Ascension (Water Trilogy, Book 1)

Rating:
Summary: "Take Heart Niniane, for You are the Knife..."
Review: "Water: Ascension" is the first in a trilogy concerning sixteen-year old Nia, a mermyd of a prominent clan in the undersea realm of Atlantis. The City is ruled by squid-like Farworlders, and their Avatars - mermyds that undergo a special bonding ritual that allows them to communicate with the Farworlders and govern Atlantis wisely. To be an Avatar is the highest honour a mermyd can achieve, and it is Nia's dream. She believes she has a good chance at winning the position against other young candidates from other clans, but is devastated when her family instead chooses her cousin Garun instead of her.

The mystery deepens when Cephan, the young mermyd she likes, shows her a prisoner mermyd and a Farworlder that are kept as secret prisoners deep in the core of Atlantis. Nia is shocked at this, believing her city to be a purely benevolent citadel where things like dungeons and punishments are non-existent. The mystery deepens when Nia begins to suspect that her family is using magic to help Garun win the Seven Trials that each competitor must go through - and even her beloved grandfather Dyonis seems in on the conspiracy.

"Ascension" is followed by two more books; "Reunion" and "Transformation" and this is a beginning worthy enough to track them down, even though I am not a fan of authors/publishers that needlessly split their books into more than one volume. It will appeal most to readers between ten and twelve, as it is quite a slender book but there is quite a lot of exposition put in concerning how the bond between Avatar and Farworlders works, how the city runs and the layout of the Trials.

At times all of this is badly presented to the reader, often being too complicated or too contemporary (and with mentions of cloth existing underwater). For instance, there are references to "turtle-taxis" and "kelpaper journals," as well as words such as "biochemical" and "having a crush (on someone)". This would not be so bad if the time-period was assumed to be contemporary, but as it turns out in later books, it's actually set in medieval times.

But Atlantis itself is vividly portrayed, from its homes and markets, its meeting places and engineering mechanism and the "dry rooms" where air still exists to preserve documents. Kara Dalkey also has a gift with names, as all of the mermyds have appropriately aquatic, and somewhat Grecian names: Thalassa, Pelagia, Maru, Pontus and Callimar are just a few examples.

Nia herself is a great heroine: smart, athletic, spunky, but not too good to be true - her faults make her a well-rounded person, err, mermyd. She's very easy to relate to, and her motivations are clear and understood. By the end of this particular phase in her life, most will be reaching for the next book. Also, in a completely unrelated statement, I think the cover art on this book (and the next two) are just beautiful. I know it's wrong to judge a book by its cover, but if you did, this one would be the winner.

Rating:
Summary: A Wonderful Atlantis Story!
Review: ...It was such a good book I went from cover to cover in one day. It was wonderful. It kept my eyes glued. I've never read anything so wonderfully written about Atlantis. This book is about a girl, Nia, who lives in Atlantis and wishes to become an Avatar, the trusted mirmyds that protect Atlantis. When not she but her cousins gets the chance to become one she has to find out why. Go along with Nia and find out what's going on in Atlantis that's making everyone act so strange. Read about her as she tried to save Atlantis. This is a great book and I reccomend it to any fantasy lover!

Rating:
Summary: A good book
Review: Althought this book was a little boring and the plot somewhat predictible, it was a good book and I liked it. It has wonderful descriptions of characters and the city of Atlantis. Anyone who likes mermaids would like this.

Rating:
Summary: Perfect!
Review: As you can tell from my name I am obsessed with the legend of Atlantis. So when I found this book I was really excited. And I wasn't disappointed at all. It was really good, the author created a really magical and unique world, and I enjoyed the characters a lot. The other two books in this trilogy were excellent as well. Highly recommend for fans of the Atlantis legend!

Rating:
Summary: This Book is AWESOME!
Review: I absolutely loved this book!! I am 14 (a little old to be reading something like this) but I loved it anyway! I couldn't get enough of it! I made my mom buy me the second off the internet (this site of course)soon after I read the first one. I can't say how much I enjoyed it. It is definately a good book for nearly all ages in my opinion. (I am lending it to sum of my friends and so far they have loved it, too) I recommend this book highly!

Rating:
Summary: Asension
Review: I don't think this book was that bad. Although some part were boring. And you could easily tell Nia would not be nominated to be an Avatar. I really don't know why she had a crush on Cephan other than the fact that he was 'so handsome.' But the adventure parts were okay, especially the Trials. What I really didn't like was the ending. It finished way to abruptly. After that, I had to buy the second book, just to find out what happened. I guess this book is okay.

Rating:
Summary: Asension
Review: I don't think this book was that bad. Although some part were boring. And you could easily tell Nia would not be nominated to be an Avatar. I really don't know why she had a crush on Cephan other than the fact that he was 'so handsome.' But the adventure parts were okay, especially the Trials. What I really didn't like was the ending. It finished way to abruptly. After that, I had to buy the second book, just to find out what happened. I guess this book is okay.

Rating:
Summary: The next one's better!
Review: I liked this book pretty well, although the heroine is not all that likable. In the next one she gets better.
I liked this book because the story kept me fairly entertained, and had some interesting and fun elements to it. I liked certain ideas (earthly things rotting making them more fashionable, etc.).
I would mostly recommend this book for people 13 and under.

Rating:
Summary: I loved it! You have got to read it!
Review: If you are waiting for the 5th book of Harry Potter then here is a book that you can read while you are waiting. It is a great book about a mirmyd named Nia who wants to be an avater but that is not Her Destiny. Find out her destiny by reading her book.

Rating:
Summary: The enchanting 1st book in the Water trilogy
Review: If you like books about Atlantis and underwater creautres this is for you. Sixteen-year-old Nia is a mermyd of the bluefin clan who dreams of becoming and Avatar like her grandfather. She knows that even despite human-like features she is strong enough, fast enough, smart enough, and has enough magical ability to enter the trials, the Olympic games that will decide who will become the next Avatar. But when her cousin Garun who seems to be more boring and ordinary wins the place over her, Nia is crushed, and confused. After doing a bit of detective work she discovers that there's a force working behind Garun, a force that is going to make sure that he will win, not if Nia has anything to say about it. I really enjoyed this book. Nia is a likeable charecter who almost seems like a real person at time (outside of the fact that she's a mermyd). Like all 16 year old girls she has a crush (Cephan) and doesn't get along with her parents, but unlike most 16 year olds she's brave and willing to do what's right.

If you like supernatural series with a pinch of sci fi I reccomend this strongly.