically my life. I mean this books affected me so much back when I was 9 to 14!!!! And they still affect me in some ways. They feel like home.
So yeahhh I'm not very objective here.
And dont get me wrong. It's not bad book at all. It's just that all the others are so good, that this one felt flat🤷🏼♀️
And I know I said it twice, but I'll said that again.
We. Love. Abeke. And. Uraza.
That's it. That's all I wanted.
Now you can have a nice day or whatever. Yeah.
😇😇😇
Sooo well you may be wondering why I gave it 5 stars.
Cuz we love Abeke and Uraza.
And cuz this series is a HUGE part of my childhood and yeah basically my life. I mean this books affected me so much back when I was 9 to 14!!!! And they still affect me in some ways. They feel like home.
So yeahhh I'm not very objective here.
And dont get me wrong. It's not bad book at all. It's just that all the others are so good, that this one felt flat🤷🏼♀️
And I know I said it twice, but I'll said that again.
We. Love. Abeke. And. Uraza.
That's it. That's all I wanted.
Now you can have a nice day or whatever. Yeah.
😇😇😇
December 12, 2016
Spirit animals by Jonathan Auxier has to be one of the bests books in the world of reading, it includes an awesome cast (Connor, Abeke, Meilin, and Rollan) these are four characters that split up between their worlds and search for only the most coolest, strongest, most charming animals that fit their personality, not only do these animals play a big role in helping these characters but they show the characters vividly in strength, speed, and charisma. As the characters arrive at the place of Desolation they embark on an adventure through the ruins! This creates a weird mysterious attitude and can be found throughout the book, as Connors first words are "What was that!" Abeke says "I think it could be our first animal" The spirit animal suddenly jumps out as the crew is astonished by its cute attitude, the animal appeared to be holding something. It was their first spirit item! I loved this book mostly because of its genre and how it elaborated on mainly the mysterious topics, I thank the author heavily for making a great book, and would also love to see more.
May 1, 2019
Great book.
January 27, 2021
Trop bien ,👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏
September 20, 2021
Shane!!! Noooo!!!!! I cried my eyes out when he died!!
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
November 4, 2017
The messages of this book seem to come together and say: Trust others, evil people are not always as evil as they seem; do this and fight through loss and you will win.
The first chapter is an interesting prelude to all the Spirit Animals books, speaking of the birth of the Great Beasts and the Wyrm's beginning.
I love the Redcloaks! They're interesting and their story is intriguing. They -almost- seem better than a usual spirit animal bond because they don't lose their strength by an animal's death. I wouldn't want to be one and have gone through what they have, though.
The stories throughout the books seamlessly come together here. It's beautiful, and even if you don't like the previous books this one makes them all worth it.
I had so many ships, but many of them are destroyed by the immense tragedies in the book. It's an emotional book with many plot twists. A new ship I have is Kirat and Tasha!
The first chapter is an interesting prelude to all the Spirit Animals books, speaking of the birth of the Great Beasts and the Wyrm's beginning.
I love the Redcloaks! They're interesting and their story is intriguing. They -almost- seem better than a usual spirit animal bond because they don't lose their strength by an animal's death. I wouldn't want to be one and have gone through what they have, though.
The stories throughout the books seamlessly come together here. It's beautiful, and even if you don't like the previous books this one makes them all worth it.
I had so many ships, but many of them are destroyed by the immense tragedies in the book. It's an emotional book with many plot twists. A new ship I have is Kirat and Tasha!
June 28, 2023
this book RUINED me when i was like 13. there's so many plotholes tho
September 17, 2018
This book was horrible, the worst writing I've ever read. I love this series, but I completely disagree with the author's choice to kill the best guy in the world.
May 9, 2022
I had to skip around at some parts because it got so boring.
September 25, 2023
omg???
December 8, 2024
The wyrm that has been dormant under Erdas is awakening and the kids, Conor, Abeke, Meilin, and Rollan, our heroes from different places, are trying to find a way to stop it. Alliances must be made to save the world as they know it and stop the Wyrm that has control over so many as it awakens. The Wyrm has separated some from their Spirit Animals and it is hard to determine how to trust. From separate parts of this world the heroes must work to solve a puzzle that may allow them to save the world and all that are controlled by this Wyrm. This adventure is as intriguing as the danger is ominous. These characters will hang in your head for a long time!
