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Mark and Gerry's Science Fiction Reviews, page 48
The "Jesse Jameson Alpha to Omega Series" by Sean Wright
reviewed by Gerry
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This is a review of the "Jesse Jameson Alpha to Omega Series", written by Sean Wright (a link to his website is given at the end of this review). He has created a series of fantasy books for young adults, featuring the adventures of Jesse Jameson, a magical girl. I recently read the first three books in the series. The first two (published in 2003) are Book 1: "Jesse Jameson and the Golden Glow" (145 pg.) and Book 2: "Jesse Jameson and the Bogie Beast" (160 pg.). The most recent book is Book 3: "Jesse Jameson and the Curse of the Caldazar (published May 2004, 159 pg.). Book 4 ("Jesse Jameson and the Vampire Vault") will be out in October of 2004; Books 5 and 6 are anticipated in 2005.
This review will contain four sections: A. General Comments; B. an overview of Book 1; C. an overview of Book 2, and D. an overview of Book 3. In the overview sections, will try to give a feel for the story and what I thought of it without giving away essential plot details (unless those details are essential to discussing the following books).
A. General Comments: On the whole, I enjoyed reading the first three books in the series, even though they are clearly geared for the middle-school age reader (8-12 years old or so). Sean Wright has created an enchanting and elaborate fantasy world, and it is exciting to read along as Jesse goes on her missions to save family and friends, and also to see how she learns more about herself and her magical capabilities.
The books aren't too long (around 160 pages each). They are quick to read, though I found myself rereading sections to help keep track of the unusual names for places and characters (for example, all of the witches have "drith" suffixes in their names - which is a cool idea - but as I went along I needed to reread periodically to check which "drith" was which).
In Book 1, Jesse is eleven and the adventures reminded me of some Disney movies for children where everything always comes out okay. In Books 2 and 3, however, there are changes. Jesse is fourteen. And the stakes are raised: anything is possible and there is a greater sense of suspense and danger, and themes of good and evil begin to appear on a larger scale. Even the location becomes darker in Book 3; it takes place in the unique and mysterious Unknown Kingdom, leaving behind the more inviting kingdom of fairies in Books 1 and 2.
The character of Jesse is reasonably well-developed and it is easy for the reader to empathize with her. Many of the other characters are not as clearly portrayed, at least not as of Book 3. I was disappointed in the depiction of her best friend, Jake; I kept asking myself what there was about him to make him likeable or admirable. Part of the problem was that, in the second and third books, he was not entirely himself - still, I wanted a better sense of what his real self would be. Among the other characters, my favorite, after he had a chance to be shown more in the stories, was Iggywig - he was consistent and reliable. I didn't get much of a feel for the Dragon Hunter, beyond the fact that he had an attitude similar to a typical Klingon from Star Trek. The villains were generally as ugly and disgusting on the outside as on the inside - which was a little too predictable - I like more variety in my villains (one exception was a minor witch, who was pretty but still evil). I'm hoping for more complexity in future stories: after all, Jesse, while she is good, does have some bad DNA in her, and I'd like to see more repercussions or concerns caused by that fact. Also, it would be fascinating to encounter some villains who are not entirely villainous (again, one exception - the evil Bogie Beast did seem to have some gray areas, but we didn't get a chance to know him well enough).
The stories are fast-paced, as Jesse goes from place to place and faces one challenge after another. The creatures and places are thoroughly described, and Jesse does encounter an amazing array of them. The adjectives can get a bit heavy at times: from Book 3, for example: "As the hoardes of blurred demons did her bidding, her vile brother, Dumdrith, became visible from the shadows beside her, wet and dripping with purple goo."
As is discussed in the Book 3 section, that book ends on a cliffhanger, with big battles set to begin. I'm looking forward to reading Book 4 when it comes out, to find out what happens next!
