What I Thought

I got the impression that the book was going to be taking a look at comic fandom and the role that comics play in our lives. Possibly a look at comics as a replacement for the stories, myths and legends our ancestors clung to. Stories of inspiration, hope and even tragedy. I don’t know how I could have been more wrong.

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Erec Rex: The Monsters of Otherness continues Erec’s adventures in Alypium. Can it improve on the strong beginning of the story found in Erec Rex: The Dragon’s Eye?

Story

Erec returns to the Kingdom of the Keepers when he learns that Balor Stain may become King. The only way to stop Balor is to return and perform the quests to become King himself.

It won’t be easy. Baskania has been hard at work in Erec’s absence. A cleaver PR campaign to cast doubt on Erec has taken hold. No one even believes that he is Erec Rex. What they do believe is that Erec cheated during the competition and that Balor Stain is the real winner.

How do you help people that don’t want your help?

My Opinion

How does The Monsters of Otherness stack up against The Dragon’s Eye?

Pretty darn well. The story moves forward and you start to get a look at the overall structure of the story. Kaza has said that part of the basis of the story is the trials of Hercules. The quests that Erec has to perform are certainly Herculean.

The first book, Erec Rex: The Dragon’s Eye, was a great introduction to the world of Erec Rex. The Monsters of Otherness is where the action really gets started. Not only do we get to see Alypium again, we also get to see some very different parts of the magical world.

Magical and mythological creatures were talked about quite a bit in the previous book. This time they’re a huge part of the story. The magical world of Erec Rex is expanded and explored. Erec’s history is expanded too. We learn a little more about his past and why he is so important in this book.

What I liked

Everything from the First Book. All the strong points of the first book are still there.

Mythological Creatures. I really enjoyed Kaza’s version of the creatures of myth and legend. There’s some pretty cool stuff going on in Otherness.

Snail Mail. I just found that funny. I guess it appealed to the geek in me.

Jam Crinklecut. The best butler ever.

What I didn’t like

Rosco Kroc. To be fair, I don’t think he’s supposed to be likeable. He seems affable and charming to some of the characters in the book, but I think the reader is supposed to be suspicious of him. That isn’t why he made the list though. He’s mentioned here because of my theories about him. I won’t leave any spoilers here, but I’ll start a discussion about it in the forum if you want to check it out.

Verdict

Erec Rex: The Monsters of Otherness is a great follow up to Erec Rex: The Dragon’s Eye. It not only retains the charm and action of the first book, it builds on it. It expands the magical world and ups the stakes for Erec.

I’d recommend this book to anyone who has read The Dragon’s Eye. I’d also recommend reading the Dragon’s Eye if you haven’t already, just so you can read this one.

I’m already looking forward to the rest of the books in the series.

I need your opinions

After the posts by Donna and myself, I’ve decided that I should make books a larger part of the site. I’d like to do more posts about books and reading. What I’d like your opinion on is the structure of those posts.

1. Should I review books I read?

Or

2. Should I open a discussion about a book?

I can see pros and cons for both of those. I’m just not sure what you’d rather see here. That’s why I’m asking you.

What’s the difference?

This is how I imagine these working. If you have other ideas please let me know.

Book Review

• I would choose a book, or let you vote on a book.
• I’d read it and take a few notes.
• I’d come back to the blog and write up a review. It’s pretty straight forward.

Book Discussion

• I would choose a book, or let you vote on a book. That’s the same.
• I’d write a post on the blog to announce what the book is.
• A reading deadline would be set. That way people know when the discussion will start, and will know when to finish the book.
• People that want to join in would, I hope, read the book.
• After the reading deadline I’d come back here and officially open the discussion. I would include some of my opinions and my questions about the book. It wouldn’t be a full review though.
• I would update the post with some, or all, of the relevant comments from the discussion for a period of time. This would make the relevant comments about the book easier to find and make things easier on people taking part. A long list of comments can be hard to follow sometimes.

What do you think?

Does this sound like something you’d be interested in? Do you have any other ideas? I’d appreciate your thoughts on this. I’d really like to make this site something we could all enjoy together.