Los Ladrones de Sombras. Las Crónicas de Cronos: Libro I (Las Cronicas De Cronos / Cronus Chronicles)

The Cronus Chronicles #1

by Ursu Anne

Charlotte Mielswetzski tiene trece años y es una niña espabilada y muy imaginativa, aunque no demasiado popular y que no lo pasa bien en el colegio, pero sabe salir de cualquier apurillo echándole un poco de inventiva y cuenta unas historias estupendas. Un día encuentra un gatito y ése hallazgo es la señal de partida de que todo lo que constituye su mundo va a cobrar una dimensión radicalmente nueva. Anne Ursu, autora de dos elogiadas novelas para adultos, firma aquí un texto excelente, sombrío y hasta terrorífico en ocasiones, salpicado de un humor seco que hará las delicias de los lectores de más edad. El material de partida, los dioses y mitos de los antiguos griegos, está manejado con inmensa habilidad; en todo momento resulta cercano y creíble.

Genres: Fantasy, Mythology, Young Adult, Middle Grade, Fiction, Adventure, Childrens

400 pages, Hardcover

First published March 1, 2006

Reviews

[Dawn Teresa · Rating 2 out of 5]

I struggled to read this book, and I worked and worked to finish it. I just never could get invested in the story or the characters. I thought the only redeeming parts of the story were the sections that deal solely with Zee, especially while he is visiting his grandmother. The narration of the story gets tired pretty quickly. The author is too repetitive and wordy, and she tries too hard to be witty or clever. The book could use some serious editing, as I felt it should have been half the length. The plot was just not intricate enough to justify the page length. The pacing was horrible. There was never any tension or suspense. I never felt that the characters were in any danger, and I just kept waiting for something interesting or imaginative to happen. I think the ground this book covers has been explored before and to better effect. Don't waste your time or money on this one!

[Babs · Rating 5 out of 5]

I don't read a LOT of "kids books" for the most part but because there are a lot of kids in my life, I do upon occasion and I'm pretty familiar with what's out there. One of the things I hated as a kid, and still do, was how books intended for that age group seem so condescending. The writing style of this book was NEVER that and included a well-advanced vocabulary and a great sarcastic wit in the humor that kept me entertained - even as an adult.

The kids in my life have read it and enjoyed it as well so I really can't wait for the second book in the series to come out!

[Lucy · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'm in the middle of this right now, and it is fantastic. It's like someone dug deep into the recesses of my head and said, "what would Navah like in an awesome older readers trilogy?" and came up with this.

Seriously. It's the book I never knew I was dying to read. I mean, I'm only 3/4 through the first book, so my opinion could very well change when I read more. But this book is fantastic. The kids act like kids, they think like kids - but not like stupid kids. Like I remember thinking and acting. They're smart and interesting and I adore being inside their heads and getting to know them.

The danger is really, really real, and scary, and the plot is intriguing, and I am dying to know what happens.

I haven't been invested in kidlit this much since The Mysterious Benedict Society. I'll keep you posted.

--------------

Okay, this book is awesome. It's smart and interesting and really fun and totally satisfying, and even though it's a trilogy and the second book is out already, it is NOT a cliffhanger. I hate cliffhangers.

Also, did I mention that I love Charlotte Mielswetski? She is one of the best middle-grade heroines I have ever read.

Great book. It is going on my favorites list. I cannot recommend it enough.

[Cheryl · Rating 4 out of 5]

Can't rate objectively. There's just something about her writing style, her voice, that enraptures me. I'll try to read anything by her. For example, I normally don't like adventure fantasy, nor do I have any interest in the Greek myths, and I'm not particularly fond of epic series. But after devouring this I'm excited to read the next two.

Now, others may think her prose almost purple, others may find her adventures to have too many extra descriptions or too much character development, whatever, I don't know. All I can suggest for the curious is to start with Breadcrumbs or maybe The Real Boy.

"Eight of the girls in her class, whose names all began with A, had left for the summer as brunettes and come back as blondes. They paraded through the hallways like an eerie airhead cult, and just as their hair had lightened, they seemed to have faded a little--they had lost form, character, color, as if their very atoms had spread out and could barely be distinguished from the walls around them."

