Tower of Parlen Min (The Narrow Escapes of Ves Asirin)
Published July 23rd 2010 by Xell, Matt
Age Group: Middle Grade/YASource: Author
, 
Summary (from Goodreads)
Ves Asirin wins a trip to the Tower of Parlen Min. There, with 19 other children, he competes in the Sword Challenge; a series of puzzles and tasks, for $12 million. As fantastic and glorious as the tower seems to be, Ves finds that it keeps a dark and secret history that he has been connected to for over 150 years, a secret that will define his destiny … if he can escape ‘The shadow’.
——————————————————–
My Review:
T his book was really exciting. It was such a cool storyline, and it was so long it really felt like a true adventure. A TON goes on in this story, and at times it feels like the book is never ending. This really helped me relate to the children, because most of the time they really did not know what was going on around them or what they got themselves into. And not knowing what was in store for them, and not knowing when it was going to end or a major shift in the plotline was going to happen really helped me feel like I was in the Tower of Parlen Min right along with them.
I loved ves, I just wanted to run up to him and hug him. He was so cute. He loses his memory every certain number of hours, how scary is that? I can’t even imagine myself in his situation, and I just wanted to be his friend. Ves can do no wrong in my eyes, no matter what he did throughout the book(the mean remarks and the sporadic coldness ) I was still on his side. I am team Ves all the way. Its no wonder that Vickey and Tammi both liked him. I must say, I liked Tammi more.
A few times in the book, I was reminded of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. All these children were brought in from various places and were put in this magical/crazy/unique place, and they were asked to compete in a competition of sorts. I liked the similarities, I loved the set up for the swords competition. It is a really cool and fun concept.
This is a long book, and a lot happens in it. But it is really long- almost 500 pages, and it does drag on a bit in some places. When the book was getting slow for me, I tended to put it down and pick something else up and read that for a bit. But it was not slow in too many places and I was always interested to find out what would happen next whenever I picked the book back up. There really was a fascinating mystery surrounding everything in the story. The book is going to be released in three volumes, so I really think that will help to break up the story and not make it feel so long. I think that splitting the book up like that is a really good idea.
I loved all the detail that went into this book, it made for a wonderful world. There were tons of intricate back stories and clues and secret passageways. I loved all of those things. Every time I would read something cool about the tower, I wished I was there to discover it for myself.
This book was really excellent and what I really loved is that it was a whole story in and of itself. So many book 1s in series that I have been reading lately have been mostly a set up for the series or laying stepping stones for what was going to happen next. This book was not like that- it was its own awesome adventure as well as setting up the next installment. I can’t wait to read the next book- I’m sure it will be just as thrilling and mysterious as the first one.
I loved ves, I just wanted to run up to him and hug him. He was so cute. He loses his memory every certain number of hours, how scary is that? I can’t even imagine myself in his situation, and I just wanted to be his friend. Ves can do no wrong in my eyes, no matter what he did throughout the book(the mean remarks and the sporadic coldness ) I was still on his side. I am team Ves all the way. Its no wonder that Vickey and Tammi both liked him. I must say, I liked Tammi more.
A few times in the book, I was reminded of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. All these children were brought in from various places and were put in this magical/crazy/unique place, and they were asked to compete in a competition of sorts. I liked the similarities, I loved the set up for the swords competition. It is a really cool and fun concept.
This is a long book, and a lot happens in it. But it is really long- almost 500 pages, and it does drag on a bit in some places. When the book was getting slow for me, I tended to put it down and pick something else up and read that for a bit. But it was not slow in too many places and I was always interested to find out what would happen next whenever I picked the book back up. There really was a fascinating mystery surrounding everything in the story. The book is going to be released in three volumes, so I really think that will help to break up the story and not make it feel so long. I think that splitting the book up like that is a really good idea.
I loved all the detail that went into this book, it made for a wonderful world. There were tons of intricate back stories and clues and secret passageways. I loved all of those things. Every time I would read something cool about the tower, I wished I was there to discover it for myself.
This book was really excellent and what I really loved is that it was a whole story in and of itself. So many book 1s in series that I have been reading lately have been mostly a set up for the series or laying stepping stones for what was going to happen next. This book was not like that- it was its own awesome adventure as well as setting up the next installment. I can’t wait to read the next book- I’m sure it will be just as thrilling and mysterious as the first one.
4/5 Gavels.
About the Author: Find Matt Xell on
Giveaway!
Matt Xell has generously agreed to giveaway 5 ebook copies of the Tower of Parlen Min to my followers.
Please read my contest rules and fill out the form below for your chance to win a copy of this book.
Contest Rules: Ends August 20th
Contest Rules: Ends August 20th
- You Must be a follower (I will be checking)
- You must be at least 13 years old
- You must have a US mailing address
- Read my Contest Policy for more info
- Fill out the form below
melissa
thanks for the review and give away very interesting
krystal-larson
This looks like a really interesting book! I will mark it as a to-read.
ruby95660
Great review! This looks interesting!
ruby95660@yahoo.com
Lisa Richards/alterlisa
Sounds like a fascinating read. My nephew would love this (after I’ve read it of course)
marybaker112
I would love to read it! Hope I get the opportunity!
Gina @ My Precious
I also read and reviewed this book. I knew it was a long one, but had no idea it was over 500 pages. Whew, no wonder why it took me so long to read it. I enjoyed it, Ves was a special boy. The story line showed the author has an incredible imagination. I did think the story was violent, though, almost boarding on too much for MG. Anyways, I’m glad you enjoyed this one, too.