Status
Available
Call number
Series
Publication
HMH Books for Young Readers (2015), Edition: Reprint, 416 pages
Description
Sixteen-year-old Jennifer Strange faces the impossible when the mighty Shandar emerges from his preserved state and presents her with a task that sends her and her companions on a journey from which they may never return.
User reviews
LibraryThing member pwaites
The Eye of Zoltar is the third book in Jasper Fforde’s YA series the Chronicles of Kazam. I had only the vaguest memories of what happened in the first two books, but luckily the plot of The Eye of Zoltar was mostly self contained and it wasn’t too much of a problem. Like all of Fforde’s
Jennifer Strange is a sixteen-year old orphan living in the Ununited Kingdoms and indentured to a magical service company named Kazam. The plot begins when The Mighty Shandar announces that Jennifer saving the last two dragons threw a wrench in his contracted agreement to kill off all the dragons. Either she brings him the Eye of Zoltar, a lost and legendary magic gemstone, or he kills the dragons. With no choice but to agree, Jennifer sets off on a search* which heads into the dangerous Cambrian Empire.
*It is not a quest, since all quests must be official and registered with the powerful Questing Federation:
“The Questing Federation were powerful, and would insist on a minimum staffing requirement: at least one strong-and-silent warrior, a sage-like old man, and either a giant or a dwarf–and all of them cost bundles, not just in salary but in hotel bills too. To go on a quest these days you needed serious financial backing.“
The Cambrian Empire is known for its jeopardy tourism – people from other kingdoms come to experience danger in their otherwise safe lives, and Jennifer’s search features a promised 50% fatality rate. Along for the journey is the princess of Snodd, who’s mother wanted her to have an educational experience, and Perkins, a young wizard who Jennifer has just begun dating. Led by an intrepid twelve year old guide, they venture into the depths of the Cambrian Empire.
“I’d been an idiot to think that this journey was anything but a quest. Searches were nice and soft and cuddly and no one needed to be killed. A quest always demanded the death of a trusted friend and one or more ethical dilemmas.”
Fforde’s writing style is light hearted and funny, full of wacky events that are treated quite seriously within the bounds of the novel. One of my favorite parts is how the princess turns out to have a gift for economics, which lead to a wonderful scene where she incorporated herself and used dodgy financial trading to make a fortune. I’ll admit that her character growth from “spoiled princess” to someone who will make a more responsible queen is very sudden, but it did not detract from my enjoyment of the book at all.
“Troll Wars were like Batman movies: both are repeated at regular intervals, feature expensive hardware, and are broadly predictable. The difference being that during the Troll Wars, humans always lost–and badly.“
Unfortunately, The Eye of Zoltar ended on a investigating cliff hanger, and the next book is not yet released. Despite this, I would certainly recommend The Eye of Zoltar and the Chronicles of Kazam books to anyone looking for a light and enjoyable read.
Originally posted on The Illustrated Page.
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work, The Eye of Zoltar was hilarious.Jennifer Strange is a sixteen-year old orphan living in the Ununited Kingdoms and indentured to a magical service company named Kazam. The plot begins when The Mighty Shandar announces that Jennifer saving the last two dragons threw a wrench in his contracted agreement to kill off all the dragons. Either she brings him the Eye of Zoltar, a lost and legendary magic gemstone, or he kills the dragons. With no choice but to agree, Jennifer sets off on a search* which heads into the dangerous Cambrian Empire.
*It is not a quest, since all quests must be official and registered with the powerful Questing Federation:
“The Questing Federation were powerful, and would insist on a minimum staffing requirement: at least one strong-and-silent warrior, a sage-like old man, and either a giant or a dwarf–and all of them cost bundles, not just in salary but in hotel bills too. To go on a quest these days you needed serious financial backing.“
The Cambrian Empire is known for its jeopardy tourism – people from other kingdoms come to experience danger in their otherwise safe lives, and Jennifer’s search features a promised 50% fatality rate. Along for the journey is the princess of Snodd, who’s mother wanted her to have an educational experience, and Perkins, a young wizard who Jennifer has just begun dating. Led by an intrepid twelve year old guide, they venture into the depths of the Cambrian Empire.
“I’d been an idiot to think that this journey was anything but a quest. Searches were nice and soft and cuddly and no one needed to be killed. A quest always demanded the death of a trusted friend and one or more ethical dilemmas.”
