Time Jumpers: Five Kingdoms, Book 5

If Brandon Mull taught a writing course, I'd be the first to sign up!Brandon Mull has become one of my top 3 favorite YA authors. His imagination, his ability to keep a story moving and his sense of humor have made me one huge fan. From Fablehaven to Beyonders and now Five Kingdoms, we have 3 winners. Plus, Mr. Mull promises another book in the Candy Shop Wars series as well as the continuance of Dragonwatch. Doing the happy dance.Time Jumpers is the conclusion of the Five Kingdoms series and kept me on the edge of my seat the whole time. I re-read the first four books so the story was fresh in my memory. In this final adventure, Cole and his friends are ready to save the Outskirts from utter destruction. But will they be able to accomplish this and still return home to Earth permanently? Cole never sways from the loyalty to his friends and family. Whether they are new or old friends, he tries to do what is best for all involved. He has grown as a person throughout the series.Not only do his magical powers get stronger, but he evolves as a young man on an epic mission. I especially like his interactions with Hunter, Dalton, Jace and Mira. I don't want to include any spoilers. Let's just say I don't think you will be disappointed. And the epilogue was one of my favorite parts of the book. (By the way, Did anyone else wonder if Cole and Mira would get together in the end?)If you're looking for a great series with plenty of adventure, fun and funny characters, lots of action and good wholesome entertainment, this is it. The whole family can enjoy these books and anything else Mr. Mull has written.

(Please note - I am reviewing the Five Kingdoms series as a whole, so I will post the same review for each of the five books; Sky Raiders, Rogue Knight, Crystal Keepers, Death Weavers, and Time Jumpers.)I first heard of Brandon Mull from the editor of my story,  Ethan and the Key , who told me that she felt my story would appeal to many of the same readers. So my high-school daughter and I read the whole series together, and we both found all five books to be very enjoyable. This series does a terrific job of hooking you right away; what higher stakes could there be than a group of middle-school trick-or-treaters being kidnapped to a world called the Outskirts and sold into slavery? The overriding question of the series is, will Cole Randolph (the POV character) and all his friends make it back to Mesa Arizona? You are left wondering, right up until the end, how it will all turn out.The characters are very well developed; by the end of the series, you feel like you went to middle-school with them. The only problem I had with the series is that there is a lot of exposition. There are many long passages and even whole chapters, devoted to conversations in which various characters explain to Cole how things work in the Outskirts. If you like learning about how new worlds work, this won’t bother you and may even add to your enjoyment of the stories. However, I get impatient with exposition.Overall, this series of books is a very entertaining adventure. So, if you like stories with fun characters and imaginative new worlds, I highly recommend this series of books.

I am a huge fan of Brandon Mull and for the most part this series didn't disappoint. (Spoiler alert) However, I am seriously tired of authors thinking they have to give a good series the cliche main character leaves magical kingdom at the end ending. It is deeply irritating and has happened in most of my favorite series which has always rubbed me the wrong way. This was just another in a long line of offenses. I mean: Lord of the Rings, the Prydain Chronicles, The Inheritance Cycle, even Mull's other series the Beyonders.I know most readers will probably say that their has to be hard choices in a story. I guess I just prefer the hard choices to come when the antagonist is still alive.To me Cole leaving was utterly ridiculous. His parents didn't remember him. He could have stayed and lived happily with all his friends and powers.I know this is harsh and the cliche is a common one, but for once will someone write an ending where I don't put down the book trying to reimagine how I thought it should have ended.

I am a huge fan of Mull and loved this series, but something just felt very off in this book. A lot of the dialogue and plot to this last book felt canned. I love Mull for his imagination and creativity, but this book had little of that to go around. I had hoped for an elaborate end book that broadened the world and flushed out the characters to their completion but instead was left feeling like it was hurriedly written so that the series could be completed.... no frills, just a pay check. I wouldn’t normally write anything bad, but this was such a disappointment compared to anything Mull has done in the past. (And I have purchased and read everything he has written.) Still, I look forward to the next book he has published. A “bad” Brandon Mull book is still better than a lot of authors “good” books.

Really enjoyed all 5 books. At 59 I have discovered that the blood and gore of so many books these days are hard to get away from so I've started reading books for the younger crowd. This series is packed full of excitement it is fast paced, held my attention and interest. It's nice to find an author who can actually use descriptive words and phrases to weave his tale and not have to stoop to cussing, blood and guts. If you are looking for shock value and being grossed out, having your stomach turned or language that's bleeped on tv- this series is not for you. This collection of books actually got ahold of my imagination and took me for a wonderful adventure. I thoroughly enjoyed the ride!

It was a long wait for this book, the finale in a series of 5 and it was most definitely worth the wait.Cole must now face up to his biggest challenge yet and face the torivor Ramarro who is intent on getting free and destroying the 5 kingdoms.This final book is fast paced and Cole learns a lot more about his powers and gathers around support. We see some new characters plus some we have met before which I really liked.There is time travel in the book which at some points gets a little confusing however I don’t think I’ve ever read a book with time travel and not been confused, i think that’s kind of the point!I won’t reveal the ending but I was extremely satisfied.Overall it was a great end to the series and i would definitely recommend all 5 books.I’m now going to have to wait for the next Dragonwatch book...

Wonderful writing, great story and I loved the characters Cole really grew up in this one to. Would have liked the ending to have been a tiny bit longer, but all in all I can't recommend Brandon Mull highly enough. His work is fabulous.

Fantastic book. More than halfway through and it's been a riveting series for a bedtime story enjoyed by Dad & son.

What an absolutely perfect way to end the series. Im absolutely gutted its over. Loved the whole series from start to finish. Its griping and such a wonderous world. Now going to have to find another series to read. Hope i find something wich can compete!

Good book