This review was written by: C
Received: Publisher (Algonquin Young Readers)
Publication Date of Book: Aug. 22, 2017
Pages (Hardcover): 352
Stars: 4/5
Official Summary:
The fate of the world is in the hands of detective of the supernatural R. F. Jackaby and his intrepid assistant, Abigail Rook. An evil king is turning ancient tensions into modern strife, using a blend of magic and technology to push Earth and the Otherworld into a mortal competition. Jackaby and Abigail are caught in the middle as they continue to solve the daily mysteries of New Fiddleham, New England - like who's created the rend between the worlds, how to close it, and why zombies are appearing around. At the same time, the romance between Abigail and the shape-shifting police detective Charlie Cane deepens, and Jackaby's resistance to his feelings for 926 Augur Lane's ghostly lady, Jenny, begins to give way. Before the four can think about their own futures, they will have to defeat an evil that wants to destroy the future altogether.
My Thoughts:
All good things must come to an end...and now it's time to say goodbye to one of my favorite YA series and its superb and beloved characters.
Reading The Dire King brought forth a whirlwind of emotions. It was exciting, sad, infuriating, and bittersweet. Ritter did a marvelous job of flowing between moments of humor, action, and heart-wrenching emotion. Above all, I love Ritter's little insights of pure genius and ability to weave powerful messages throughout his stories. I never cease to find meaningful quotes in his work that I will forever hold dearly in my heart, and The Dire King was no exception. I especially loved the following:
“I never found a book that did not have at least a little magic in it.”
(The following two paragraphs may contain slight spoilers -- no characters are named, but some important plot points are discussed (mainly character deaths).)
“I never found a book that did not have at least a little magic in it.”
These words brought a smile to my face as I read them. I guess I don't often think of books in such a way, but these words reminded me how special a collection of words on paper can be. A book can mean so many things to so many different people. Every single book holds a little magic for someone -- we just have to be daring enough to find it.
(The following two paragraphs may contain slight spoilers -- no characters are named, but some important plot points are discussed (mainly character deaths).)
In terms of plot, I was excited to find out what paths the characters were going to travel down and how they all developed. There's also that dwelling heaviness when you want to find out whether or not the author is going to kill off one of your favorite characters in the final volume of a series. It's something that I've come to expect and I always try to prepare myself for it, but when it came this time, I just couldn't handle it!!!! This is the only reason that I didn't give the book a total of five stars. I understand that authors often do this as a shock factor and to show the gravity of the situation the characters face -- giving up one's life is an ultimate sacrifice to save those you love -- but it still gets to me every time -- I'm looking at you The Fallen Kingdom. It's also important to mention that many authors kill off characters only to bring them back. Although it doesn't change the fact that they gave up their lives to save everyone, it seems like there death wasn't as important if they could simply be brought back to life. In the end, it's just shock factor.
Aside from the killing off of characters, the final showdown was epic! The culmination of the previous three books was brought to a massive crescendo and so many things happened!!! I don't want to spoil anything else, so I'll just have to say that you'll experience all the feels.
Additionally, I was hoping that more of Jackaby's past would be revealed. Alas, book 3 in the series is as close to an explanation of Jackaby's history as we're going to get. I have to admit that this was a bit of a disappointment.
I knew this moment would come, but I still don't want to leave this amazing world that Ritter constructed behind.
There is still so much to explore...and perhaps one day Ritter will return to the fantastical world of Jackaby. However, even if this truly where the story ends, the magic of this series won't.
As with many of my other Jackaby reviews, I shall leave you with another quote that I found to be particularly profound:
“This world doesn't need showy champions. It needs people who are good, people who do good, even if nobody will ever know.”
If you liked this book, you may also enjoy the following:
