I'll preface my review by stating that I am clearly not the intended audience. That being said, my biggest issue was that the writing style just didn't work for me. The tone was humorous and the story overall is easy to read, but I felt the pacing didn't quite work, the character development was lacking, and I felt there were some holes in the story.
As for the pacing, I thought that given there were 3 monsters that this might be the first in a trilogy with some build-up. Instead, it went quickly between two monsters in this book without any development in between—this is why I felt the pacing didn't quite work. These 3 monsters are basically supposed to be the end of times, like Ragnorak, and yet, *snap* two were defeated by a pre-teen boy with a sword but no training.
The minimal character development is likely due to the pacing. The story does move fast and so there's little time for character development. This is a pre-teen boy struggling with identity, both sexual and cultural. I thought more care and time might have been devoted to these issues, especially considering this is targeted at middle graders who might have similar issues.
As for the plot holes, basically I felt there was minimal detail on the history of the ring and Ashmedai. Maybe that's because of the age bracket this book is intended. But the story only told the basics and I felt I was missing something. Maybe because I’m not Jewish and I know little Judaism and its stories.
Overall, an interesting concept but it might have been fleshed out a bit more.
As for the pacing, I thought that given there were 3 monsters that this might be the first in a trilogy with some build-up. Instead, it went quickly between two monsters in this book without any development in between—this is why I felt the pacing didn't quite work. These 3 monsters are basically supposed to be the end of times, like Ragnorak, and yet, *snap* two were defeated by a pre-teen boy with a sword but no training.
The minimal character development is likely due to the pacing. The story does move fast and so there's little time for character development. This is a pre-teen boy struggling with identity, both sexual and cultural. I thought more care and time might have been devoted to these issues, especially considering this is targeted at middle graders who might have similar issues.
As for the plot holes, basically I felt there was minimal detail on the history of the ring and Ashmedai. Maybe that's because of the age bracket this book is intended. But the story only told the basics and I felt I was missing something. Maybe because I’m not Jewish and I know little Judaism and its stories.
Overall, an interesting concept but it might have been fleshed out a bit more.