"At the sight of the packages P... let out what can only be called a squeal--as if he were a young girl on Christmas morning rushing to the tree to find a golden-haired puppy while a hush of snow fell over the world."

[Kate · Rating 3 out of 5]

Charlotte's British cousin Zachary "Zee" is coming to live with her family for a little while, since there is some kind of illness going around his school. Charlotte's been noticing something weird going on in her school, where all the kids just seem a little... gray, bored, lifeless. Unfortunately for Charlotte, Zee is instantly popular at her school, where she's more of a loner. He's ultra polite to everyone, while she's more of a good liar.

When Zee meets the new English teacher, Mr. Metos, they discover the source of the strange illness, which involves a war over the Kingdom of Hades. Yes, the Greek gods are alive and well, and the entrance to Hades lies just beyond a door marked "No Admittance" in the Mall of America!

This book was a little slow in the beginning. By the time I'd actually gotten to the shadow-thieving, I had forgotten that this was the book's title. I liked all the characters, including Philonecron and Hades, even though they're jerks, and enjoyed the explanation of what's been going on in the Underworld since those myths from Ancient Greece. However, Zee and Charlotte's involvement in the shadow-thieving felt very coincidental. I was also hoping for a great change to come about in Charlotte. Zee seems to find an inner strength, but Charlotte stays mostly the same. I was hoping for more of a Percy Jackson readalike, but this was just okay for me, a nothing-out-of-the-ordinary fun, clean read.

[Marie · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was so amazing! It has to be one of my favorite books ever!!! I know some people dont like it because its " creepy " yes it is creepy but thats what makes it suspenceful! The writing style is great, and the book for me was easy to get through. I found it to be funny at times too. I grew really attached to the charecters. Charlotte I found i had alot in common with. Zee was very interesting and I really liked the kind of person he was. Mew I found to be very interesting and I really wanted to know how she fitted in with the story.I like the way how all of the diffrent parts of the story fits in with each other. ( WAIT STOP SPOILER ALERT! ) When at the end of the book i found out that the Mew was actually Zee's grandmother i kinda felt as if i was holding this huge seceret and it was so thrilling and exciting towards the end of the book. Yes it does take time to pick up but alll of the details make the story even better. I truely have no clue how people even try to give a bad review on this book because it is so amazing that i find that to be almost impossible. I for one think this book is better than HARRY POTTER!!! Yeah you heard me i said HARRY POTTER !!!! READ THE BOOK!!!!!!!! So extraordinary...

[Matt Perry · Rating 2 out of 5]

Mostly I was very bored, reading this. It dragged on for a hundred and fifty pages longer than necessary, and I'll admit to skimming that fat.

Plot-wise, it was tolerable. Not as vibrant, intricate, or detailed as the Percy Jackson series. The characters suffered significantly from the drawn-out pacing, such that neither one of them seemed to have much personality despite actually doing some kinda cool stuff.

The tone irritated me, but it may also be the book's best feature; it reminded me forcibly of a campfire fable, with little second-person asides to the reader for attitude and humor. If I were twelve, I might have liked this. Not being twelve, it made me grit my teeth.

[Beth · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was fun, witty, and amusing. Charlotte and Zee go off on adventures that are so bizarre and different from the normal fantasy, because rather than futuristic, they're going into the past--far past! Some of Ursu's little bits and plots are pure genius and almost inside jokes (even if you don't know her!). Once you get used to the casual style, it's very easy to get sucked into the book, not returning until you reach the last page!

[Margaret · Rating 4 out of 5]

Charlotte Mielswetzski and her British cousin Zee have some problems. Weird-looking guys in tuxedos are following them, all the kids around them are getting sick, and a mysterious kitten has appeared out of nowhere. Well, the kitten isn't a problem, but everything else is, and Charlotte and Zee need to figure things out and save the world...by descending to the Underworld.

I was a little disconcerted by the narrative voice at first (lots of parentheses, lots of speaking directly to the reader), but then I settled into it and really enjoyed it. Ursu uses Greek mythology inventively and humorously and keeps the story going with lots of action (though the ending was a tad rushed).

