The Fires of Calderon (Balance Keepers, #1)

by Lindsay Cummings

The Fires of Calderon is Book One in #1 New York Times bestselling author Lindsay Cummings’s epic Balance Keepers series. These exciting fantasy-adventure books are full of magic, mystery, friendship, and humor, and are perfect for fans of books like Brandon Mull’s The Candy Shop War or the Unwanteds series by Lisa McMann.

With themes of friendship, self-discovery, and courage; both boy and girl main characters; fierce creatures to battle; a mystery to solve; and a boarding school that could be described as Hogwarts Underground, there’s something for every reader to enjoy in this contemporary—and fantastically imaginative—spin on the classic A Journey to the Centre of the Earth.

When eleven-year-old Albert Flynn follows a mysterious map deep into the woods, and then under the woods, he discovers he’s a Balance Keeper—someone with special magical skills for keeping harmony in fantastical underground worlds. Together with his teammates Leroy and Birdie, Albert must master his magical talents in time to stop the fires in the Calderon Realm from destroying New York City above.

• ASIN: B00HLIVWLA
• Publish Date: 2014 (first published 23 September 2014)
• Publish Status: Unknown
• Format: eBook (Kindle)
• Pages: 352
• Language: English

Reviews

[tweetybugshouse]

Ok, this book may be geared towards the younger readers but I am still a kid at heart (So that counts right). I loved this book. The magical world that the author built was great. Instantly I like Albert did not want to leave. I was a little sad when the book was over. Which it seemed like I had barely just opened the book before the story ended. It was a very fast read. As I was reading this book I could not help but picture Harry Potter. While Albert is not a wizard, he is a great Balance Keeper. He and his two friends, Leroy and Birdie make a excellent team. Each one brings something different to the group. They are like Harry and his friends. I am excited to read the next book and see what additional powers that Albert possesses and if he and his friends can help protect Earth. Bonus for having the dog last name match mine my son really loved that and that his eyes glow in the dark really neat.

[Amber]

This review was originally posted on Books of Amber

I feel really bad for not enjoying this book, you guys. I had a quick look on Goodreads and everyone has rated it highly so far, and I feel like I am missing something because I just couldn’t get into it. Oh well, what can you do?

I love the whole premise of this book, despite not having actually enjoyed the execution. I love the idea of the Balance Keepers keeping all of the realms in order, and I that’s the reason I requested this book for review. It could have been so exciting, but it just wasn’t. It’s weird, because all of the elements were there and ready to wow me. There was world building, action scenes, a slight mystery, OTHER REALMS, and yet it all just disappointed me.


I had a really hard time getting into this book, and I didn’t end up following the story at all because it didn’t captivate me like I had hoped. To be honest, I think it was Cummings’ writing style that was the issue for me, because like I said, everything else was just as it should be.

I thought that the characters spoke far too maturely for their age. This is a Middle Grade novel and the characters are going around talking like adults. I like to think of this as the John Green Effect, because he does the same thing with his books. The characters aren’t meant to sound like professors, they are children.

I’m very disappointed because I was looking forward to getting stuck into a good Middle Grade fantasy, but I wasn’t able to. Hopefully things will go the way that the Goodreads reviews indicate, and everyone else will love this book, because I would really hate for the potential to go to waste.