This 4th book in the series is easy to hop into even if the series is read out of order. (I have not read all of the series, but did read book 1 a few years ago.) This book is fine in an elementary school, but also great for middle schools. I remember when these came out at our Scholastic Book Fairs. The game was popular as the books. I see Erin Hunter Warriors fans loving this series as well.
This 4th book in the series is easy to hop into even if the series is read out of order. (I have not read all of the series, but did read book 1 a few years ago.) This book is fine in an elementary school, but also great for middle schools. I remember when these came out at our Scholastic Book Fairs. The game was popular as the books. I see Erin Hunter Warriors fans loving this series as well.
February 3, 2018
Scholastic fantasy series for primary school aged children. Certainly suggest making the effort to read them in order, otherwise the large cast paired with their spirit animals gets a bit much. Great series, in the vein of Beast Quest but more sophisticated. The paramount quality of the many authors is what makes it great. I love Auxier, but there are also works by Maggie Stiefvater, Victoria Schwab, Shannon Hale, Brandon Mull, Marie Lu and more. Plus, there's a video game that goes with the series.
October 5, 2023
Ooof...
Somehow, I thought that the next four of five books would also be about the Wyrm but then the Wyrm took over from Conor and Abeke lost Uraza (wich I saw comming because our heroes aren't traumatised enough...) and then Uraza rips Shane to pieces in front of Abeke's eyes, and then there was the Wyrm and they attacked the red cloaks but then it was over. That was it. I had expected more.
I enjoyed it nonetheless.
It was a fast-paced book, again with more death and destruction than what I'm expecting for a children's book.
I'm still really glad I started this series.
Somehow, I thought that the next four of five books would also be about the Wyrm but then the Wyrm took over from Conor and Abeke lost Uraza (wich I saw comming because our heroes aren't traumatised enough...) and then Uraza rips Shane to pieces in front of Abeke's eyes, and then there was the Wyrm and they attacked the red cloaks but then it was over. That was it. I had expected more.
I enjoyed it nonetheless.
It was a fast-paced book, again with more death and destruction than what I'm expecting for a children's book.
I'm still really glad I started this series.
April 20, 2018
This definitely was way better than the third book in this second part series. It is actually my favorite book so far in the Fall of the Beasts. The only reason why I gave it a four star instead of five was because (it's a kid book)it had some lines that were a little kiddish. But that's okay, their 12 and 13 in this series so they don't have a bigger vocab. I can't wait to see what happenshe next!
March 27, 2019
I was glad that in this book the Wyrm was finally destroyed, along with Zarif. I was also happy that Conor was finally free from the parasite, along with the other Greencloaks. It was so sad that Shane was killed, but I thought it was kind of fitting that he died saving Abeke. It makes me curious how the series is going to continue now. I figured the Wyrm wouldn't be destroyed until the last book.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
June 13, 2020
So the way they presented this series is a bit odd. The series is 8 books (thus far) not including the original spirit animals series. This was a really good new story, but for some reason it was only 4 books. I'm excited yet again to see where the next four books will take us. I wish it had been longer, but as a middle grade reading series I understand why it wasn't. Anyway yay redemption!
May 19, 2022
It was a joy to read this series. I really liked how much character there was is this book. In all of the others, too.
I think that the Spirit Animals producers ought to stop here. This is a good place to stop.
Spirit Animals for the win! :)
Looking back a while later: I have no idea what part of your review even MEANS, kid.
I think that the Spirit Animals producers ought to stop here. This is a good place to stop.
Spirit Animals for the win! :)
Looking back a while later: I have no idea what part of your review even MEANS, kid.
January 25, 2020
3.5/5-I really liked things about this portion of the series. I don’t think it quite measured up to the “Worm Trilogy” that preceded it. It never felt quite as desperate. And, it felt repetitive: traveling their world trying to find relics with great power. But, I loved that the 4 main characters were together for essentially the entire mission. And, I loved the climactic battle in the final book after they’ve strengthened the bond with their spirit animals. Good stuff!
January 1, 2023
I was a bit surprised about how much of the storyline was wrapped up. Almost as if they didn't think there'd be more books. But looks like I've got 4 more to go. I really liked this one. But I'm not sure where to go from here.
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