[Brandy · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have no idea why I expected this to be bland and uninteresting, and I apologize to the author for my supposition. Because it was engrossing, exciting, and funny. I enjoyed the characters a lot (particularly the surly Charlotte), and while there were a few little details that I called early on (the cat, for one), it wasn’t the predictable book I’d expected it to be. I’m curious about and eager for the sequel (due out in July, according to Amazon).

[Nishya Raj · Rating 3 out of 5]

If you like fantasy and more of a journey then this is a good book. It was a little too slow in the beginning for my liking but I did like the switches in perspective which gave you a better understanding of the book which I enjoyed.

[Shavier Martinez · Rating 2 out of 5]

I tend to be a fairly easy critic when it comes to my leisure and fantasy reads but this book, and series, just took entirely way TOO MUCH energy and focus to get through. Thats exactly what it was for me something to "get through", something to "bare until the end", in which the end always seemed so far away. I was looking for something to read during the summer last year in anticipation for the next installment in the Heroes of Olympus series by Rick Riordan and stumbled upon this book with a cover review saying something along the lines of "For Fans of The Percy Jackson Series" and immediately thought to myself "I am a Percy jackson fan. This must be a book for me. Thank you soon to be extremely misleading cover comment." I was so terribly mistaken. While this series does have its roots in Greek Mythology that is about the only thing on the same playing field with Percy Jackson. The writing was choppy and while ive read in other reviews that it was too wordy i dont think that was the problem because it seems that the author was specifically going for that wordy, run on, sarcastic type of writing (like that last sentence). I think it was more the fact that the wordiness was actually very simple and never gave much to the sentence or ultimately the story which resulted in about 100-200 pages too much. Now I do understand that this is a childrens book and thats the reason it got 2 stars instead of 1 because im sure to my younger cousins and God son the writing, sarcasm, and attemptted wit likely hit its target. Bur for fantasy fans like myself who find ourselves dipping in the teen and young reader sections to satisfy our appetite the writing was just too much to get past, characters were bland, and the villain just simply got on my nerves.He felt more like a "baddie" from a captain underpants spin off than a diabolical demon from the underworld with a plan of world, and underworld domination. At the end of the day it missed for me in every way imagainable and suggest that this book along with the rest of the series should be given to the souls in Tartarus being tormented as punishment.

[Nannah · Rating 3 out of 5]

At first I fell in love with the type of voicing this story had, with its intense sarcasm and all, but it grew a little old when the story didn't have more to offer. In the really intense, dark parts, the humor could have been more well-crafted. It brought me right out of the tension, and so later I had to think "Oh yeah, this is a scary part, I forgot!" and had to place myself back in, which shouldn't be.

The villain was also a bit cliche, and I would've liked more motive on his part. And character. Sure, he's a bad guy who acts like a gentleman, gets angry at all the right times, but he's just another cardboard villain.

There were some good scenes, though, and I did like the mystery of everyone getting sick in the beginning (although I was a little angry when the reason was just told to us, instead of letting the audience try and figure it out for themselves.

Anyway, a decent book. I can understand why some people would love the action and the voice, but it didn't really do it for me.

[Emmelyn · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 Stars actually.

I really enjoyed the first two thirds of the book. The tone of the narration is the highlight of the book. It’s funny, witty, clever, and accessible. I particularly enjoyed the scene of Hades and Persephone’s anniversary dinner.

I must also praise the fact that none of the characters annoyed me. Too often I find that with many children/young adult fantasy books, the author relies too much on overused tropes. But in The Shadow Thieves, there’s no unconvincing love story, nor is there strict adherence to gender stereotypes. This is a book I would not hesitate to encourage my future children to read!

However, it ironically got a little boring as soon as the climax started kicking in. Maybe it’s because all the characters stopped making jokes and started focusing on defeating each other instead.

Again, 3.5 stars!

[EJ · Rating 5 out of 5]

Really good. Engaging characters, a fun writing style, original plots and concepts. Think the Percy Jackson series, but slightly less modern-day feeling.

[Sara María · Rating 3 out of 5]

Si hay una historia donde ser impulsivo existe, yo diría que esta.

Pero fantásticamente, todo salio bien.

