Product Description

Bobby Pendragon is a seemingly normal fourteen-year-old boy. But there is something very special about Bobby. He is going to save the world.
And not just Earth as we know it. Bobby is swept off to an alternate dimension known as Denduron, a territory ruled by a magical tyrant, and plagued by dangerous revolution.
If Bobby wants to see his family again, he’s going to have to accept his role as savior. Because, as he is about to discover, Denduron is only the beginning. . . .

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #524812 in Books
• Published on: 2004-09-28
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 3
• Binding: Paperback
• 1136 pages

Features

• ISBN13: 9780689038082
• Condition: NEW
• Notes: Brand New from Publisher. No Remainder Mark.
• Click here to view our Condition Guide and Shipping Prices

From Publishers Weekly
The popular fantasy time-travel series makes a smooth transition to audio with Dufris at the helm, using his upbeat delivery and believable teen rhythms to keep listeners enthralled. Bobby Pendragon, 14, thinks he's a pretty normal kid, worried about his next basketball game and his almost-girlfriend. But then Uncle Press changes everything by telling Bobby that he is a Traveler, capable of transporting through time via magical flumes. This first trip sends him to Denduron, a medieval realm in the middle of a revolution. Bobby's challenges there are dangerous and many, and he keeps his best friend at home (on "Second Earth"), Mark, apprised of his adventures with mystically relayed letters. Fans of the books will want to hear Dufris's gripping interpretation; newcomers will quickly get hooked. In addition to this recording, Brilliance has simultaneously released Pendragon titles two through six, just in time for summer listening. Ages 10-14. (June)
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About the Author
D. J. MacHale is a writer, director, executive producer, and creator of several popular television series and movies which include: Are You Afraid of the Dark?; Chris Cross; Encyclopedia Brown, Boy Detective; Tower of Terror; Ghostwriter; multiple Afterschool Specials; and the new series The Strange Legacy of Cameron Cruz. In print D. J. has cowritten the book The Tale of the Nightly Neighbors, based on his own teleplay, and written a poetic adaptation of the classic folk tale East of the Sun and West of the Moon.

From AudioFile
The reader outshines the writer in this first in a young adult adventure series. Fourteen-year-old Bobby Pendragon's first kiss with Courtney Chetwynde is interrupted when Bobby's eccentric uncle arrives on a motorcycle urging Bobby to accompany him on a mission through a wormhole to the planet Denduron. Narrator William Dufris helps make this shallow character almost likable with his lively and youthful style. But the merely average story gets mired down by Bobby's constant whining and by the use of clichéd preteen slang. Dufris puts an energetic, believable essence into his reading that will make this an enjoyable, but forgettable, story. S.E.S. © AudioFile 2005, Portland, Maine-- Copyright © AudioFile, Portland, Maine

Customer Reviews

The Greatest Series of Books
The popular Booby Pendragon is a normal kid until he his peculiar Uncle Press showed him a "flume" a portal that allows "travelers" to travel to different dimensions.

Of course there is no story without an evil villian, and that's where Saint Dane comes in. As you probably can guess Saint Dane wants to control all of "halla" which is everything that ever is, was, or will be.

The traveler's mission is to defeat Saint Dane, and all travelers have special powers. Travelers can only die when it was meant to be. Travelers heal extremely quickly. Every language spoken sounds like a traveler's costumary language. Saint Dane can transform into any creature he wishes.

This is the greatest series of books. It is well writen, very detailed, and most of all a great series of stories. Anyone who reads these books will become fans quickly, as the magic that D.J. Machale has written pull you into Pendragon

(I pressed "chilkdren's review" by accident)

I read the first book in this series to my 8th graders
Many of them were reading below grade level, and only read if forced to.
The day I first started reading Merchant of Death in class, their interest and attention was immediate. What 8th grader WOULDN'T be interested in a book that starts with making out?
After reading the first book aloud in class, I ordered 9 of these box sets for eager and demanding students wanting to find out what happened next. As enough people started reading them, a "Pendragon is cool" culture became acceptable within the "It's cool to be apathetic and hate reading" culture, and even more kids started reading them. The Pendragon series is extremely appealing to this age group, and is a great way to throw the lifeline of recreational reading to those drifting out to sea.
I will not kid you and tell you these books have immense literary value. They are, however, fast paced, suspenseful, and entertaining. MacHale should be congratulated on creating a series that appeals to readers and nonreaders alike.

Fine introduction to this meandering fantasy series!
Hobey ho, folks!

Vaguely reminiscent of Animorphs, the Pendragon books are light reading, but enjoyable nonetheless. It should be noted that these books demand that you don't think about them too hard. Nitpicky people who want their fantasy to be anything in the realm of believable should steer clear. By believable I obviously don't mean "realistic." Pendragon is based on a teen's travel through time and space in a hunt for an evil demon. Rather, I mean there's nothing to make discriminating readers feel that the world they're reading about is something tangible enough to spend their precious time exploring.

The first three books in the series, included in this set, are in my opinion the best. "The Merchant of Death" is a gripping, intriguing, fast-paced novel that is more imaginative and mature than those that follow it; like the original Matrix movie, it is the least flashy but also has the most enigmatic and breathtaking plot; it contains none of the pretension or drabness that threaten to well up in later parts of the chronicle. "The Lost City of Faar" involves a Waterwold-style setting and a hackneyed but still very fun storyline. "The Never War," involving time travel to 1930's NYC, is probably my favorite book in the series. This is odd because I'm usually much more interested in extraordinary fantasylands like those in the first two books than some boring trip to the `30's, but "The Never War" is exciting and introduces Gunny, a very appealing character.

The more recent fourth and (especially) fifth entries are not so hot, as author MacHale becomes cocky and starts running out of ideas at the same time. But you won't have to commit to them here! Hypothetically, though, let's say you buy this item and read the three books included (which you darn well better do! right now!). Some advice:

If you *love* these books go ahead and buy the rest.
If you're not exactly enthralled but enjoy these books somewhat, don't waste your time with the rest of the books. Or else you should further test the waters with book 4, which is pretty good.
If you hate these books, you either have bad taste or no idea what you want in a story.

A creative reader can come up with a better plot path for the series than the last book has presented. It's sort of disappointing. BUT that's a nonissue if you're just looking at this set, which includes three great books. Like sci-fi? Buy these books now. It's a great price. I swear I don't work for Amazon, the publisher, or the author. Come on. Add it to the cart.