Recently Read: The Edge Chronicles volume 2: Stormchaser and volume 3: Midnight Over Sanctaphrax

[ellyssian]

Paul Stewart and Chris Riddell: The Edge Chronicles volume 2: Stormchaser
Paul Stewart and Chris Riddell: The Edge Chronicles volume 3: Midnight Over Sanctaphrax

Rachel is really taken with this series - as part of her vacation with patrixa, they travelled over the three Northernmost New England states, and bought a book in this series in each one. Of course, I've had these two sitting and waiting for a review for some time, and #4 was so far down in my To Be Read queue that Justin felt it needed rescuing.

The series develops and matures nicely in these books, doing several things I didn't expect. This is somewhat rare in books aimed for kids - usually they're fairly transparent as to what will happen next. The overall arc of the story essentially ends with this trilogy, although there's still much more to come back to at a later date - and, since I've only peeked at the other volumes, one of those might actually pick up where these left off.

Despite the fact that these books aren't considered to have a purpose - just aimless adventuring - there is a very definite environmental theme here, which becomes more and more pronounced as you work your way through the first three books. Some of the very facets of the world of The Edge change - a change one hopes is for the better, a change that becomes painfully obviously needed, but it is not a change you actually expected to happen. The whole foundations of the world change by butterfly wings.

Although I suppose these first three could stand on their own - sufficient information is provided to get you along - I don't think you'd want to skip around, and you really do get so much more with all of them combined.

Another aspect that makes these books stand out from average children's fare - including the Harry Potter books - is the lack of any formulaic nature, at least, not that I've been able to pick up. I suppose they all involve a journey, but there's nothing set about how these will proceed. With, say, the Redwall books (which I love,) you know that certain things will happen: tales will be told, vermin hordes will attack, young folks will venture out from the abbey, the abbey will be put under siege, and both the young folks and abbey defenders will be victorious, feasts will take place throughout. Here, on The Edge, all bets are off.

And that, perhaps, is what makes them even better for developing young minds to read. Sure, they need some doses of stability, but they also need to be thrown off balance a little. Taken, as it were, to The Edge.