B. Overview of Book 1: "Jesse Jameson and the Golden Glow": The target age for readers is probably about eight to twelve, however, its appeal will depend on the maturity of the readers. Of the three books, the first was the most appropriate for younger readers and the least appealing to older teens and adults. I'm glad I read it, however, because it provided important background information about characters and locations. In Book 1, Jess is an eleven year old girl living with her father, her evil stepmother and her two wicked stepsisters (Cinderella, anyone?). Her father is a good person, but he is under some type of spell. Jesse's one friend is Jake Briggs, a schoolmate, and her home life is miserable. She longs to find her mother, who disappeared into a fairy ring and was presumed dead (and no one besides Jesse believes the fairy part). One day, Jesse finds the ring and out comes a dragon and the Dragon Hunter. Jesse enters the ring, leaving behind Jake and her home, and entering a world of good fairies, evil witches and plenty of other strange and magical creatures. There is a map at the beginning of the book showing the Kingdom of Troth, the Kingdom of Finnigull and the places in between.
Once in the magical kingdom, Jesse learns that her mother is really a fairy and that Jesse herself is part fairy and capable of magic. She meets her grandfather, Perigold de Lacjard, and learns that the Dragon Hunter is her brother. She also learns that her biological father is a Darth Vader-esque creature (except much, much uglier that Darth Vader). Her goal in this strange world is to find her mother, held prisoner by evil witches. The witches' goal is to capture Jesse and extract her powerful "golden glow". Jesse is helped by Iggywig, a "gobitt", a funny-looking creature with an odd manner of speaking: "tis I a-agreeing", "as I was a-saying" to give two examples. At first, I found Iggywig annoying, but he grew on me as a character to the point of being a favorite.
The first book is best for younger readers for several reasons. The key character, Jesse, is just eleven. While she and her companions find themselves in precarious situations, no one gets seriously hurt; even one of the main bad witches comes out of it okay (though her evil sister witch is left in an ominous state; how serious it was for her became more clear in the next book). Jesse accomplishes her main mission, and the only question at the end is exactly how awkward the family reunion will be when she returns to the human world.
C. Overview of Book 2: "Jesse Jameson and the Bogie Beast": This picks up right where Book 1 left off. It should be family reunion time. But the author adds a few twists. Jesse learns that unprotected travel between the fairy world and the human world can result in time shifts; she returns home to find herself and everyone else in the human world three years older, making her fourteen now. Other changes have occurred as well: her human "father" (not her biological father) has been kidnapped, and her best friend Jake has been kidnapped too. She must return to the fairy kingdom to try to rescue them both.
It doesn't take long for her to find one of those two people, but events have taken there toll on him, and he is led off to recover safely elsewhere while she searches for the second person. Next, she finds the second, but he is not quite his usual self, for reasons explained near the end of the story. Meanwhile, she is pursued by the angry witch from the first book, who has a score to settle. And then she is also sought by her biological father, the evil Bogie Beast. She is helped along the way by her grandfather Perigold, friend Iggywig, and brother the Dragon Hunter. A powerful wizard Zarlan-Jagr also joins up with them to help. Jesse is warned that one of those she trusts in her group will betray her. By the end of the story, Perigold is in trouble, and this leads to Book 3.
Book 2 has slightly darker tones and more complex themes that Book 1, making it better for older or more mature children or young adults. There is more violence, but nothing sexual. Jesse is now 14 and more bad things happen to the good and bad characters. One of Jesse's friends is "killed", though fortunately for his species it results in a transformation into an improved form and the character remains. Like in Book 1, this second one takes place in the same fairy kingdoms and includes the same detailed map at the start of the book. However, during Book 2, a mighty force known as the Rumble works its way through many locations, changing things. In the book, it's hard for Jesse since she doesn't know who she can trust. And she is disturbed by knowledge that the Bogie Beast is her father. Here's a partial description of him at one point, as he emerges from someone else: "... from (...)'s eyes poured the black slime of the Bogie Beast. As it hit the rock floor it rose up into a towering figure of dripping black goo." The Bogie Beast claims he has affection for Jesse; he claims he wants to protect her, but, then again, who can trust black goo?
D. Overview of Book 3 - continued on next page - link to next page here
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