Sky Raiders

Sky Raiders by Brandon Mull


A haunted house on Halloween goes horribly wrong! Cole and his friends wanted a holiday adventure, but their haunted house hosts take them to another world called the Outskirts. Cole desires to rescue his friends, but he needs more help. The best options are survival and gathering more information about The Five Kingdoms.

Brandon Mull's newest titles, Sky Raiders, is the start of a fantastical adventure in a place called The Five Kingdoms. He weaves contemporary children into a world of magic, power, slavery, and survival. I greatly appreciated how the character of Cole jumped into a new world and needs to inquire about the place where he now lives. It's not out of place questioning throughout the story, so the reader understands the world at the same pace as Cole.

Danger lurks around every corner, but it shouldn't make your hair stand on end. Most dangerous elements in the Five Kingdoms leads to death, so it is best to have a Plan B and learn as much as you can of the new world. Everything cannot be revealed in this first title and Deklan shared it well, "you don't need to understand everything about a world to live in it."

Middlers will enjoy this adventurous tale, but younger ones might be unprepared for the battle and death scenes. I would advise adults to preview the tale for any nervous younger readers.

The story wraps up well as one adventures leads into the next. The cliff hanger is present, but for me, it was a gentler one compared to other titles I've enjoyed. It's reported that the next title comes out later this year. Mark your calendars, readers!

Keith Nobbs shares Brandon Mull's book. I previously heard him read the Keepers of the School series. He has a pleasant tenor voice with different character voices throughout the text. My favorite accents were the Irish ones. Those were such a wonderful surprise! To maintain consistency, I hope Nobbs will return to read the other Five Kingdoms novels.


Reviewed from an Audiobook Jukebox copy. Thank you, Simon & Schuster Audio!


Audio Book Details...
Sky Raiders by Brandon Mull
Series: Book 1, Five Kingdoms
Read by Keith Nobbs
Produced by Simon & Schuster Audio
Number of Discs: 11
Total Time: 12 hours, 30 minutes
ISBN: 9781442367678