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Diadem Worlds of Magic #2
Book of Signs
Score, Helaine, and Pixel continue their magical journey in Book of Signs, the second volume in the series. A portal takes them to a world called Rawn, where the natives do not like humans-especially those with magical powers. Up against nasty goblins, giant trolls, lake monsters, and a shapeshifting wizard named Shanara, the trio struggles desperately to avoid danger while learning more about the Diadem's rulers.
Honing their magic skills, making friends, and sticking together are their only chance for survival. Traveling through winding caverns, treacherous mountains, and rainbow-colored forests, the trio are closely watched by an evil magician who craves their magical powers. And someone seems to be helping the children, giving them clues and warnings . . . but why?
Honing their magic skills, making friends, and sticking together are their only chance for survival. Traveling through winding caverns, treacherous mountains, and rainbow-colored forests, the trio are closely watched by an evil magician who craves their magical powers. And someone seems to be helping the children, giving them clues and warnings . . . but why?
208 pages, Paperback
First published August 1, 1997
9 people are currently reading
288 people want to read
About the author
John Peel
422 books165 followersJohn Peel is the author of Doctor Who books and comic strips. Notably, he wrote the first original Doctor Who novel, Timewyrm: Genesys, to launch the Virgin New Adventures line. In the early 1990s he was commissioned by Target Books to write novelisations of several key Terry Nation Dalek stories of the 1960s after the rights were finally worked out. He later wrote several more original Daleks novels.
He has the distinction of being one of only three authors credited on a Target novelisation who had not either written a story for the TV series or been a part of the production team (the others were Nigel Robinson and Alison Bingeman).
Outside of Doctor Who, Peel has also written novels for the Star Trek franchise. Under the pseudonym "John Vincent", he wrote novelisations based upon episodes of the 1990s TV series James Bond Jr..
He has the distinction of being one of only three authors credited on a Target novelisation who had not either written a story for the TV series or been a part of the production team (the others were Nigel Robinson and Alison Bingeman).
Outside of Doctor Who, Peel has also written novels for the Star Trek franchise. Under the pseudonym "John Vincent", he wrote novelisations based upon episodes of the 1990s TV series James Bond Jr..
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Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews
August 17, 2018
I loved all the creatures in this one! It had a classic, epic fantasy feel in a fast, compact adventure. Rocs, Wyrms, sea monsters, goblins, trolls, centaurs and a lazy troll! I loved how we get to really see the types of people the three are. For wizards, they are apparently quite kind and honorable which apparently isn't normal. The Shadows continue to concern me and the end has a nice twist that I really liked.
January 22, 2015
I just finished reading “Diadem The Book Of Signs”, This is a book that takes place on Rawn. On Rawn there is mountains filled with trolls and forests filled with ogres. In the story Score, Helanie, and Pixel just made it in Rawn after defeating Aranak. In the bag the bestials gave to them, lay jewels which give them powers. They realize they have to beat a wizard named Shanara, an evil wizard. They go through dark magic and evil creatures, until the trolls help them find Shanara. The book has a omniscient narrator, so the reader tells the characters mind or thoughts.
I really enjoyed the book because there was a lot of action and adventure so it made the book interesting. I think the book was really short because there was a part in the book when they fought trolls and the scene went really fast. What I do like the book was that they figured a way to fight the trolls without killing them, that shows that they didn’t want to kill them. In the book Score, Pixel, and Helanie save the trolls so they get jewels from them and trust. I thought that was really cool how they did that, that shows courage. They also make friends with centaurs, they helped them beat the sea monster. They also help them find Sanara in the book.
I really enjoyed the book because there was a lot of action and adventure so it made the book interesting. I think the book was really short because there was a part in the book when they fought trolls and the scene went really fast. What I do like the book was that they figured a way to fight the trolls without killing them, that shows that they didn’t want to kill them. In the book Score, Pixel, and Helanie save the trolls so they get jewels from them and trust. I thought that was really cool how they did that, that shows courage. They also make friends with centaurs, they helped them beat the sea monster. They also help them find Sanara in the book.