Fforde’s writing style is light hearted and funny, full of wacky events that are treated quite seriously within the bounds of the novel. One of my favorite parts is how the princess turns out to have a gift for economics, which lead to a wonderful scene where she incorporated herself and used dodgy financial trading to make a fortune. I’ll admit that her character growth from “spoiled princess” to someone who will make a more responsible queen is very sudden, but it did not detract from my enjoyment of the book at all.
“Troll Wars were like Batman movies: both are repeated at regular intervals, feature expensive hardware, and are broadly predictable. The difference being that during the Troll Wars, humans always lost–and badly.“
Unfortunately, The Eye of Zoltar ended on a investigating cliff hanger, and the next book is not yet released. Despite this, I would certainly recommend The Eye of Zoltar and the Chronicles of Kazam books to anyone looking for a light and enjoyable read.
Originally posted on The Illustrated Page.
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LibraryThing member DLMorrese
There is a kind of Gulliver's Travels feel to this book in that the people, places, and creatures are quite silly but are presented with a hint of social satire. The queen (and former sorcerer) hires our protagonist (Jennifer Strange) to tutor a spoiled princess with the aim of curing her of her
I found the book enjoyable. It's light, silly, and not to be taken seriously. It's a good break between reading heavier stuff.
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acute affluenza (she lacks compassion, empathy, or any other redeeming human qualities). To facilitate this, the queen first transfers her daughter's mind into the body of a handmaiden (a poop cleaner third class) and vice versa. Then, Jennifer, the body-swapped princess, and a few others go on a quest into a highly dangerous neighboring kingdom, the main industry of which is high-risk tourism (such as hunting large, carnivorous monsters). Mishaps ensue. I found the book enjoyable. It's light, silly, and not to be taken seriously. It's a good break between reading heavier stuff.
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LibraryThing member Glennis.LeBlanc
The third book has Jennifer going on a quest for the Eye of Zoltar in order to stop Shandar from killing the dragons. She gets a side job of also unspoiling the princess as well. To help with that the Queen has switched the princess into the body of a servant. The series still has feel of the
Digital review copy provided by the publisher through Edelweiss
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Thursday Next but is most certainly set in its own universe. I wouldn't start anyone off on this this book since there is so much going on the previous books would help out the reader and flesh out the universe. The downside is there is no hally ending and you certainly want to find out what will happen next. Now to wait for the next book. Digital review copy provided by the publisher through Edelweiss
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LibraryThing member Jaylia3
This is the third in Jasper Fforde’s YA series featuring Jennifer Strange, the competent 16-year-old running an agency of magicians in the Ununited Kingdom, a highly skewed alternate world UK. Jennifer’s the kind of girl who takes disasters in stride, which is fortunate because just as she is
Romance is not Fforde’s strong suit, but brilliant not quite absurd absurdities with frequent enough wisps of truth to make them irresistibly funny are, and that’s on full display here. I’ve been missing the Neanderthals from the early books of Fforde’s wonderful Thursday Next series (a favorite of mine because it’s full of literary references) so I was thrilled to find a new Australopithecine character here. There’s a satisfying ending to Eye of Zoltar, but the good news is it’s a to-be-continued story so there will be at least one more of these books packed with nonstop action, strong female characters, unrelenting wit.
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about to have her first date she and her young man have to alter their plans to act as bait for a crazed dinosaur-sized magical creature on a rampage, and almost immediately after they must embark on a quest across the border with a petulant self-absorbed princess in tow to find the Eye of Zoltar, though they’re be careful to not refer to their expedition as a quest because that would bring on reams of paperwork and substantial fees. Romance is not Fforde’s strong suit, but brilliant not quite absurd absurdities with frequent enough wisps of truth to make them irresistibly funny are, and that’s on full display here. I’ve been missing the Neanderthals from the early books of Fforde’s wonderful Thursday Next series (a favorite of mine because it’s full of literary references) so I was thrilled to find a new Australopithecine character here. There’s a satisfying ending to Eye of Zoltar, but the good news is it’s a to-be-continued story so there will be at least one more of these books packed with nonstop action, strong female characters, unrelenting wit.
