Three realms. Three siblings.

The crown of three.

Crown of Three Book II: The Lost Realm

By J.D. Rinehart

Simon & Schuster, 2016

Genre: Middle Children Fiction/Fantasy/Magic

Pages: 490

Via: Library

Well. That does it! Spake I, Kimber the Magnificent.

 

Mom was so caught up in this high-octane adrenaline rush book thingy, she skipped second breakfast, elevenses, luncheon, afternoon tea and dinner to finish. I had to remind her about dinner! Sheesh. Now one of us is chomping at the chocolate to tell ya all about it! The other, saner one – Yours Truly – will now return to her Mom-made dinner. Finally.

Teeming with family secrets, magic, mystical creatures, betrayal, loyalty and some really rotten bad guys, J.D. Rinehart’s epic middle grade fantasy series blew us away. We finished Crown of Three Book 1 last fall. (Read our review here.) Her Royal Momness just finished Book 2, The Lost Realm.

“The prophecy only mentions three realms. What if it’s wrong? What if we’re fighting for something that isn’t true?”

 

The Basics

The kingdom of Toronia is being torn apart by civil war. The kingdom’s only hope comes in the form of illegitimate triplets, who are prophesied to kill the king and rule together in peace. Separated at birth and scattered throughout the realms, the triplets face a desperate fight to secure their destiny. Will they survive long enough to rule?

“You can say what you like about the Tangletree Players,” he thought, “but we’re fast on our feet!”

The resurrected King Brutan and his army of the dead control the city of Idilliam. Outside, Elodie and Tarlan are trying to hold their own army together and find a way to rescue their brother Gulph. He’s trapped inside the city. Or is he? Gulph has found a passageway to the lost realm of Celestis, which lies beneath Idilliam. There he is reunited with the mother he has never known—but she can’t remember him. If Gulph stays in Celestis, will he also forget those above ground whom he loves?

Meanwhile, Tarlan and the wizard Melchior set out on a quest to restore the wizard’s powers, leaving Elodie and her army to keep watch. But Elodie is betrayed. Her troops are slaughtered and she’s taken captive by Lord Vicerin, her former guardian, who is determined to use her to take the throne.

“When you freed me, Tarlan, you freed them. You freed them all.”

Seemingly further from the throne than ever, the triplets will need to use all of their strength and abilities if they are to survive—let alone rule.

“This is my true gift,” he (Tarlan) thought giddily. “It’s not just talking to animals. It’s setting them free.”

One thing we really enjoyed about The Lost Realm is that the author is expert at Show, Don’t Tell. An over-reliance on Telling to convey a storyline is a trap for a lot of amateur authors. They too often rely on long, verbose and over-written narration that’s as tiresome and tedious as it is loquacious. It gets old. Fast. The Lost Realm, on the other hand, is written by a consummate professional. Rinehart knows how to draw readers in by painting a basic literary canvas, adding a few vital brushstrokes, and allowing readers to fill in the blanks and details with their own imagination. He resists the temptation to spoon-feed, allowing readers to do their own chewing. It’s very effective.

“A brave soldier knows when to raise his sword. A clever one knows when to lower it.”

Characters

Characters are three-dimensional and dynamic. There are so many uber cool characters in this engaging and entertaining middle grade fantasy. It’s almost impossible to highlight just a few. But since we don’t want to be here all day – and neither do you – we’ll give highlighting the ‘ole college try. You’re welcome:

Memorable Characters Include (but aren’t limited to)

• Melchior, a Merlin-esque wizard who’s lost his magic. (Biblically literate readers will recognize the name.)
• Samial – Elodie’s invisible ghost friend. Reminiscent of Samwise Gamgee. Besides. What better spy than a ghost?
• A magical Celestian sword – the only blade that can defeat the undead. Think King Arthur’s Excalibur or Frodo’s Sting.
• Tarlan – One of three siblings foretold in an ancient prophecy. Animal loving Tarlan is like Doctor Doolittle on wings. He’s our favorite. By far. Like: “Tarlan! Tarlan! He’s our dude! He’ll save the realm with a Thor-o-rood!” (So the rhyme is lame. It was Mom’s idea, okay?)
• Lady Redina of Celestis. Think Galadriel.
• Toronian King Brutan. He’s dead. But not really. Yuck! Double yuck!
• The duplicitous, conniving and ruthless Lord Vicerin, King of Ritherlee wannabe and Elodie’s stepfather. This guy makes pit vipers look bad.

There are also blood-thirsty elk hunters, the Helkrags. Desert-dwelling Galadronianns bent on invasion and conquest. A lady with yellow robes. Filos the Tigron. Greyhorn the Wolf. Brock the Bear. Theeta the thorrod.

“Until all the constellations are lit, until all the numbers are counted, nothing must disturb me, or all is lost! All! Do you understand, boy?”

Setting, Story

Settings are rich and robust, the story solid sterling. The writing has an airy, elegant quality to it reminiscent of J.R.R. Tolkien or C.S. Lewis. Maybe a little L. Frank Baum or T.H. White. (Yeah. We’ve read all of ‘em. So there!)

In fact, this middle grade fantasy is a little Narnia. A bit Middle Earth. And some Camelot. Throw in a little Doctor Doolittle and you’ve got The Crown of Three series. There’s also a climatic battle scene that reminds us of The Battle of Helm’s Deep. Or the scene from The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe where Narnians take on the evil White Witch and… Oh, wait. You’ll have to read the book to find out what happens next.

All the hairs on the back of Elodie’s neck stood on end. “We come to answer you call, Your Highness,” said Lady Darrand. “What is your command?”

After slogging through some real stinkers lately, the skillful writing and expert storytelling evident in The Lost Realm was refreshing. It snaps. Crackles. And pops ! It’s a heavy lift at nearly 500 pages. But it doesn’t feel like it. In fact, The Lost Realm is a barn burner and a half! And ends on a cliffhanger. You know. Like, “ARRRRGH!” So we already have Book 3 on hold at the library. Stay tuned!

Kimber: Is it lunch yet?

Our Rating: 4.5

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