Yearling Dandelion Fire (100 Cupboards Book 2)

100 Cupboards was amazing. Dandelion fire is even better. As a fanatic fan of Tolkien and Lewis, I have always been extremely skeptical of any other fantasy. After all, no one else could possibly write anything as good as Lord of the Rings or The Chronicles of Narnia, right? No....not until N.D. Wilson came along. :) When reading 100 Cupboards, I was amazed by the depth of the characters. I was being drawn in to Henry, Kansas along with Henry York, learning about baseball, learning to trust and love Uncle Frank, learning to value Henrietta through all her annoying habits. : Most writers who are forming a trilogy usually start out great with the first book, totally flop with the second, and then come back strong with the third. But far from being a flop, Dandelion Fire simply blew me away with the excellence of the writing, the further deepening of the characters, and the incredibly good end. The end was so satisfying that it left me feeling completely content and full, like after Christmas dinner. For those of you readers who, like my dad and grandpa, were a little impatient with the beginning of 100 Cupboards, rest assured that the speed picks up very quickly in Dandelion Fire. As a side note, the "slow" beginning of the first book was absolutely necessary - the readers must be anchored in Henry, Kansas before traveling through the cupboards. Wilson was extremely smart to do it that way... I won't give away any spoilers, but just know that Dandelion is definitely more exciting than 100 Cupboards. In that light, also be aware that there are lots of more intense situations, more graphic descriptions and powerful villians. I'd say that the age should be at least 14 and up. I'm nearly through reading The Chestnut King right now, and though it's SO good, I still absolutely adore Dandelion Fire. It was an awesome book - buy it, read it, love it! And for any fellow Christians who are worried about the danger, battles and magic in the 100 Cupboards series, let me say this: as humans, we can't do anything better than God, right? Of course not! He's infinitely more creative and powerful than we could ever be. So if a human (Tolkien, Lewis, Wilson, etc.) comes up with a fantasy world that is MORE amazing, intriguing, dangerous and exciting than planet Earth, it actually proves how much bigger God is than we think. C.S. Lewis once said "I think it is possible that by confining your child to the blameless stories of life in which nothing at all alarming ever happens, you would fail to banish the terrors, and would succeed in banishing all that can ennoble them or make them endurable." As Christians, we should read more fantasy than anyone else in the world! Fantasy opens our eyes and minds to worlds that are so far above and beyond this one - I think that it is God's way of reminding us of how infinitely huge, amazing, exciting and full of adventure heaven is going to be. And yes, Nimiane the Witch is terrifying, evil, a deamon - as it should be. Wilson is reminding his readers how evil really is. Often media sugar-coats evil and villians by making them appealing, even bumbling. Fantasy best reminds us that evil is evil, and good is good. It's black and white, no gray areas. The bad characters are really BAD and the good characters are really, really GOOD in the 100 Cupboards series. There are loads of character qualities in these storeis - they are so much more readily absorbed than "character building" books that you can buy for your children. Loyalty, courage, responsibility, joy, honor, respect, love, selflessness, sacrifice, forgiveness are all to be found in the 100 Cupboards books. I've learned so much, enjoyed so much and loved so much of these books. I hope you will, too!

My son loves these books and it kept him entertained for hours. A healthier source of entertainment than PS3 or Ipod

Good book

While the author, N.D. Wilson, is not one of my favorite adult fantasy creators, I do have to commend him on the second book of his series. I labeled 100 Cupboards as having 'great potential' and Dandelion Fire follows through with that potential. It is filled with the atypical fantasy themes; the reclaiming of a royal birthright, the forces of good vs. evil, and how personal naivety can evolve into quiet wisdom. It has more than its share of wizards, fairies, giants and courageous men of nobility. The author, however, does become bogged down with the large number of new characters he introduces and, because three separate tales of characters are being told at once, the reader, at times, can become confused about the settings and what occurred the last time a particular character was dealt with. But, all in all, it is a pleasant read that encompasses magic that occurs in the midst of great adventure.

100 Cupboards was a wonderful find for me, having picked it up almost randomly off the juvenile fiction shelf of my local library. It started slowly, and I admit I almost put it down, saying to myself, "I'm not really interested in a story about a slow mid-western town, and a kid who likes to play baseball." But that story took several wonderful turns, and ended with me wanting more. Dandelion Fire starts off at a much quicker pace, and takes the sort of wonderful and unexpected turns I'm starting to expect from N. D. Wilson. It expands our understanding of the world(s) of 100 Cupboards, and the magic that drives them, and reveals the daunting power that threatens these worlds. Fantastic sequel, and great preparation for the finale in Chestnut King. Sorry this series is so short, but I've enjoyed it immensely.