Sky Raiders: Five Kingdoms, Book 1

(Please note - I am reviewing the Five Kingdoms series as a whole, so I will post the same review for each of the five books; Sky Raiders, Rogue Knight, Crystal Keepers, Death Weavers, and Time Jumpers.)I first heard of Brandon Mull from the editor of my story, Ethan and the Key, who told me that she felt my story would appeal to many of the same readers. So my high-school daughter and I read the whole series together, and we both found all five books to be very enjoyable. This series does a terrific job of hooking you right away; what higher stakes could there be than a group of middle-school trick-or-treaters being kidnapped to a world called the Outskirts and sold into slavery? The overriding question of the series is, will Cole Randolph (the POV character) and all his friends make it back to Mesa Arizona? You are left wondering, right up until the end, how it will all turn out.The characters are very well developed; by the end of the series, you feel like you went to middle-school with them. The only problem I had with the series is that there is a lot of exposition. There are many long passages and even whole chapters, devoted to conversations in which various characters explain to Cole how things work in the Outskirts. If you like learning about how new worlds work, this won’t bother you and may even add to your enjoyment of the stories. However, I get impatient with exposition.Overall, this series of books is a very entertaining adventure. So, if you like stories with fun characters and imaginative new worlds, I highly recommend this series of books.

My teenage boys love this series! Very engaging and they breeze through the books in no time! Great option for kids who like fantasy genres.

I gave this book a 4 star rating because I don't think it was as good a start as Fablehaven but it was still an enjoyable read. If you're like me and your favorite Brandon Mull series was Beyonders, then you'll find Sky Raiders a little less satisfying. Although Sky Raiders has several similarities to Beyonders, a boy magically leaves earth and finds himself on a quest to save a strange new world, it's main character, Cole, never achieves the connection to his new world that Jason did in Beyonders and therefore seemed a little anti-climatic.Even with the criticism, I still recommend it, especially to reluctant readers. It has a lot of creativity, plenty of action, and most 9 to 12 year olds will find it easy to read. Any fans of Brandon Mull's books should definitely read it. I'm looking forward to the next book, and I'm sure it will only get better like all his other series.

Cole Randolph was at one of those cooler times in life. He and his best friend Dalton had entered sixth grade so they were the cool "seniors"...It was Halloween and he had a super-cool costume...and most importantly, he was going to be trick-or-treating with a group of friends that included his long time crush Jenna. Could life get any better?But that all changed in an instant as his friends were swept away to a strange and dangerous land, thrown into slavery, and cast upon the winds to the five kingdoms. Cole, himself, becomes a sky raider who's life is on the line with each breath. And his problems are as nothing compared to the actual princess who has been lost for six decades and now needs Cole and his new friends to find her way home.Following on the heels of his two previous wonderful series - FableHaven and The Beyonders - Brandon Mull tosses his readers into a new(ish) universe where the world is full of magic and the dangers are around every corner. As is his creative MO, Mull's protagonists are young and inexperienced yet, that youth and their acceptance of what, to an adult, might seem impossible, gives his readers another fun group of characters that younger readers and more "experienced" types as myself (cough, cough...65) will enjoy and wrap their arms around. Mull has always had the ability to make his characters both young enough to see the world as a new adventure each day, while giving them the strength to face up to, and to overcome, new problems and new hurdles.The FIVE KINGDOMS is exciting and this, the first book, is an amazing kickoff to a fun and wonderful new journey.

I'm totally into this series, and this was a great way to kick it off. I was a little leary at first, due to the whole, "I have a crush on Jenna/Jenny" and then after a pretty tenuous relationship is established, she becomes his only reason to keep going. However, Brandon Mull won me over. Each book in the series gets better and better, but I love the world-building and imperfection of his characters.The protagonist in this genre is always likeable, someone you identify with, someone you root for. But they have to seem real to make you care, and this book does a great job of this.Also a cool little nugget later in the series that has a fun tie-over to Brandon Mull's "Beyonders" series (which is also very good).Overall, thoroughly enjoyable literary escape. Can't wait for the other installments.

Let’s go to #2 this is one of the best books I have read (seconding Fablehaven) love you Brandon!-Sam

This book as any Brandon Mull book is really cool, but the true is that this series is like Beyonders a bad king good heroes that want to overground him just the same.

Awesome. I want another book to come out badly. Hope a movie is soon to follow.I have all the brandon mull books . .and I love them.Any child should have this book!

This was a great stores that had its own conclusion in this book. The story carries on in the next book but without a cliffhanger. Wick paced and an interesting premise.

I read this over 4 evenings and now my kids have started it as well. The world is well described and I look foward to reading the next one.