Was the final book as good as you were expecting??

[icingsugar]

Discuss
It had a build up of 7 previous books
It had a happy ending.
But did it live up to your expectations.

Personally It was very strange for me to read it, as when I started the CB I think I was around 10-11 years old (around the age of the characters in it) and now I am 16 and so when i picture the characters I picture them my age, until I get a reminder of their actual age then I am like dang i really shouldnt be fancying Tanc and Lysander because they are young aha :(

It was a good book, not my favourite of the series (That would be midnight, followed by Hidden King) However I was disappointed by a few things:

Asa not coming back, No major character deaths (although I love all the characters I think Tancred or Paton dying would have in the long run been more satisfying. Manfred's (possible) death (Nobodys certain yet if he is indeed dead) Olivia and Lysander not getting together (am i the only person who thought this since book 4??) Manfred NOT turning good. I wanted him to stand up to his father and grandfather and join the good side last minute

But apart from that it was great and very satisfying.

[amypops]

I think it was well worth waiting for. However, I was dissappointed that The Bloors controlling Liv wasn't in it more. I think it would have been interesting to hear more about that, and what exactly the Bloors were gaining from controlling her.

[icingsugar]

haha Olivia easy fancied Manfred ;) Thats why she was always so cheeky to him.
Book 6: Olivia: "Its just great to see you looking so - so handsome Manfred"

;)

[amypops]

Haha. Liv/Manfred is a good pairing.

[You stupid boy]

I woulda wanted a bigger wedding for Paton and Julia.

Apart from that it was AWWWEESOMMMEEE. :D

[Sazza]

I was disappointed by the lack of characters coming back. I expected there to be a big war with all of the previous characters coming back to help. In paticular, I wanted Asa, Bindi and maybe Zelda to come back :(

I also wanted Manfred to have a good, solid ending, as opposed to the cliff-hanger situation the book ends in. You can't just leave it where it's unknown whether he is alive or dead! :eek:

Apart from that, it was wonderful :D

[PotatoesRule]

I woulda wanted a bigger wedding for Paton and Julia.

Yeaa.. me too. I was expecting something big after their little 'break up' but that didn't really happy but at least they got married, right?

Also I was expecting the fight scene to be more.. dramatic. It seemed a bit too short and I was hoping Charlie would be able to use his wand a bit to help but instead he just stood there basically. :p

[Sazza]

Same. The fight was a bit anticlimactic, and Manfred wasn't there! I really wanted him to teach Charlie a lesson :o

[nevermore]

I FINISHED IT! I FINISHED IT! I FINISHED IT!

I am soooooooooooooo happy that Lyell was the red knight! I seriously, seriously hated Lyell for leaving charlie, and was pretty mad at Jenny for sending him off on holiday right when we wanted to get to know him. But no! HE WAS THE RED KNIGHT! I cheered when I read that. :o Actually, the second the book said "take off his helmet" I promptly covered the bottom half of the page with one hand so I couldn't peek. :D

So. That aside.

1) I am very happy that Emma and Tancred held hands at the end, but nothing more (Emma's kind of young, and some big kissing scene would not have been proper considering Paton and Julia never got more than a quick peck).

2) Yay for Paton and Julia getting married. Boo for not getting to see the proposal. *sulk*

3) Yay for everyone evil either dying or running away never to be seen again. Boo for everyone good living. It never seems realistic to me when that happens... call me twisted, but it's the truth.

4) Billy Raven didn't inherit Bloors?! Nice red herring, Jenny! Billy being adopted by the Bones? Saw that coming many, many books ago, but it still made me happy. :o

5) I agree. The final battle was oddly anti-climatic, what with Charlie being unconscious half the time, and Claerwen not doing a darn thing to help. I'm still glad he was ultimately responsible for the slaying of Harken, though.

6) Olivia turning evil for half the book? That felt like filler because the editor wanted an extra 50 pages or something. It never really caused any serious problems, and was easily resolved by Alice Angel playing "deus ex machina" (something like a convenient savior) and making a decoy vest. That while thing felt a bit cheap and forced to me, but Liv is such a favorite, I'm sure many readers were worried for quite a while there, so I could be wrong.