Zee y Charlotte son primos, que después de que el primero viajará a casa de sus tíos para pasar ahí el año escolar, se ven envueltos en varias aventuras.

Las sombras comienzan a desaparecer, sin saber quién y cómo, y lo más curioso, para qué.

La mitología cobra un poco de vida en este volumen, pero de una manera casi normal, como si fuera algo del día a día, y si me lo propongo, yo también lograré que Hades me escuche.

Claro que si.

[Shel · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ursu, A. (2006). The Shadow Thieves. New York: Aladdin Paperbacks.


420 pages.

Not to be confused with one of the books in the Peter and the Starcatchers series by Dave Barry and Ridley Pearson that has the same name, The Shadow Thieves is the first book in the Cronus Chronicles which features Greek gods and creatures. (Although, with all the shadows being separated from their children, it is difficult to not think PETER PAN! YAY!)


Appetizer: Thirteen-year-old Charlotte Mielswetzski (Meals. Wet. Ski.) thinks her life would be a terrible story since nothing much has happened to her. (I disagree with a humorous narrator like hers, her life seems pretty interesting to me. But terrible or not, her life is about to change: Her cousin Zachary is moving in with her family, her odd new English teacher, Mr. Metos, is doing a unit on Greek mythology and Charlotte keeps having dreams of the ground breaking under her feet and her falling.

Her cousin, who likes to go by Zee, is having some problems of his own. His grandmother died over the summer and ever since then it seems all of the other kids around him are getting sick. It will be up to him and Charlotte to figure out what is going on and to fix it.

This story won me over from pretty much page one. The narrator rambles humorously in a way that I wish I could write. Plus, the narrator is very pro-kittens (How could you not be?!). Writing as someone who has read...oh, over thirty-something novels that include the gods in the modern world, the narrator's voice was very refreshing.

I did struggle a little with the way that the text shifted perspective. I immediately loved Charlotte and did want to leave her story-line to hear about other characters. I also felt like some of the characters figured out what was wrong a little too easily.

But aside from that, I looooooved The Shadow Thieves. I'm not saying everyone will love it, but I recommend it highly.


Dinner Conversation:

"Pay attention. Watch carefully, now. Look at the sidewalk, there. See that girl--the one with the bright red hair, overstuffed backpack, and aura of grumpiness? That's Charlotte Mielswetzski. (Say it with me: Meals-wet-ski. Got it? If not, say it again: Meals. Wet. Ski. There. You thought your name was bad?) And something extraordinary is about to happen to her.
No, the extraordinary event will not be related to that man watching her behind the oak tree...that oddly pale, strangely thin, freakishly tall, yellow-eyed, bald-headed man in the tuxedo" (p. 3).

"So, anyway, there she was, walking along in an ordinary way, muttering to herself about curses, with her bursting backpack and her metaphorical black cloud and her ordinary bad mood--when something extraordinary happened.
A kitten appeared in front of her.
Not--poof!--not like that. Nothing magical at all. Quite ordinary, in fact. A normal chain of events, just what you would expect with a sudden appearance of a kitten" (p. 5).

"Charlotte did not sleep well that night. For a few days she had fancied herself on the periphery of some great mystery, one that had begun with the sudden arrival of her British cousin and then seemed to encompass her English teacher as well. But suddenly Charlotte wasn't living in a mystery anymore, in a fantasy world made of dark secrets and hidden tunnels and vampiric teachers and foggy London nights. Now Charlotte lived in this horrible world where her best friend could get so sick she couldn't lift her head" (p. 70).

"Lots of kids are sick. So I guess--"
"Wait," Zee leaned forward. "How many?"
"I dunno," Charlotte shrugged. "Maddy's got it. She's been gone for a week."
Zee leaned toward her and grabbed her arm. Bartholomew fell off his lap. "What is it? What does she have?"
Charlotte stared at him. "I don't know! Nobody knows. She can't get out of bed, it's really awful, she's just lying there-"
Zee fell back into the couch. "Oh no." His hands flew to his face. Charlotte and Bartholomew stared.
"What?"
"It's my fault," he said slowly. "It's all my fault."
Charlotte could not stand it anymore. "What's your fault? Zee, what's going on?"
Zee had lost all color in his face. He seemed to be shaking.
"They followed me." (p. 84)

[Annie NeveraDeLibros · Rating 2 out of 5]

I'm a little disappointed with the book. I had heard good things about it before ordering and the synopsis was interesting to me so I was extremely keen to read it.

The cover is a bit simple and when I saw it I said to me "This is not a typical YA cover, this does not show nothing about the book and it is so simple, I do not like it but the sypnosis is good enough to give it a chance".

The writing style is ideal for a young adult novel and the book is written in third person with some paragraphs that make you part of the novel (I like this).

Pay attention. Watch carefully, now. Look at the sidewalk, there. See that girl—the one with the bright red hair, overstuffed backpack, and aura of grumpiness? That’s Charlotte Mielswetzski (Say it with me: Meals-Wet-Ski. Got it? If not, say it again. Meals. Wet. Ski. There. You thought your name was bad?).

The book is divided into four parts, with the first we know about the life of Charlotte and her family and friends. This is only 70 pages of the book but we need it to go into the story and life of the girl slowly.
In the second part we find Zee, Charlotte's cousin, and his life. In this part you can see some action and it is essential to understand what comes next and some things from the beginning.

Last two parts the writer does focus on action and some points that were blur now are clear.


About what I like so much from the book I have to say that it comes loaded with high doses of Greek mythology which I love and encourage me to carry on until the end of the book. Important characters like Charon, Hades, Zeus and Persephone were found and described for do not lose us between the pages of the book.

The best: Greek mythology.
The worst: the lack of intrigue / action to keep you eager to devour every word.

[Lara · Rating 2 out of 5]

It took me quite awhile to get interested in this one; the wittiness got in the way a bit for me, especially in the beginning. It seemed like everything was described not in just ONE witty way, but in SEVERAL witty ways, and it ended up just feeling too tedious and like...well, just too much. However, once Zee finally made it into the picture things got a little more compelling. Comparisons to Rick Riordan's Percy Jackson series are probably inevitable, as they both deal with modern day Greek mythology, but I found little similarity between them other than that (although, interestingly, quite a few similarities between this and Riordan's The Red Pryamid). I found Charlotte fairly irritating at first, but she gradually grew on me a bit through her relationship with her cousin. I found Zachary and his back story much more intriguing than I did Charlotte. The story as a whole was pretty simple, but quite inventive, and I enjoyed it somewhat it once it finally got going. But I didn't ever feel really involved or invested, and it seems like the pacing was a little off--flowing along nicely for a bit and then suddenly stilted and stiff. I probably won't bother with the next book in the series; there just wasn't enough character development or plot intricacy to keep me connected. I can see middle-graders having fun with it though...

[Esther · Rating 4 out of 5]

Charlotte and Zee are experiencing weird things. Footmen, a cat, and a plague. Soon they find themselves in the Underworld trying to save innocent kids from dying, saving Hades' bony butt, and Hades' kingdom. Of course, there is also a shadow army and creepy heir of Hades who is trying to take over the Underworld! This sounds good!

This book was boring for the first 48 pages, or so. My rule is that if the book doesn't get interesting be the time I get to page 50, then I DNF the book. Life is too short to waste it reading bad books, but, thankfully, the book got interesting. My favorite character was Grandmother Winter. She wasn't featured much, but when she was featured, I loved it. Oh yeah, and she became a cat! When I read that part about her being a cat, my heart almost burst!! The book was much better at the end!

3.5 stars

[Gonzalo · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was great you can get sucked into it so easily, and it was better than i thought it would be! Charlotte is a girl who has a boring life until her cousin Zee(short for Zachary) comes from England from a sudden school transfer. Charlotte also finds a kitten in the middle of the street and who just wouldn't stop following her. As life goes by she finds out why Zee transfered so suddenly and it starts to soon spread in her town. Charlotte and Zee then find out that Greek Mythology is involved in all of this, they turned out to be real. They decide to go to the underworld and save her school and her friends. i learned that if you don't give up and if you trust one another you can accomplish great things(in charlottes' case, stop humanity from being sent to eternal torture in the underworld) you really need to have some background info on Greek mythology if you want to enjoy this book. i reccommend it to people who like myths since this book obviously has to do alot with them.

