Pentias – Master of the Elemental Jewels by Karthika Sajeev | Book Review

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We had a chance to explore author Karthika Sajeev‘s world of young adult adventurers that she has called Pentias – like the famous five 🙂 – through their second venture. Published in 2022 by Clever Fox Publishing, this book is called Pentias – Master of the Elemental Jewels and takes the readers to journey of a world called Silandria.

We extend our thanks to the writer for providing us the review copy and we are happy to share our review of this book with you.

Book Cover:

Let us take a look at the cover page of this book.

The cover page of this book appears to be fun-filled and energetic at first glance as we see a group of five friends enjoying themselves in a sporting venture. The designer has used attractive colour scheme for the background.

A small crown is shown in the middle . This crown is shown all white. But once you read the story, it feels like this could be enhanced with coloured jewels. And in the next edition, the cover page could be made more attractive by applying more colour variations.

Storyline:

We meet Aahan, his brother Aarav, their friends Dhyan, Farhan and Harshi as they get together to celebrate Aahan’s birthday, as he turns 15. The day, however, ends on a sad note as Aahan’s father Mr. Mathur becomes sick and ends up in coma. But before that he urges Aahan to open the box he received as birthday gift and follow the instructions in that box.

The box contains a map, and following it, the Pentias arrive in a strange land called Silandria. They meet mother Alaysia as instructed by Mr. Mathur and discover that their parents were actually King Fabian and Queen Flora of Silandria. Due to a curse from their enemy Leorna, Flora and Fabian had to leave Silandria and have their sons outside. But now, it is time for Aahan and his friends to follow in the footsteps of their parents. The only hope for Mr. Mathur aka Fabian and Silandria is if the Pentias find the four elemental jewels.

You see, Silandria is made up of four clans – The Platikans, The Arheyans, The Merkendiyans and The Forthreyans. Each clan is associated with one element – fire, earth, air and water and each clan has a protecting mythical creature like the great bird Shwogletzey, the great fish Diatia, the great snake Infiery or the great tree Epsica.

And each clan also has an elemental jewel, which was part of the king’s crown and is now lost. But, how will the Pentias find these jewels? How will Aahan prove himself worthy of these jewels? And what will happen when their parents’ enemy finds out about the princes?

 

Views and Reviews:

If you have read the first installment in the Pentias series,  Pentias- The True Bond,  then you would enjoy this second installment, too. But even if you are not familiar with them, the author gives us a bit of recap at beginning of this book, and this can be enjoyed as a stand-alone book as well. I liked the book for its simple narrative and adventourous spirit. As we have said before, it is very important for children and young adult books to have some teachings embedded in addition to entertainment. And this book does that.

Aahan is the heart of Pentias and he is kind, generous and loving. He takes on the responsibility of his family and looks after his little brother. He is always polite and courteous to his friends, so much so, that they call him a wholesale shop of sorry and thank yous. 🙂

He demonstrates courage and selfness in his quest for the elemental jewels and proves himself worthy:

You showed the pure trait of selflessness, you have proved to be mentally and physically strong, and you were capable of taking instant and right decisions at the most crucial times without losing your calm. Even the fear of the unknown did not hold you back because you believed in yourself and you trusted your intuitions, thereby proving to be a good leader.

But at the same time, the author reminds us how greed can destroy all happiness:

Greed makes a man unsatisfied and reluctant; he would never be content with his life, which eventually would make him restless.

Take only what you earn, not what you yearn.

And this message is woven all the way through how the author creates Silandria and its ways of life.

We take only what is required, what we want, not everything. We call it bartaining.

Being a fairy tale land, it has kings and queens and talking rabbits that turn into evil enchantress that destroys the kingdom. Thus, the author builds the entertainment and questing elements of the story. In an interesting way, the author names her characters in an eclectic way, such that they could be living anywhere on Earth. Silandria is beautiful, magical and a land filled with natural balance and rhythm between humans and animals.

Animals are twice the human being than we are and have an amiable and loyal sould, better than any human being’s. Give them compassion; they give you their lives.

Some of the most humorous conversations are between the Pentias and Silandrians as they try to explain to each other about how they live on Earth and how things work in Silandria. The author does some nice word plays in these talks, including showing how everyone has trust in Aahan:

When Aahan’s there; there is a way everywhere.

And that is another central thread of the Pentias series. The bond of friendship between Aahan, Farhan, Dhyan, Harshi and Aarav. How they all support each other and look after one another through all their journeys.

Friends support each other not only in the happy times, but also the trying times.

While the book is enjoyable, there are some proofreading errors and some expressions need correcting. For example:

Page 29 – the characters explain that

Cars run in water.

They should say – Cars run on water, as they are trying to explain how water is used in Silandrian cars as fuel.

Page 69 –

His heart left a skip.

This should be:

His heart felt a skip.

Or

His heart skipped a beat.

Some editing would also help with the flow of the story and make the adventure more thrilling and appealing for young readers.

Summary:

An enjoyable adventure story for young adults featuring five friends that travel to a magical land and go on a quest to find lost treasures…

ThinkerViews Rating:

Around 7 stars out of 10.

Quick Purchase Links:

• Buy - Pentias - Master of the Elemental Jewels by Karthika Sajeev Kumar - Paperback - Amazon IN
• Buy - Pentias - Master of the Elemental Jewels by Karthika Sajeev Kumar - Kindle EBook - Amazon IN
• Buy - Pentias - Master of the Elemental Jewels by Karthika Sajeev Kumar - Paperback - Amazon US
• Buy - Pentias - Master of the Elemental Jewels by Karthika Sajeev Kumar - Kindle EBook - Amazon US

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