7) Nevvie's Theory: Charlie will grow up and go to Venice, where he will run into his cousin (albeit very, very distant) Matilda, and they will get married. Don't ask me how she got to Venice. Maybe Harken sent her before he went to the modern era for the last time. :p Let me tell myself this one. Haha.

All in all, I was happy with the ending. It tied most of the main stuff up. I wish Asa would have returned for the last battle, but it was halfhearted because Jenny specifically said Asa was written out of the story... still... um... I'm surprised Alice Angel didn't kill Titania Tilpin, but ah well. Oh, and cheers to Blessed for killing the Bloors. :D Nice touch!

incidentally, I'm quite certain manfred died. I think he set Ezekiel on fire when Blessed pushed the wheel chair, and fell on top of each other in a big flaming heap. Dr. Bloor would have acknowledged Manfred if he were still alive after all that. I think they would have left together.

[icingsugar]

Asa really should have returned and had a big 1 to 1 with Manfred for what he did. And then they have a battle and end up kissi...I mean uhm...Asa has Manfred under his paw (haha) and Manfred's at Asa's mercy and then Asa lets Manfred go but tells him to never return to Bloors. And he leaves never to return. Gosh...I should write a fanfiction about that :eek:

I have to admit the battle wasn't as good as i was expecting. I didn't want a bloodbath like in Harry Potter, but it was like oh no Patons been stabbed...oh its okay hes better now....kind of thing. I would have at least wanted one of the good characters to die. Maybe (and dont get me wrong i do love them) Tancred or Lysander. Because that would have made the rest of the battle more determined. :p

And Manfred should have played a bigger part, and in my opinion should have stood up to his father and the Bloors and turned good. (People who say Manfred is 100% bad, remember hes only 18 and has grew up under some horrible influences. Plus remember in book 2 when his mother leaves its either Charlie or Henry I think who hears Manfred cry out mummy. And then when Dr Bloor asks were (his wife) has gone Manfred is blowing his nose (because hes been crying).

[amypops]

Manfred didn't deserve to die (if he did die). And the battle should have been epic-er. :p witness my spelling fails.

It was sort of Anti-climatic for me. I know its a kids book, but I still think that someone should have died. Because, as Icingsugar said, it would have made the goodies more determined to win.

And Liv should have gone to the dark side. And stayed there XD

[PrettyInPointe]

I think or was hoping:
-There would be a big wedding for Julia and Paton.
-The battle would be much more epic.
-A good person would've died. (Lysander, Gaberiel, ect.)
-Asa and Manfred would've battled it out.
-Liv being "evil" would play a big part and she would stay evil.
-Billy would inherit Bloor's and give it to Lyell Bone.
-Alice Angel was going to battle it out with Titiana Tilpin.
-I didn't think Billy was going to be adopted by Lyell. Well, I thought it could happen, but I also thought about him being Alice Angel's, adoptive son or something. :p I dunno.....

That's all I can think of now. As for Emma and Tancred, well until there was not a big wedding scene, I thought Tancred would give Emma a kiss on the cheek at the Julia/Paton wedding. :p But I think them holding hands was a cute and great way to end the books.

[Kingdom Hearts]

NEVIE! how do you have the book!!!! Your in the USA TOO!!!!

[You stupid boy]

Maybe she ordered it from the UK?

[nevermore]

Nevvie works for Egmont. Nevvie has the connections. :D

[icingsugar]

I think or was hoping:
-There would be a big wedding for Julia and Paton.
-The battle would be much more epic.
-A good person would've died. (Lysander, Gaberiel, ect.)
-Asa and Manfred would've battled it out.
-Liv being "evil" would play a big part and she would stay evil.
-Billy would inherit Bloor's and give it to Lyell Bone.
-Alice Angel was going to battle it out with Titiana Tilpin.
-I didn't think Billy was going to be adopted by Lyell. Well, I thought it could happen, but I also thought about him being Alice Angel's, adoptive son or something. :p I dunno.....
.

I agree with all of those. Asa and Manfred should have had some epic one to one whilst all the fighting on the hill was going on.

[Kingdom Hearts]

Nevvie works for Egmont. Nevvie has the connections. :D

no fair...................

[Sazza]

Of course it's fair!

Personally It was very strange for me to read it, as when I started the CB I think I was around 10-11 years old (around the age of the characters in it) and now I am 16 and so when i picture the characters I picture them my age, until I get a reminder of their actual age then I am like dang i really shouldnt be fancying Tanc and Lysander because they are young aha :(

...

