Pillage: FSASCH! And Dragons

Pillage is written by Obert Skye. It was published in 2008 by Shadow Mountain. It is the first in a trilogy. Skye’s website can be found here.

Genre: Realistic, Fantasy, Young Adult

Summary/Blurb:

“There’s no doubt about it: Beck Phillips’s life has taken a turn for the weird. Moving in with his filthy-rich uncle in Kingsplot might not be so bad—except his uncle is crazy, obsessed with dragons, and refuses to come out of the attic.

As bad as things are, though, it’s not as bad as the wandering lights Beck sees flickering in the darkened hallways, or the mysteriously buried basement, or even the bizarre new power he has discovered—Beck can make things grow. It seems like a strange gift to have, until he discovers a forbidden conservatory in the woods. What he finds inside will test his newfound power and his courage to their limits.”

~Inside Flap

Passages/Quotes:

“Is there a basement?” I asked.

Millie dropped her pot, and the clang rang loudly throughout the entire first floor. She turned to stare me down. “What?”

“I was just wondering if there was a basement,” I repeated lamely.

“Do you see a basement?” she asked accusingly.

“No, but—”

“Who has been talking about a basement?” she asked, stepping closer to me and pushing her old face closer to mine.

“A kid I met in the yard—Milo.”

“That child is nothing but trouble,” she said.

“I didn’t think we had a basement.”

“Of course not.”

~Skye 67-68

“I’ve never felt anything so heavy,” Kate said, giving it back to me. “What is it?”

I remembered the illustrations I had seen in my book last night. “I think it’s an egg stone.”

“An egg stone?” Kate laughed. “What in the world is an egg stone?”

“For a dragon,” I said seriously.

Kate laughed again. “You’re serious?”

“I don’t know. That book we found had pictures of them.”

“Oh,” she mocked, “pictures?” That settles it. So these rocks are dragon eggs?”

I wished I had never said anything about dragons.

~Skye 149

Cover Art

Warnings: None.

Recommended Age Range: 14+

Rating: 4/5

What I Liked:

Not going to lie, I spent quite a bit of time wondering if Obert Skye was the author’s real name or if it was a pseudonym. The name sort of fits the non-serious nature of the book, which is probably why I thought about it so much.

Speaking of non-serious nature…this book was continually humorous, which is always fun, because 1.) it makes you laugh and 2.) it means you can just enjoy the ride. I love books that are simply fun. They’re very relaxing. Beck is the sort of Plucky, Witty Boy Hero who always gets into trouble but (mostly) manages to charm everyone with his…charm.

At first, I was very “meh” with the plot twists but then I actually started getting impressed. It was much more complex than I first thought. I wish there had been a bit more foreshadowing, but overall they were very well done. I certainly wasn’t expecting most of the twists that were revealed.

It’s very much a stand-alone book, which I’ve pointed out before as being the “trademark” of trilogies: first stands alone, second cliff hangs (forever to be known as FSASCH. Just kidding. Maybe). It’s so stand-alone, in fact, that it makes me wonder what a second book could possibly be about. Perhaps the dragon egg that Beck throws away? More Pillage lore? It makes me want to get the second book just to see what happens. So, in a way…this book cliff-hanged by being stand-alone. D’oh.

What I Didn’t Like:

I was legitimately sad that the dragons were not nice dragons. I was hoping for some How To Train Your Dragon moments (maybe in the sequels…? I can hope!).

Like I said above, a bit “meh” on the plot twists, at least at first. Also, the curse wasn’t very well explained and so I was confused as to what exactly it entailed.

The problem with non-serious books is that you don’t get anything out of them except for fun, and that isn’t very long-lasting. Deep books you can discuss for hours, days, weeks, etc. afterwards. Books like these you need to keep rereading constantly just to grasp the fun again.

Overall Review:

Pillage is a lot of fun to read, with some witty dialogue that’s quite good. The plot is also fairly unique, and the plot twists were actually quite surprising to me, although at first they felt very routine. The only thing keeping it from a 5 rating is the fact that there wasn’t really any depth or seriousness to it, the plot was just okay, and it wasn’t quite funny enough to scrape by on just humor and fun alone.

You can buy this book here: Pillage

Coming Up Next: Princess Ben by Catherine Gilbert Murdock