July 21, 2007
A little slower than the first book, with blatant foreshadowing, no real villain, lots of wandering... but still the rules of magic are interesting. ONe major fault: The book isn't intedned for two year olds, yet the puzzles seem to be. It's agonizing watching the characters struggle and muse for 2 pages to rad somethign that is printed backwards. "Oh, wait guys! Get me a mirror, I think I have it!"
March 31, 2017
I really liked this book. I like how Helaine is able to defend herself against the sea monster, before Score and Pixel come to her rescue. I like how the centaurs rescure them. I hate how Shanara messes with them and how she send trolls and other creatures after them. I like how Helaine, Score, and Pixel are able to defeat whatever comes their way. I like how they become friends of the goblins. I like how they come to know Shanara and then they become friends with her.
February 21, 2012
I rated this book five stars because I honestly couldn't find anything wrong with it. It was a very good read. :)
February 18, 2010
Diadem #2: Book of Signs, by John Peel
"Book of Signs" continues the adventures of Score, Helaine, and Pixel, who were first introduced in "Diadem #1: Book of Names." Having defeated their first enemy, the trio has traveled to another world in the Diadem, the world of Rawn.
On Rawn, they encounter some of the typical races who inhabit fantasy lands: goblins, trolls, and centaurs. The three are still learning to work together and how to use their magic powers, including the use of gemstones to augment their abilities. They learn the power of teamwork as they journey through Rawn, intent on finding the sorceress of the world.
The story is a little simplistic at times, but granted, this series is aimed at younger readers in the 9-12 range. I think what's great about the Diadem series is that it promotes working together, rationality, intelligence, and tolerance as Score, Helaine, and Pixel befriend the goblins, which benefits them much more than if they had tried to kill the goblins.
If you're an adult or teenager checking out the Diadem series, I recommend you read the first three books all together, as they are a larger story and each ends in a cliffhanger.
4/5.
"Book of Signs" continues the adventures of Score, Helaine, and Pixel, who were first introduced in "Diadem #1: Book of Names." Having defeated their first enemy, the trio has traveled to another world in the Diadem, the world of Rawn.
On Rawn, they encounter some of the typical races who inhabit fantasy lands: goblins, trolls, and centaurs. The three are still learning to work together and how to use their magic powers, including the use of gemstones to augment their abilities. They learn the power of teamwork as they journey through Rawn, intent on finding the sorceress of the world.
The story is a little simplistic at times, but granted, this series is aimed at younger readers in the 9-12 range. I think what's great about the Diadem series is that it promotes working together, rationality, intelligence, and tolerance as Score, Helaine, and Pixel befriend the goblins, which benefits them much more than if they had tried to kill the goblins.
If you're an adult or teenager checking out the Diadem series, I recommend you read the first three books all together, as they are a larger story and each ends in a cliffhanger.
4/5.
October 23, 2018
Absolutly Amazing!
April 10, 2013
really good
February 1, 2024
This sequel retains the juvenile feel befitting its middle-grade audience, but it's enough of an improvement over the previous volume that I'll bump my rating up from three stars to four. The story is more straightforward, with a minimum degree of recap for readers who skipped the series debut: young teenagers Score, Helaine, and Pixel have been drawn from their respective worlds deeper into the cosmological Diadem, to a succession of new realms where their nascent magical powers grow ever stronger. They spend the entirety of this second adventure on the planet Rawn, facing a variety of classic fantasy creatures like goblins, centaurs, and trolls, all of whom they struggle to defeat without killing. That commitment to preserving intelligent life is a theme that wasn't really explicit in the first novel, but it fits the heroes well and winds up earning them some valuable unexpected allies.
The children are also functioning as more of a cohesive team now, while still receiving plenty of individual moments to shine according to their particular archetypal strengths -- tomboy Helaine fighting bravely with her sword, street kid Score using sneaky tactics to outflank their enemies, and blue-skinned VR adept Pixel intuiting greater strategic matters. I like how none of this is exactly a repeat of what we've seen before, especially when it comes to the shapeshifting wizard in charge of this latest domain, whose castle they're attempting to reach. She's mentioned but unseen in her true form for most of the plot, leading to some justified paranoia of her having infiltrated the group, which the protagonists consciously choose to set aside in favor of trusting their friends. Again, it's a great take-home message that author John Peel has crafted here, coupled with a rejection of bigotry against someone over an identity feature like their species that they cannot control.
