The Iron Sceptre (Volume 4) (The Archives of Anthropos)

Well, what can I say? I'm seventeen and I still enjoy reading my copy of this book from time to time. The story is creative, exciting, and fast-moving, and the world White describes is so rich and lovely. The scope of this story and the lessons skillfully woven into it make this a wonderful choice for older children, but again, as I said, I don't think I will ever tire of this series. This is truly enjoyable fantasy writing; one of those books you can lose yourself in on a rainy day.

At first, I was turned off by how much of a rip-off of Narnia this was. But get into it, and you realize it has a style all its own. Gaal, the semi-mortal Christ-figure, is a majestic, personal character, sometimes cryptic and sometimes playful. Murmia, the evil-personified figure, is no crystalline icecube like the White Witch, but is a seductive, appealing magician; and beneath her beautiful exterior is a rotting,decrepit hag. Pervading this whole book is the new character Mary's search for beauty and acceptance, and Murmia plays upon this and recruits Mary to her side. Only Gaal can take the girl back for himself. Also appealing, though certainly nothing new in fiction-writing, is the thoughtful intertwining of several plotlines at once, which atone for White's clever yet mediocre style of writing. Characterization is one of the strenghts of "The Iron Sceptre."

It's not as good as the first of the sequel, but it's okay. It's too much like THE LION, THE WITCH, AND THE WARDROBE, however. Four stars is pretty good for it.