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LibraryThing member ethel55
The return of 16 year old Jennifer Strange, manager of Kazam and the magicians of various abilities, in the long awaited third book in the Chronicles of Kazam series. Now, Jennifer has a "search" (quests must be registersed) in the dangerous Cambrian Empire for the Mighty Shandar, accompanied by
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yet another motley crew of ingenious characters. Fforde manages to make a fast paced story, set in an alternate England known as the Ununited Kingdom, as realistic as possible within the magical confines of this world. Show Less
LibraryThing member RandyMetcalfe
Jennifer Strange is back. And she’s on a search. A mission. Oh, what the heck, let’s just agree that she’s on a quest (but don’t tell the International Questing Federation because she doesn’t have a licence). Jennifer, still a teen orphan, still the manager of the Kazam house of
Jasper Fforde is fully on form in this third novel of The Last Dragonslayer Series. The pace is frenetic, the puns are preposterous, the losses are huge (well, what do you expect with a 50% Fatality Index), but Jennifer is never less than up to the task. Admittedly there are times when she begins to sound a bit Thursday Next-ish, and, yes, what with the wizarding and strange lands and weird stuff, Terry Practhett would do well to eye Fforde nervously, but in the end it’s really all just about fun. Feel free to join the ride, but only if you take full responsibility given the advance warning of the Fatality Index. Oh, and it ends with no doubt whatsoever that there will be another novel in the series coming along soon. Well, there’s got to be.
Gently recommended for fun if you’ve previously enjoyed other Jasper Fforde titles.
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enchantment, still hoping the young wizard, Perkins, will work up the courage to ask her on a date, still protecting the dragons, and still saving the day regardless of the Fatality Index for whichever search, or mission, or, yes, quest, on which she is engaged. Jennifer and her intrepid companions must find the legendary graveyard of the flying leviathans, track down the flying Pirate Wolff, procure the Eye of Zoltar (a huge ruby with dramatic magical power), and negotiate the release of the Once Magnificent Boo, all while guarding a spoilt princess and fighting an army of empty suits. And there she was pretending it wasn’t a quest!Jasper Fforde is fully on form in this third novel of The Last Dragonslayer Series. The pace is frenetic, the puns are preposterous, the losses are huge (well, what do you expect with a 50% Fatality Index), but Jennifer is never less than up to the task. Admittedly there are times when she begins to sound a bit Thursday Next-ish, and, yes, what with the wizarding and strange lands and weird stuff, Terry Practhett would do well to eye Fforde nervously, but in the end it’s really all just about fun. Feel free to join the ride, but only if you take full responsibility given the advance warning of the Fatality Index. Oh, and it ends with no doubt whatsoever that there will be another novel in the series coming along soon. Well, there’s got to be.
Gently recommended for fun if you’ve previously enjoyed other Jasper Fforde titles.
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LibraryThing member LibraryGirl11
Definitely has a middle-of-the-series feel--lots of setup happening for the next novel. Still--hilarious plays on words and quirky characters make for a fun story, just not one that's quite as awesome as the first two in the series.
LibraryThing member norabelle414
Jennifer and a few of her coworkers head out on a not-quest in the deadly Cambrian Empire under specific orders from the Mighty Shandar. As usual, chaos ensues, there's a grand conspiracy, and everything comes together neatly in the end. Exactly as awesome and clever as I expected it to be.
LibraryThing member Othemts
This is the third book in Fforde's young adult series The Chronicles of Kazam, and the best installment so far. Jennifer Strange, the teenage orphan tasked with managing an employment agency for sorcerers, is tasked with crossing the border out of the Kingdom of Snodd into the Cambrian Empire, a
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nation known for entertaining daredevil tourists (and leaving many of them dead). Accompanying her are a ragtag bunch including a rapidly-aging wizard, a princess magically body-swapped with a handmaid, a rubberized dragon, an Australopithecus, and a ten-year old tour guide. This book is an adventure filled with Fforde's trademark clever wit that also works as a satire on both sword & sorcery tropes and our modern society. Show Less
LibraryThing member bookwren
As exuberant and biting as the previous two chronicles, I was happy to be once more in the company of Jennifer Strange and the characters of Kazam. They are an odd lot, but full of quirkiness and heart. More twists and turns in an already convoluted plot, the addition of new characters like the
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Princess, Addie, and Gabby make for a ripping and gripping plot. I'm so glad Kazam's adventures will continue. Show Less
LibraryThing member MadameWho
Knocked off half a star for the excessive clifferhangerness of the ending. I also noticed some consistency issues with the previous books; for example, at the end of book 2, they completely restore Zambini Towers with their excess magic, but at the beginning of this book, the towers are described
Sometimes I suspect that Fforde, like his characters, is just making stuff up as he goes along.
