Champion of the Titan Games by Brandon Mull

The war against dragons intensifies. Will Kendra and Seth find the help they desperately need from the Giant Queen? This fourth book in a five-book series leaves the underwater dragon preserve of Crescent Lagoon for a gladiator-style arena at Titan Valley—the magical realm of towering giants and enslaved dragons. Our two young heroes have never felt so small or faced a challenge so... giant!

This series finally gets good.

There's honestly not much to say. Gone are the books that seem like a kitchen sink's worth of backstories, locations, and characters or items that are a one-and-done. Plots and quests actually have purpose, and there is energy behind what happens. Events here are much more likely to have relevance than the ones in previous books.

Yeah. It's short and sweet, in terms of a review. Solid. Nothing extraordinary, but good work. Brandon Mull has somewhat redeemed his atrocious treatment of Seth in Book 1 by giving him an actual character moment at the end of this book. I have slight frustration at how little his amnesia was actually a plot point until now, but at least he has to face a hard decision.

By this point in the series, I had hoped the author would take things in a different direction. The creativity and inventiveness of expanding the world and the new reserves and magical items isn't enough for me. It feels like an exact repeat of the originals.

Age range: 10-16
Younger readers may find it a little scary. Older readers may find the tone too juvenile.