The Emerald Cavern

Rating:
Summary: Excellent Sequel
Review: "The Emerald Cavern" is Mitchell Graham's sequel to the highly popular "Fifth Ring" that came out early last year. Both my roommate and I read it and we came to the conclusion...this is a polished character driven story with a fun plot.

It would certainly help if you've read the first book in the series, but the author brings you up to speed so quickly, it's not a necessity. The reader will find themselves rooting for the characters through all their trials and tribulations.

While I'm on the subject of characters, I should point out that even the villians and minor ones have a way of getting to you. Teanna d'Elso, Father Thomas, and Gawl could easily carry books by themselves.

I enjoyed the faster pace of this book, as did Sherri (though she didn't read the first one) and found myself coming back to it over and over again when I should have been working. In fact it kept me up until the wee hours of the morning.

I completely agree with the Klausner review that said Mitchell Graham is a superb story teller. He is...period. He pulls the reader right in and keeps them there. The world he has created is unique which makes the job a lot easier.

I strongly disagree with the comment by the Publishers Weekly person. This book *is* every bit as entertaining as "The Fifth Ring." While some of the charm is gone, this occurs when and author is cobbling a fantasy world together, I didn't suffer from it here. Read both book ins sequence and you'll see what I mean.

Yes, there are a lot of characters, both minor and major, but I had absolutely no trouble in following the plot or political interplays that were going on.

My Verdict: The Emerlad Cavern is a winnner that will appeal to a wide variety of both fantasy and mystery lovers. It's a wonderful follow-up to the start of the series. Hopefully, author Graham won't drag his out forever.

My only compliant is that now I'll have to wait for the conclusion of the story. If Graham's publisher has a brain in their head, they push it out the front door before the villagers burn down the castle.

Rating:
Summary: Fine story
Review: A fine, enjoyable novel that held my interest all the way through. The author has a marvelous style and is a very gifted story-teller.

If you're looking for a mere continuation of The Fifth Ring, forget it. The country of Sennina is as different from Elgaria in its customs and mores as England is from Italy. This is part of Graham's genius, we don't simply get a rehash of middle earth.

As far as I'm concerned the characters keep getting better and better and they seem like old friends by now. There is rolicking action, humor, intrigue, and passion enough to keep you smiling all the way through. I was sorry to put this one down.

Rating:
Summary: Fine story
Review: A fine, enjoyable novel that held my interest all the way through. The author has a marvelous style and is a very gifted story-teller.

If you're looking for a mere continuation of The Fifth Ring, forget it. The country of Sennina is as different from Elgaria in its customs and mores as England is from Italy. This is part of Graham's genius, we don't simply get a rehash of middle earth.

As far as I'm concerned the characters keep getting better and better and they seem like old friends by now. There is rolicking action, humor, intrigue, and passion enough to keep you smiling all the way through. I was sorry to put this one down.

Rating:
Summary: Well Done
Review: After a long wait I finally picked up a copy of THE EMERALD CAVERN, author Mitchell Graham's sequel to THE FIFTH RING.

I agree with the reviewer who wrote that it's a departure of sorts from his earlier work. On the whole I enjoyed it. In fact, I enjoyed it very much. I found the pace good and the charaters interesting. The story was easy to follow and held my interest all the way through.

My only complaint is that it ended with a cliff hanger. The publisher hasn't announced when the last book will be coming out. According to the author's web site it should be in early January. This, of course, is one of the drawbacks of reading a work-in-progress as this trilogy is.

THE EMERALD CAVERN certainly qualifies as a stand-alone book, but I think a reader will be better served, if they start with THE FIFTH RING and then move on. Simply seeing the changes that take place with the principal characters is compelling.

I have become an admirer of Mitchell Graham's style of writing. It's clear, concise,to the point, and very entertaining.

My "final verdict" is that this is a solid story, packed with high adventrure, a fitting successor to THE FIFTH RING.

Rating:
Summary: Try this instead of Jordan
Review: After years of waiting for the Jordan series to end I gave up. The last book was a complete loser. A friend of mine previously gave me a copy of "The Fifth Ring" which has been sitting in my "to be read" pile and languishing there. Anyway, I gave it a try and it blew me away. Having fallen fell in love with the book I quickly checked the author's web site to see what else he had written (the site rocks by the way), and was pleased to find the sequel was already out.

"The Emerald Cavern" is a fine book and picks up a little after "The Fifth Ring" concludes. I thought this book was extremely well written. I enjoyed the humor as well as the court intrigues and mystery. I thought the relationships between Father Thomas and Teanna d'Elso and between Mathew and Teanna were extremely interesting. There's a lot percolating beneath the surface. Also, the more I read about Gawl the more I like him.

"The Emerald Cavern" has a number of aspects to it that are essential to a good novel: Solid writing; excellent characters; and a plot that keeps you hooked.

I highly recommend this book.

Rating:
Summary: Better than the original
Review: Along with several other customer reviewers, I have no idea which book Publisher's World was reading when they wrote the review for The Emerald Cavern. The very things PW complained about made this book more enjoyable for me. With the power available to the main character, is it a surprise that he would be drawn into political intrigues?

The character development in this second novel of the series is both realistic and in-depth. Mathew's transformation from akward teenager into manhood is believable and touching. The characters in this novel are actually likeable! I know this is a step backward from more recent popular fantasy, but I found it charming. There is also plenty of action, so get a copy and dig in!

Rating:
Summary: Enjoyable
Review: I almost didn't pick up this book because of Publishers Weekly. I'm glad I did. I completely agree with the reviewer who said, "whenever the (PW) guy gets out of the mental ward he might want to reread it." All I can say it we obvioulsy read two different novels or have completely divergent tastes.