On the downside, we continue to get a sequence of tiresome riddles and codes for the magic-users to crack, in addition to the introduction of sorcerous gems that interrupt the way the characters speak, rendering their dialogue written backwards, or without vowels, and so on -- more of a boring exercise for the reader to decipher than an actual difficulty within the scene. That silliness remains my least-favorite aspect of these books, and I'm looking forward to the point when it finally drops away. But luckily, it isn't enough to detract much from the quality of the rest of this tale.
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The children are also functioning as more of a cohesive team now, while still receiving plenty of individual moments to shine according to their particular archetypal strengths -- tomboy Helaine fighting bravely with her sword, street kid Score using sneaky tactics to outflank their enemies, and blue-skinned VR adept Pixel intuiting greater strategic matters. I like how none of this is exactly a repeat of what we've seen before, especially when it comes to the shapeshifting wizard in charge of this latest domain, whose castle they're attempting to reach. She's mentioned but unseen in her true form for most of the plot, leading to some justified paranoia of her having infiltrated the group, which the protagonists consciously choose to set aside in favor of trusting their friends. Again, it's a great take-home message that author John Peel has crafted here, coupled with a rejection of bigotry against someone over an identity feature like their species that they cannot control.
On the downside, we continue to get a sequence of tiresome riddles and codes for the magic-users to crack, in addition to the introduction of sorcerous gems that interrupt the way the characters speak, rendering their dialogue written backwards, or without vowels, and so on -- more of a boring exercise for the reader to decipher than an actual difficulty within the scene. That silliness remains my least-favorite aspect of these books, and I'm looking forward to the point when it finally drops away. But luckily, it isn't enough to detract much from the quality of the rest of this tale.
Like this review?
--Throw me a quick one-time donation here!
https://ko-fi.com/lesserjoke
--Subscribe here to support my writing and weigh in on what I read next!
https://patreon.com/lesserjoke
--Follow along on Goodreads here!
https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/6...
--Or click here to browse through all my reviews!
https://lesserjoke.home.blog
January 8, 2023
3.5/5
Comme je veux me concentrer sur mes séries en cours, je me suis dit que ce serait une bonne idée de continuer celle-ci. Le deuxième est intéressant, regorge d'actions et présente un début de l'évolution des trois personnages principaux. J'ai bien apprécié ma lecture et j'ai hâte de voir ce que réserve les autres tomes.
Comme je veux me concentrer sur mes séries en cours, je me suis dit que ce serait une bonne idée de continuer celle-ci. Le deuxième est intéressant, regorge d'actions et présente un début de l'évolution des trois personnages principaux. J'ai bien apprécié ma lecture et j'ai hâte de voir ce que réserve les autres tomes.
December 17, 2021
Reading this with my son and he is loving this series.
February 4, 2023
I love the character Blink. He was my favorite part of the book :)
July 27, 2022
I read this when i was much younger, also read 1 to 3 completely out of order but nonetheless I remembered enjoying them greatly even when i wasn’t a fan of reading. I still even now as im older love this series so far. The pacing and alot of things in this book reminds u that this is clearly for a younger audience but it just made it easier to read and those kind of books always revitalise my desire to read. The only thing thats i find infuriating sometimes is the puzzles. They take but a page to figure out a puzzle, but the puzzles feel like they’re made for 5 year olds. I once again know this is for a younger audience but i feel like they beat down the intelligence of a 12 year old child. It honestly made me laugh/cringe how much they act like its such a big deal when they find the answers to these puzzles. But nonetheless very fun series so far!!
June 23, 2015
Book of Signs is the second book in the Diadem: Worlds of Magic series. The pacing in this book is still pretty rough, and there are cuts away to the villain's perspective in order to introduce said villain to the readers. This disrupts the continuity and flow of the story.
Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews