Book Review: The Maze of Bones: The 39 Clues, Book 1
Rated by 2 members
What Parents Should Know
Parents need to know that nearly everyone in this book is
trying to kill, sideline, or deceive the heroes, who are
orphaned children. There is some violence (arson, explosions,
traps, and several fights with injuries) though it's mostly
cartoonish. This book includes incentives to purchase cards,
register on a Web site, and sign up for a contest with cash
prizes. It's also being made into a movie with Steven Spielberg
attached.
Families can talk about marketing. Why does the book include
playing cards? Why is there a Web site and contest, with cash
prizes? What do the publishers have to gain by giving away
money? What do they mean when they call this a "multi-platform
series?"
Taken simply as a story, this is pretty good. Sure, you have to park your disbelief at the door and give up on any expectation of realism or sense. That done, however, it's loads of fun, with action and adventure, mysteries, clues, and codes, and appealing protagonists (orphans, of course, whose parents apparently succumbed to Children's Book Disease). It's clearly intended to make piles of money, of course, and a little more baldly than most. But as long as the writing is good and the story is fun, who cares? And Rick Riordan, author of the Percy Jackson series as well as this first entry in The 39 Clues (others will be written by other authors), knows how to pace a story. So far so good.
But it's not just a story. Embedded within are incentives to buy more cards (it comes with six out of 350 available, and the reader's first challenge will be to get them out of their poorly designed slot), register on a Web site, and enter a contest with cash prizes. There has even been a viral marketing campaign involving MySpace and YouTube. Nothing harmful, and books have certainly had associated merchandise before. But this one is just a little more bald-faced than most, especially for one written by a top-flight author like Riordan. Still, it's well done, and may capture reluctant readers with its suspense and action.
Taken simply as a story, this is pretty good. Sure, you have to park your disbelief at the door and give up on any expectation of realism or sense. That done, however, it's loads of fun, with action and adventure, mysteries, clues, and codes, and appealing protagonists (orphans, of course, whose parents apparently succumbed to Children's Book Disease). It's clearly intended to make piles of money, of course, and a little more baldly than most. But as long as the writing is good and the story is fun, who cares? And Rick Riordan, author of the Percy Jackson series as well as this first entry in The 39 Clues (others will be written by other authors), knows how to pace a story. So far so good.
But it's not just a story. Embedded within are incentives to buy more cards (it comes with six out of 350 available, and the reader's first challenge will be to get them out of their poorly designed slot), register on a Web site, and enter a contest with cash prizes. There has even been a viral marketing campaign involving MySpace and YouTube. Nothing harmful, and books have certainly had associated merchandise before. But this one is just a little more bald-faced than most, especially for one written by a top-flight author like Riordan. Still, it's well done, and may capture reluctant readers with its suspense and action.
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