Pendragon Book one: The Merchant of Death

I have to say that the first book in the Pendragon Series, The Merchant of Death, is one of the best books I have ever read, and I have read a great many books. When I first picked it up I discovered that I just couldn’t put it down because the author, a brilliant writer named D. J. MacHale, has somehow managed to fit in plot twists, cliff hangers, and mysteries at the end of almost every single chapter! The main character, Bobby Pendragon, tells most of the story from his perspective, with occasional glimpses into the lives of his friends who read of his great adventures, which I found interesting. After a couple of years doing writing assignments I have found, much to my dismay, that writing in first person is rarely allowed, but MacHale wonderfully managed to skirt this rule in his writing, and write in third person when Bobby’s friends took center stage, creating a wonderful balance. I’m going to have to give this a 9/10 not because of bad writing, a poor story, or anything like that, but because you can never put the book down, which may be good thing or a bad thing depending on whether you have hours to spend, or have a small fifteen minute period until test time. And by the way, there are at least 9 books out already, with a 10th on the way!