The Children of the Red King (series) by Jenny Nimmo 5/5

I had a Charlie Bone marathon for a little over 2 weeks and got to reread the series after many years! In this review, I will be focusing on the series as a whole.

I will avoid summarizing the books, which can be easily found online. To read goodreads descriptions on any of The Children of the Red King books (aka Charlie Bone) by Jenny Nimmo, click the titles down below.
 
#1 Midnight for Charlie Bone
#2 Charlie Bone and the Time Twister
#3 Charlie Bone and the Invisible Boy
#4 Charlie Bone and the Castle of Mirrors
#5 Charlie Bone and the Hidden King
#6 Charlie Bone and the Beast
#7 Charlie Bone and the Shadow
#8 Charlie Bone and the Red Knight
 
I remember the books being suspenseful and interesting the first time I read them in middle school and I wasn't disappointed the second time around. Each book is around 400 pages and for me to get through them in 2 nights each (except for the last 2 I think because if uni opening), means they were that good in my opinion! The series as a whole has a little bit of everything, i.e. action, adventure, humor, mystery, suspense, etc., which keeps the books compelling and worth reading till the end.     
 
What I found really fascinating about the books from the beginning are the powers of the endowed. Some of these include hypnotism, telekinesis, bewitching clothes, communicating with animals, picture traveling, magnetism, illusionist, etc. The list goes on and the variety keeps the adventures fresh and new. Many powers are used only to harm people and for evil schemes, but from the useful powers, I think "weather boy's" saved lives more than the others. I think it would also be cool to control the wind, thunder, lightning, and even some snow ;) Picture traveling also sounds entertaining, if one can get over the feeling of traveling through space and time and avoid coming across unwelcome characters!  

I've heard and read reviews where people criticized The Children of the Red King series for being a copy-cat of the Harry Potter series by J.K Rowling. Yes, there are some similarities like the children going to boarding school, the setting being in England (both authors are from there so no surprise), etc., but there are many more differences. For example, while the Dursleys were not always the nicest of relatives, they do not compare to Charlie's great grandmother/aunts who wouldn't mind killing family for their "cause." Also, Charlie isn't an orphan like Harry, so the former has the comfort of some loving and supportive family members. The biggest difference of all are the powers I previously mentioned. Unlike in Harry Potter where the word "magic" is used to the fullest ex. wands, spells, potions, etc., in Charlie Bone, the characters rely on their powers they inherited from their ancestors, mainly the Red King and his ten children, to help in their quests. On a final note, who said J.K. Rowling didn't get inspiration from others (Diana Wynne Jones, C.S. Lewis, J.R.R Tolkien, etc.)? This means her ideas aren't as original and don't entirely belong to her, as many HP fans think. Don't get me wrong, I too love the Harry Potter series, but Charlie Bone just the same. Their similarities should be welcoming for fans of HP who are looking for something similar yet different after finishing HP and want more.

My thoughts on some of the characters? Right from the 1st book, I couldn't help but feel sorry for Billy, an orphan boy who doesn't have a family to stay with over the weekends, and thus spent many weekends with the unpleasant "owners" of the boarding school. Imagine spending weekends in school :( Benjamin Brown (who isn't endowed so he goes to a "normal" school) doesn't have any friends besides Charlie, so when Charlie goes to school (a different one of course) or on an adventure with other endowed friends, Ben is sometimes left out with his dog. But all is not hopeless for Billy and Ben. My 2 favorite characters would be Olivia who is helpful, outgoing, and has a unique sense of style and Tancred the storm boy. He is worth having as a friend, as his powers saved many lives just in time. Him and his best friend Lysander make a good team, but sometimes their friendship seemed queer to me...  

The books in general had some funny and sarcastic bits, great descriptions as in the case of the enchanter, many adventures to save lives, and a surprise ending! The battle between good and evil and stopping power hungry people ruin the lives of many others isn't a new one, but Jenny Nimmo weaves a great story with a unique twist that holds reader's attention long enough to not lose hope.

Overall, I gave the series a 5/5 and recommend it to fans of HP, readers of fantasy novels, and anyone looking for quick and easy reads. To read The Children of the Red King (series) by Jenny Nimmo, borrow them from your local library or purchase them from here.