[BrianR]

I read them all in the course of a three day weekend.

I agree that they are better than most kiddie-lit crapola, but they were a tad predictable and simplistic. Then again, it's nice to see a clear good-vs-evil fight and have good triumph without a scratch. Nowadays good always seems to have a streak of evil in it and tends to be less than pure white. Witness Wolverine from X-Men.

Boiled down, it's standard child fantasy fodder. In most successful childrens series, the hero is smarter and more able to deal with the crisis at hand than all the adults at hand. Only wordier and with more imagery.

Final tally: I'd buy them, but only at a garage sale.

Brian