Manfred NOT turning good. I wanted him to stand up to his father and grandfather and join the good side last minute
Yes, but you're also getting closer to being the same age as Manfred! :D

Hmmm...I never wanted Manfred to turn good. I fell in love with him as a bad boy and want him to remain that way. Asa used to be my second crush, but when Asa turned good he just wasn't the same :(

[Kingdom Hearts]

HAHAHAHA! So hes mine!!!!

[icingsugar]

I love both Manfred and Asa, but I agree...they were better as a team ;)
And yes I guess when im 18/19 I will be his age...but once Im older than that I will be depressed because Ill be too old :eek::(

[Zuki_chan]

(Suprise! I haven't been on here for, what, 2 years?)
I just finished The Red Knight (Australia is pretty slow in regards to getting in Charlie Bone books) and, well, I did enjoy it and I think it tied up most of the storylines (especially the whole mystery of the Red Knight--rather exciting indeed), but it seemed a little rushed. There were a lot of things to tie up, so it's fairly understandable, but I think with all the expectations I had on this book it was still a little disappointing. One of the biggest problems I had with this book in particular is that there wasn't much of a danger for any of the major characters. I didn't want anything like the last Harry Potter, with characters being offed every chapter, but I was at least hoping for a bit of uncertainty, a reason for the reader to truly doubt weather a good character was going to pull through. Only the "bad" or very minor characters suffered any kind of loss--which is fair enough, we want the good guys to win, but we also want to be a little worried that they might not pull through!

Of course, like most of you I was also hoping for a big Asa-Manfred showdown (or even, well, any Manfred at all during the final battle), but we saw so little of the battle in the end that I guess anything extra like that would have detracted from the main part of chapter (observing the chaos via Charlie). And I guess it would have been pretty cliched if Asa came back just for the fight.
I also found it somewhat disappointing that we got no Dagbert action at all throughout the battle, but then again I guess it wouldn't have been very exciting if Dagbert shows up, busts the river banks, and drowns everyone on the battlefield.

That said, I really did enjoy the book, there were just a few aspects of it that bugged me (but what final book in a series is ever perfect?). I thought the Red Knight reveal was great, and I thought Billy's happy ending was great (even though I'm sure most of us saw it coming).
I was also quite pleasantly suprised that neither Charlie nor Rembrandt got their girls because it would have been pretty cliched if things had worked out positively.

Actually, one final thought about Dagbert in The Red King: What does everyone think about Dagbert being all nice and normal now? I'd always thought that his changeable manner had more to do with his endowment's connection to the moon and the ocean rather than his father. It felt like everyone had to have a happy, "good" ending (as long as they were good characters) and there was no middle ground. I'd buy the idea that Dagbert will eventually learn to control his moodswings as he uses his skills more positively and is in a positive, loving environment, rather than just LOL SUDDENLY FINE GUISE DON'T WORRY ABOUT ME I'M NOT EVEN PHOSPHORESCENT ANYMORE.

[You stupid boy]

Oh hi there Zuki! Awesome to see you again! :D

As for Dagbert, I agree with you - his change seemed a bit sudden, it would have been cool if he had a Snape-like end.

[icingsugar]

I'm glad Dagbert was good in the end but I agree it was sudden and should have been a slower and more dramatic change.

And as cliche a Manfred/Asa showdown would be it would have been great :(

[BurningFire]

I think maybe Joshua should of killed Dagbert (I havn't a clue how) to get him back for turning good and betrying him because weren't they best friends or something and also would of had death for a goodie even though he just turned good.

[Kalik2486]

Charlie Bone and the Red Knight is pretty good. I think it has too much happiness for an ending. Everything seems to be too perfect in the end. The Battle could have been improved. There should be some really unfortunate things like someone dying or something lost to them forever. But oh well, Tancred and Emma are sure a good pair.

[icingsugar]

I know this will sound absolutely awful...but maybe Paton dying would have been better in the long run. Hes always had the "dying" factor about him (Sirius Black had it...Lupin had it in HP ect) and it would have made the battle more intense rather than Oh its okay...Patons better now.