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as being just as decrepit as ever because the wizards don't want to waste magic. Sometimes I suspect that Fforde, like his characters, is just making stuff up as he goes along.
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LibraryThing member tjsjohanna
Mr. Fforde is back with another absurd and fantastical tale - an adventure that is really a quest for a mythical object. I particularly enjoyed the ending where girl power comes into play in a big way. There's lots to make a reader smile in this latest installment of the Chronicles of Kazam.
LibraryThing member AdrienneJS
I liked the previous books in the series better than this one. The previous books were more fun and humorous. This book was still humorous, but seemed darker.
LibraryThing member simchaboston
Enjoyable, but not as fun as the previous books in this series. Fforde is clearly setting things up for the fourth book; as a result, character development takes a back seat to the plot machinations as well as some satirical pieces he obviously couldn't resist putting in. This wouldn't be much of a
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flaw if this had the same cast of characters, but a bunch of new people are introduced in the story and at least a couple of them seem intended to be key players in the next installment. I'm not sorry to own this (the wordplay and jokes are funny as usual), but I think I'll wait for paperback before buying the next one. Show Less
LibraryThing member sloopjonb
The story entirely failed to engage me. It became a so-what sequence of rather silly events, leavened with a couple of funny jokes and the usual crop of awful puns. Meh.
LibraryThing member drewsof
I do, I'll admit, miss the adult humor of Fforde's other novels - his wit, while still completely applicable to the younger set, is too good to get full enjoyment from seeing it with a tip on the blade. But he is perhaps the most consistently dazzling writer of intelligent humorous metanarrative
More at RB:
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fiction - a rapidly growing subset of authors, I assure you. More than anything, he brings heart to his stories and the Chronicles of Kazam, while they don't have the brio of the Thursday Next books, might inspire kids to read and write more inventively. I hope that they do - and I can't wait for the next one (although I can't wait for Dark Reading Matter more). More at RB:
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LibraryThing member writerfidora
I liked the previous books in the series better than this one. The previous books were more fun and humorous. This book was still humorous, but seemed darker.
LibraryThing member DrLed
Synopsis: Jennifer Strange is on the hunt for the Eye of Zoltar. She and one of the wizards take off for a land in which the main entertainment is danger. One of the young dragons decides to also go with them but is put in mortal danger, as is nearly everyone on this quest. The question that
Review: This chronicle has more twists and turns that the previous two and sets the stage for another book, which I hope comes along very soon!
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remains is will Jennifer and her friends be able to capture the eye and will they be able to defeat the evil wizard who sent her into danger?Review: This chronicle has more twists and turns that the previous two and sets the stage for another book, which I hope comes along very soon!
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LibraryThing member kmjanek
This is the 3rd book in the Chronicles of Kazam series. I recommend reading the books in order as these are not really stand alone books. We’re back with Jennifer Strange, a 16 year old orphan who is the manager of Kazam Mystical Arts and Court Mystician for the Kingdom of Snodd. Jennifer is in
I have been enjoying this series and I highly recommend it to fans of Harry Potter. The setting is sort of an alternate reality of Great Britain and magic is not kept secret. If readers like magical fantasy, dragons and epic journeys, this book is for them. I think it would be a good purchase for a middle school or high school library. This particular book is a little bit darker than the first two. There is violence during the scenes with the Hollow Men, but nothing out of the ordinary for a fantasy novel. Some of the dialogue is quite entertaining when the characters are being light-hearted. There are many quirky personalities and Jennifer embraces them all. Readers will learn quite a bit about economics from the princess. Some readers may decide that economics is cool ;) Overall, this is a great series and I am always recommending the books.
