Reviews for The priests of Ferris

The average rating for The priests of Ferris based on 2 reviews is 3.5 stars.

Review # 1 was written on 2015-10-06 00:00:00 Sareta Davis A year has passed since Susan and Nick's adventures in the world of O. A young boy by the name of Limpy comes to seek them and informs them that it is time for them to return. Upon following him through the mine shaft back into O, Susan and Nick realize that, during their absence, a hundred years have passed and O is not what it used to be; Leaderless, after the events of The Half-Men of O, a religion based on the myth of Susan has come to power under which all live under oppression. I have very mixed feelings about this one - although I preferred it over its prequel. The Priests of O - or more specifically - the High Priest of O were much better villains than the ones shown in The Half-Men of O. The Half-Men were humans who simply had all the 'positive' energy taken from them which left them in a state of pure evil. The Priests of O, on the other hand, were fanatics and delusional. The fact that they were not essentially bad but driven by some form of madness made them more complex and actually rather frightening. The High Priest almost lets you feel sorry for him and I find such villains much more appealing than ones who are evil simply because they are only made out of 'negative' energy. I found Susan to be quite full of herself in the beginning but she improved throughout the story. It was nice to see old and new faces and it was very nice to see the different creatures of O getting over their differences and forming new bonds. It was also nice to be introduced to new human characters like Limpy. Another aspect I was very happy about was the return of the Bloodcat. It was very pleasing to see the author showing that the Bloodcat is not only out for killing but can also show and feel emotions. I have high hopes that we will see more of them in the third and final book. This book had its share of flaws, but there was one thing that bothered me in particular. It was quite clear that this book was trying to make a point on the subjects of religion and animal cruelty. In general, I like when stories are critical about such things. Yet I prefer a story to either be upfront with it or to wrap it up so that you need to sit down and think before you actually see the message. In The Priests of Ferris it was neither here nor there. Apart from the religion being a strong theme throughout the book, it never grabs the bull by its horns. Animal cruelty is also present but is never addressed directly. And yet it is direct enough that I do not really need to think about it. I wish it would have been a little more subtle. This felt too much as though the book was trying to preach, rather than having me figure out something for myself.

Review # 2 was written on 2019-08-21 00:00:00 David Kraemer Maurice Gee isn't afraid to say it like it is - how humans can take something awesome (and I mean that in the sense of something that can truly make you in awe of it, not in the overly-used emphatic word that has caused me to lose respect for so many speakers of English (boy, don't I sound like an old curmudgeon!)) and twist it around till it is something awful. So many great spiritual leaders and their ideals have been figuratively murdered! So many terrific ideas have been used for evil! So many reviewers do a rave! lol I really liked this book. It's the second in the O Trilogy and I'm wondering if Gee can sustain it for the third (when I say 'can', I of course mean it's only in my reading and response, as these books are long past their initial publication date and he either did or he didn't ...). I really like the meeting of the first book's key characters, and I really like the new characters introduced. I enjoy books with a time-differential in the theme (1 year passed in our world, 100 in theirs). And I liked both the adventure and Susan's thought processes. This series really is a winner, and I want to get #3 out of the library very soon.