And of course an Asa/Manfred showdown...with Asa having Manfred at his mercy...say hes got him pinned down and has a sword at his throat, and then he lets him go because asa just doesnt have it in him to kill his old best friend, and then Manfred runs away never to be seen again. (I have actually wrote a fanfic about that aha) would have been perfect for me :D

[Kalik2486]

off topic: I wonder if there's actually an author out there who would like to put together their fans' ideas mixed with their own, and publish it.This would be a type of story where the author doesn't use his/her own imagination all the time.

[icingsugar]

I guess in fanfiction. Im not sure about in real life.
Actually...I think Louise Rennison who wrote the "Angus Thongs and full frontal snogging" books did..because she didn't know herself who the main character would end up with in the end, so when she went to book readings she'd ask the audience who they thought, and apparently Dave the laugh always got the most votes...and then in the last book Georgia did get with Dave...so she took her fans idea :D

[Paton]

Nevvie works for Egmont. Nevvie has the connections. :D

Haha.Exactly Nevvie.If I hadn't won the book I would be sooo jealous.:pThats a good idea to order it,Cat...uh,can you do that??

[Wierdkid20]

And of course an Asa/Manfred showdown...with Asa having Manfred at his mercy...say hes got him pinned down and has a sword at his throat, and then he lets him go because asa just doesnt have it in him to kill his old best friend, and then Manfred runs away never to be seen again. (I have actually wrote a fanfic about that aha) would have been perfect for me :D


Where? I want to read it. :)

[Emilia's Moon]

I found the final book fairly disappointing if I must be honest. From Wilderness Wolf I was starting to think they weren't written as well as the previous ones but I still wanted to find out what happened. I was expecting at least some of the following, non of which happened.

*spoilers*
Joshua to turn good and leave the influence of Witch Tiplin, Manfred either to die or suddenly decide to fight on Charlie's side, Liv and Manfred to get together OR Liv and Lysander to get together, Charlie to go to the world of Count Harken for internity to be with Harken's niece who's I can't remember the name of or vice versa, at least one major character death, Paton and Julia's wedding to be MASSIVE, Manfred to get his hair cut.

[Dagbert Endless]

Nah, I didn't like it all that much. There wasn't NEARLY enough of me and FAR too much of Torsson.

[Kingdom Hearts]

But you turned into a good guy *snikers

[Dagbert Endless]

Hey, I know that. It's not a bad thing.

[DayDream]

I preferred you when you were bad

[Dagbert Endless]

Then you must be liking me a LOT right now!

[DayDream]

You're still annoying.

[amypops]

I like him like this! xD More fun to annoy a bad guy.

[DayDream]

^ Exactly.

[Dagbert Endless]

Yeah, I'm the best at being a bad guy. (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w1FgpBxXho4)

[DayDream]

Bugsy Malone!

But no, you're not the best at being bad. Manfred is. He's ten time the bad guy you'll ever be!

[amypops]

Manfred has a ponytail.

Bad guys dont have ponytails.

In my views, anyway.

[DayDream]

Some do. And he has a mustache. Any 'tache is a kick-___ 'tache.



... Although I do imagine him 'tache less and pony-tail less.

[Thirrin Vertigo]

Don't pick on Daggy, he's doing his best...

[DayDream]

He was mean first...

[Dagbert Endless]

Yes, I was, wasn't I? Fun times!

[DayDream]

Let's continue!

You smell like fish!

[Dagbert Endless]

...and? Your point is? Why do you think I live in a Fish Shop?

[DayDream]

An excuse?

[Dagbert Endless]

Shut it. Anyway, we're spamming. It might not be the best thing to do with Matron in charge now.

[DayDream]

I don't think it's ever a good thing, but I see you're point, Fish-Boy.

[Emilia's Moon]

Sorry - off topic question:

Why've loads of people got that purple avvie?

[PrettyInPointe]

Nah, I didn't like it all that much. There wasn't NEARLY enough of me and FAR too much of Torsson.

That's because
Tancred ended up with Emma. If you told Livvy you liked her than maybe you would have gotten more book time.

And Emilia, its because it is the Drama Department uniform.

[Emilia's Moon]

That's because
Tancred ended up with Emma. If you told Livvy you liked her than maybe you would have gotten more book time.

And Emilia, its because it is the Drama Department uniform.
Oh ok thanks