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high demand - from the Queen to Once Mangificent Boo to the Mighty Shandar. She is about to go on an adventure (because Quests need to be approved). In this story we meet Addie and lose a few characters along the way. Jennifer has been sent to find the Eye of Zoltar in the Cambrian Empire. She doesn’t have much to go on, but she does think it will save the dragons. The land they travel to is very dangerous. People go there as “jeopardy tourists” and sometimes they do not make it back. There are many perils along the way and they are not all solved because the story ends with a major cliffhanger...with a promise from the author that there is more to come.I have been enjoying this series and I highly recommend it to fans of Harry Potter. The setting is sort of an alternate reality of Great Britain and magic is not kept secret. If readers like magical fantasy, dragons and epic journeys, this book is for them. I think it would be a good purchase for a middle school or high school library. This particular book is a little bit darker than the first two. There is violence during the scenes with the Hollow Men, but nothing out of the ordinary for a fantasy novel. Some of the dialogue is quite entertaining when the characters are being light-hearted. There are many quirky personalities and Jennifer embraces them all. Readers will learn quite a bit about economics from the princess. Some readers may decide that economics is cool ;) Overall, this is a great series and I am always recommending the books.
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LibraryThing member -Eva-
Jennifer Strange is commanded by the Mighty Shandar to go find the Eye of Zoltar, or he will eliminate the only two dragons left on earth. This installment is a little more meandering than the others, but it is equally enjoyable and the punning is as great as ever. I really like all the characters
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and can't wait to follow along in the series (come on, Fforde, write like the wind...!). Show Less
LibraryThing member livingtech
Giving this 4 stars only because it pulls a "to be continued..." On the last page of the novel. Fun stuff, but I was expecting more conclusion.
LibraryThing member streamsong
This is the third in the Jennifer Strange series of magical YA novels.
Jennifer lives in a universe where magic is not uncommon. She is a lowly orphan who lives as an indentured servant for one of the great magical houses. These houses are often hired for mundane matters like unclogging drains if
In the first of the series, Jennifer unexpectedly became The Last Dragonslayer. Now she is the dragons’ last protector as an evil wizard threatens the lives of the last two dragons in existence– adorable baby dragons at that. If she cannot find the legendary Eye of Zoltar, the enchanting babies will be annihilated.
I love Fforde’s humor and puns. This is such an entertaining series, but aaaaarrrgh! be warned! this one ends with a cliffhanger. This was written in 2014 and Fforde hopes the next one will be out in 2021. Who knows ? I absolutely hate books written this way.
Light, fun pandemic reading. 4 stars grudgingly given due to the cliff hanger ending. My recommendation would be to enjoy the first two in the series and wait for the 4th to be published before reading this one.
Jennifer lives in a universe where magic is not uncommon. She is a lowly orphan who lives as an indentured servant for one of the great magical houses. These houses are often hired for mundane matters like unclogging drains if
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they can provide lower fees than a standard plumber.In the first of the series, Jennifer unexpectedly became The Last Dragonslayer. Now she is the dragons’ last protector as an evil wizard threatens the lives of the last two dragons in existence– adorable baby dragons at that. If she cannot find the legendary Eye of Zoltar, the enchanting babies will be annihilated.
I love Fforde’s humor and puns. This is such an entertaining series, but aaaaarrrgh! be warned! this one ends with a cliffhanger. This was written in 2014 and Fforde hopes the next one will be out in 2021. Who knows ? I absolutely hate books written this way.
Light, fun pandemic reading. 4 stars grudgingly given due to the cliff hanger ending. My recommendation would be to enjoy the first two in the series and wait for the 4th to be published before reading this one.
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LibraryThing member JessBass87
Spectacular story. But in true Jasper Fforde fashion the ending leaves you dying for the next installment which will inevitably take YEARS to be produced. He's getting almost as bad as George R. R. Martin.
LibraryThing member jennybeast
Another wacky adventure, this time with survival statistics, a rubber dragon and an extreme cliffhanger. Curse you, Fforde!
LibraryThing member drewsof
I do, I'll admit, miss the adult humor of Fforde's other novels - his wit, while still completely applicable to the younger set, is too good to get full enjoyment from seeing it with a tip on the blade. But he is perhaps the most consistently dazzling writer of intelligent humorous metanarrative
More at RB:
Show More
fiction - a rapidly growing subset of authors, I assure you. More than anything, he brings heart to his stories and the Chronicles of Kazam, while they don't have the brio of the Thursday Next books, might inspire kids to read and write more inventively. I hope that they do - and I can't wait for the next one (although I can't wait for Dark Reading Matter more). More at RB:
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Language
Original language
English
Original publication date
2014-04-10
Physical description
416 p.; 5.5 inches
ISBN
0544540719 / 9780544540712