"The Fifth Ring" was a main selection of our SF book club, so I had high hopes for the sequel. In the end, I found The Emerald Cavern highly enjoyable and packed with wonderful action. There is also a pretty neat mystery that author Graham has thrown in.

I felt the writing was tight and the plot solid. personally, I saw nothing at all rambling in the dialogue. In fact it may be among the most realistic I've ever come across, fantasy and main stream included. It's simple and to the pointand you know exactly what's going on in the characters' heads. Often what they say says more about them.

And speaking of the characters I was pleaed to see that Mathew and Lara are taking on more dimensions as they become more worldly and get older. I also liked the "different flavor" of Sennia. As one reviewer has remarked, not everywhere you go should be middle earth. Graham's world is incredibly detailed and the countries have their own set of values. This is as it should be.

Being candid, I would have to say there are weaknesses, but the strength of the narrative and marvelous characters far outweigh them. Did anyone happen to notice the brief byplay between Father Thomas and Teanna? Or Father Thomas's passing remark, that he knew Marsa d'Elso? Our club argued about that for an hour and we can't wait to see what Graham does with it.

The Emerald Cavern was a solid, action oriented tale that you won't go wrong picking up. If Graham didn't become an author, I suspect he'd be a gypsy telling stories from the back of a wagon with a crowd around him. Definitely watch this guy.

Rating:
Summary: Enjoyable
Review: I almost didn't pick up this book because of Publishers Weekly. I'm glad I did. I completely agree with the reviewer who said, "whenever the (PW) guy gets out of the mental ward he might want to reread it." All I can say it we obvioulsy read two different novels or have completely divergent tastes.

"The Fifth Ring" was a main selection of our SF book club, so I had high hopes for the sequel. In the end, I found The Emerald Cavern highly enjoyable and packed with wonderful action. There is also a pretty neat mystery that author Graham has thrown in.

I felt the writing was tight and the plot solid. personally, I saw nothing at all rambling in the dialogue. In fact it may be among the most realistic I've ever come across, fantasy and main stream included. It's simple and to the pointand you know exactly what's going on in the characters' heads. Often what they say says more about them.

And speaking of the characters I was pleaed to see that Mathew and Lara are taking on more dimensions as they become more worldly and get older. I also liked the "different flavor" of Sennia. As one reviewer has remarked, not everywhere you go should be middle earth. Graham's world is incredibly detailed and the countries have their own set of values. This is as it should be.

Being candid, I would have to say there are weaknesses, but the strength of the narrative and marvelous characters far outweigh them. Did anyone happen to notice the brief byplay between Father Thomas and Teanna? Or Father Thomas's passing remark, that he knew Marsa d'Elso? Our club argued about that for an hour and we can't wait to see what Graham does with it.

The Emerald Cavern was a solid, action oriented tale that you won't go wrong picking up. If Graham didn't become an author, I suspect he'd be a gypsy telling stories from the back of a wagon with a crowd around him. Definitely watch this guy.

Rating:
Summary: Enjoyable
Review: I almost didn't pick up this book because of Publishers Weekly. I'm glad I did. I completely agree with the reviewer who said, "whenever the (PW) guy gets out of the mental ward he might want to reread it." All I can say it we obvioulsy read two different novels or have completely divergent tastes.

"The Fifth Ring" was a main selection of our SF book club, so I had high hopes for the sequel. In the end, I found The Emerald Cavern highly enjoyable and packed with wonderful action. There is also a pretty neat mystery that author Graham has thrown in.

I felt the writing was tight and the plot solid. personally, I saw nothing at all rambling in the dialogue. In fact it may be among the most realistic I've ever come across, fantasy and main stream included. It's simple and to the pointand you know exactly what's going on in the characters' heads. Often what they say says more about them.

And speaking of the characters I was pleaed to see that Mathew and Lara are taking on more dimensions as they become more worldly and get older. I also liked the "different flavor" of Sennia. As one reviewer has remarked, not everywhere you go should be middle earth. Graham's world is incredibly detailed and the countries have their own set of values. This is as it should be.

Being candid, I would have to say there are weaknesses, but the strength of the narrative and marvelous characters far outweigh them. Did anyone happen to notice the brief byplay between Father Thomas and Teanna? Or Father Thomas's passing remark, that he knew Marsa d'Elso? Our club argued about that for an hour and we can't wait to see what Graham does with it.

The Emerald Cavern was a solid, action oriented tale that you won't go wrong picking up. If Graham didn't become an author, I suspect he'd be a gypsy telling stories from the back of a wagon with a crowd around him. Definitely watch this guy.

Rating:
Summary: Excellent Follow-Up
Review: I got hooked on "The Fifth Ring" during a plane ride to Sydney, Australia and was pleased to find that author Graham already had a sequel out. (The publisher really should label them book 1; book 2, etc.)

In "The Emerald Cavern" we see Mathew as older, wiser, and more worldly. In many ways this is a departure from Mr. Graham's first book in that he throws in a murder mystery for the hero to solve. The second part ends in a cliffhanger.

I found each of the characters to have matured and grown since book one. It was delightful to see it happen instead of a repackaging of the first story. My conclusion is that Mitchell Graham is an extremely talented writer who bears watching.

Before picking up this series I had pretty much exhausted my local bookstore's fantasy section and had almost give up on the genre. I would have no hesitation in putting these books up against anything out there. They're written with style and intelligence with just a hint of science fiction lurking in the background.

If Graham writes it, I'm buying.

Phillip