[Cathy · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was good, not great. Very Percy Jackson-like due to the use of teens discovering that Greek mythology is real, but not as complex or compelling. The 2 main characters are very likable, an awkward and strong-willed redheaded girl and her proper, athletic but shy British cousin, both 13. But the book felt like it was for slightly younger kids, a feeling emphasized by the larger print (nice on the eyes for a change) and the relative straightforwardness of the plot. On the other hand, using words like banal and concepts like dirty jokes (not told, just mentioned) makes it seem like she was aiming older and missed. Younger kids could look up the words, but I know that even if I explained, my 10 yr-old wouldn't get the idea of dirty jokes. So a bit confusing, but overall a good tale with an exciting but not too scary adventure and lots of fun Greek mythology.

[Kay · Rating 2 out of 5]

The thing that stands out to me about Ursu's writing is the clarity and precision of her prose, a quality that is clearly not as well honed in her earlier writing (or perhaps a bit obscured by the forced quirkiness). I know I am being unfair; every Greek mythology book I read will be compared to Riordan's Percy Jackson, but The Shadow Thieves really lacked the depth and breadth and complexity of Greek mythology, even Greek mythology watered down and quirked up. The actual villain was comically (read: obnoxiously) evil, and while I did like Charlotte and Zach, they never felt quite real to me as characters. I debated a while about finishing the trilogy (I had all three out from the library) and eventually decided to pass on the rest.

[Jean · Rating 4 out of 5]

Like Riordan's Lightning Thief series this is a modern take on Greek mythology. I put it last on my stack of summer reading books, because I thought I wasn't going to like it. Surprise. If read with a hefty dose of suspended disbelief (Greek Gods are real and we are all going to the underworld for an eternity with Hades when we die--"who knew?")it is a lot of fun. I enjoyed the conversational, witty style with tongue in cheek commentary sprinkled throughout the narrative. I am looking forward to the next book of the series.

[Jaime · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book was good. I loved the basis, Greek Mythology, but some of the ideas I disliked. This book was also long which I also disliked. A lot of long books are good because they have things to fill the pages, but this book did not. I thought that the author stretched out many parts of this book. At around 350 pages I decided the author could've finished the book there, but I'm hypocritical because some books I find end too quickly.

[Julia · Rating 3 out of 5]

Kids where Zee lives in England start to get sick - everyone but him. When he moves to America to live with his cousin Charlotte, kids there start to get sick too. What neither Charlotte or Zee realizes is that a rebel from the Underworld has crept into the upperworld and is stealing the shadows of children to create an army and take Hades throne, and he's using Zee's blood (which is also in part Charlotte's blood) to do it.

[Nicole Dykeman · Rating 2 out of 5]

If I chose one word to describe this book, it would be "eh". It wasn't so completely horrible I couldn't even finish, but it definitely wasn't good. I didn't feel any connection with the characters at all, and the majority of the book was incredibly boring. When it said that Greek myths would be a part of the story, I didn't think it would be just Hades and the Underworld. The lack of mythology was pretty disappointing. All in all...eh.

[Ben Spellman · Rating 4 out of 5]

It had a good story, but at times it felt like it was dragging along a little bit. For instance, there were moments where I could skip pages and not miss anything important to the story. Other than that, I loved it. The description details were crisp and well thought out, the characters were well developed and the ending had me reading as fast as I could to find out what happened. It was a good blend of modern times and Greek mythology.

[Melanie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Just reread so I could restart the series and it was really sweet, a quick read full of fun characters and adventures. I might knock it down to 3 stars this reading (I think I'm becoming a tougher reviewer!) but I'm leaving as is because it was generally solid and I'm out of practice reading books for kids (though this was in my library's teen section, it's a pretty young teen book).

[Phoebe · Rating 3 out of 5]

Entertaining, exciting, and quite well written. Charlotte and her visiting British cousin, Zee, are entangled up to their necks in an Underworld plot propagated by a disgruntled garbage collector. I think this is an excellent choice to offer to kids wanting a Percy Jackson readalike. 5th grade and up.