The Farseekers

Wow! This is a great series so far. What I said in my review of the first is also true for the second. The plot never slowed down or got dull. Every page flowed into the next without stopping. Something significant to the story happened on nearly every page. I never felt like the dialogue was pointless or superficial. The characters were incredibly well developed. They never deviate from their personalities. The story is believable as well and just plain fun to read. What I like best about this book is that the story is food for thought. It makes you think. It opens a world of possibilities and invites you to asks questions. My opinion is based on how well I am able to willingly suspend disbelief. All great stories play like a movie in your head flawlessly. You don't stop and wonder if a certain twist in the plot really fits or if the characters are believable. You don't scratch your head and wonder if your reading fan fiction by mistake. The only problem I have with series books is the plot recap from the previous book. I understand why editors think each book should stand alone as an individual instead of part of a whole but the interruption of the recap takes away from the flow. Once the recap was out of the way I lost track of time while reading it and found myself sacrificing sleep time for story time. No regrets here though. Works of art are always worth it.

The Obernewtyn Chronicles: The Farseekers carries on the story of Elspeth, the Misfits and Obernewtyn several months (I have assumed this) after the end of book one. The inhabitants of Obernewtyn have won the immediate war with the Council and Rushton (the leader of the Misfits) is now the legal guardian of Obernewtyn; what was once a place of torture and slavery is now a place of safety for the Misfits (people with mental mutations ie telekinesis, empath (feelings), coercing etc). Like I said, I have assumed that several months have passed and the gang have created a form of government amongst their own kind- where there is a representation/ leader from each group and where they diplomatically decide on the best outcome for any given situation. Madame Vega and Alexis (the former owners/not nice) perished in the fight for freedom, but Ariel escaped and it is widely assumed he perished during the Winter months. The machine that was once used to try and find the Beforetime Weapons has now been converted into a Misfit Locator, and it has found an incredibly powerful Misfit down in the lower mountains. Some of the Misfits have been studying maps and think they have found a secret underground library (the Herder Faction-Religious order- burn all books from the Beforetime to establish control over the people). The Misfits are eager for any information that may assist them in their ultimate battle for freedom, and they would like to know more about the mythical Beforetimers (us) and the reasons that led to the Great White (pretty much us Beforetimers got a bit to big for our boots and in our efforts to know everything we instigated our own downfall). Rushton decides that a spy house needs to be set up in the Council regions of the land because in Obernewtyn they are too far away to know what is going on and the silence from the Council is an ominous sign). Luckily the library is close to the location of the misfit so it is decided that an expedition will set out to retrieve what can be salvaged, get the misfit and set up a spy house in Sutrium. This expedition takes up most of the book, and needless to say it is brilliant. It is full of suspense and intrigue at every turn, and as they save what they can (misfit and library books) they lose some of their own forever. This book is so much better than the first. It is almost as if the two books should have been one. I feel that book one was an introduction to the characters and I truly feel that the real story starts during book 2. Elspeth is considered by the animals-and in human myth although not mentioned directly- to be the saviour of humanity and the protector of freedom. Her ultimate quest is to reach the Beforetime weapons before others do and destroy them before they are used by the bad guys in their quest for total power. She knows, as do the animals, that the Earth and humanity would not survive another apocolypse. I absolutely love this series. I found the writing to be much improved and

This second book in the Obernewtyn Chronicles is a fantastic sequel and a joy to read in and of itself. While the first book, Obernewtyn, kept to a typical first book style (i.e. it could have stood alone as a single book), The Farseekers takes its place as part of an ongoimg story.For background, the world that Carmody has created is a post-apoctalyptic one. The consequences of the Great White, as it is called in the books, are rampent. Besides tainted land and water, there are numerous mutations amoungst the people of the land, both physical and mental. In the land, there exists an oppressive Council to control the people and the mutations with a strict hand. These books tell the story of a special group whose mutations have given them special mental abilities (esp, ability to talk with animals...). At their mountain home at Obernewtyn, they must hide from the Council, but also fulfill their goal of making Misfits (as they are called) acceptable in the land. Obernewtyn has become a haven for such Misfits and there they are trained to use their talent well.But the main character, Elspeth Gordie, has a mission that goes beyond her fellow Misfits' plans. No one but her knows about it, and even she is not all clear on the details. It is in The Farseekers that she discovers more about who she is and what she has been called to do.So The Farseekers tells of Elspeth's mission and of the plans and purposes of Obernewtyn - which for now are bound together. The adventures that Elspeth and company engage in are exciting and are meaningful due to the ultimate purposes of the group. It is the story of a quest across land and water to find an old library and a very powerful Misfit. As they journey, they meet others in the land who oppose the Council as well as face the harsh realities of danger and death. As one reads, one realizes the significance of details mentioned in book 1. New characters and new plots are revealed and new relationships form.The strong points of the book, besides a really great story, are the details and the character development. Isobelle Carmody has a fantastic way with details. Everything has a purpose in her books, which is hard to realize during the first reading. By the end of the second book, and most certainly by the end of the subsequent books, one absolutely has to reread the earlier books. In addition, the characters in the books are very real. Carmody describes them in many facets - physically, emotionally, intellectually ... etc. One becomes attached to the characters very quickly and (at least for me) I feel like I am Elspeth as I read. It is almosr painful to finish the book because I so want to be back in her world, in her place. Conversations are realistic. For example, three, simple, short words said by one character to another near the end of The Farseekers (you'll know them when you read them) are in my mind the most tender and emotionally wonderful words I have ever read.Buy this book, buy all th

The characters, plots and intrigues introduced in Obernewtyn not only continue in Farseekers, they escalate! A rescue mission forces Elspeth to lead a group of Misfits on a journey into deserted ruins, enemy camps and hidden cities. The intrepid Elspeth, now a little older, wiser and dedicated to the Misfit cause, is faced with well thought-out and plotted perils including ambushes, kidnappings, daring rescues and incredible shocks and surprises. Given the recent dearth of GOOD Sci/Fi and Fantasy recently, Obernewtyn and The Farseekers are the find of the year! You'd never believe these books were written for a young adult audience in Australia nearly ten years ago! Obernewtyn and The Farseekers have just been published here in the US, and I for one can't wait for the remaining two novels in this series. A must for Fantasy lovers of all ages!

If you havent read this book then you must. My brother got me into the series and once I started reading it I couldn't stop. I have now read all four books in the series (The Keeping Place was brilliant) and I am eagerly waiting for the next book. If only she could write as fast as I can read.