The Land of Stories:
Beyond the Kingdoms
Nothing like getting hold of a Chris Colfer book during the weekend because he never disappoints me. Whilst reading his books I reach fantasy land, the joy of which lasts much after the book has finished.
The Land of Stories: Beyond the Kingdoms is the fourth part of a six- part book series called ‘The Land of Stories’. The genre of this book is fantasy adventure and the book is a few more pages than 400. It is a super coming together of fairy tales and classic stories where the twins travel beyond the kingdoms!
The series is written by Chris Colfer and was first published in the year 2015 in the United States by Little, Brown Books for Young Readers.
First let me tell you about the main characters in this story. We have the protagonists, Alex and Conner, Mother Goose, Jack, Goldilocks, Red and Froggy, the twins’ companions. Then there is Peter Pan and the Lost Boys, the Merry Men, the Tin Woodman, Merlin and Arthur, characters from classic literature, the Masked Man, Morina the witch, the Queen of hearts, Wicked witch of the West and Captain Hook, the antagonists.
Now a little about the story. The twins Alex and Conner Bailey found out about the fairy tale world and that their grandmother was the Fairy Godmother. Since she is not there the Masked Man uses a potion prepared by her to travel into some books and collects some armies that could capture and rule the worlds. When Alex and Conners get to know that the masked Man is on the loose in the Land of Stories; they race through the magical Land of Oz, the fantastical world of Neverland, the madness of Wonderland, and beyond in an effort to stop him
Will Alex and Conner catch up with the Masked Man?
With only the help of the ragtag group of Goldilocks, Jack, Red Riding Hood, and Mother Goose and her gander, Lester, the Bailey twins discover the Masked Man's secret scheme: He possesses a powerful magic potion that turns every book it touches into a portal, and he is recruiting an army of literature's greatest villains!
So or will they be one step behind until it's too late?
The twins get to know about it and chase him to stop him before its too late and the two worlds are destroyed.
Author Chris Colfer is also a Golden Globe winning actor. He is known for writing ‘The land of stories’ series. Some other books by him are ‘A tale of magic’, ‘Struck by lightning’ and ‘A treasury of classic fairy tales’. Colfer is also a master of the cliffhanger ending that has you on the edge of your seat and usually leaves you feeling devastated.
Colfer has a real skill for crafting amazing stories that leave you spell-bound and every chapter was packed with action, emotions and adventure. I liked the idea of the book of people traveling into books and the villain was very powerful. But I think that some characters in this book could have been given more importance. My favourite part was when Alex disappears in a ball of flame. My only wish is that we could have spent a little more time in each world, through the race to stop the masked man.
This book is recommended for ages 9 - 13 and make sure to read the first three parts in this series, which are ‘The wishing spell’, ‘The enchantress returns’ and ‘A grimm warning’. If you read this book and like it, read ‘The land of stories: An authour’s odyssey’.
I give this book 3.9 out of 5.