The Cloud Searchers (Amulet #3)

Ahh yes I am loving everything about this series, the plotline, the world building, the characters, the art style and the writing style is just A+ fantastic in my book. I especially love the beautiful world that Kazu Kibuishi created. The world is well build and just such very fantastical and mystical world that I just get lost in the pages just looking through the art of this mystical world of Alledia. I absolutely love the mythical creatures in this world there are quite the characters. Especially Miskit and the crew, they all are just beautifully crafted even the evil creatures are utterly amazing crafted as well. I don't want to go into a lot of details about The Cloud Searchers, because I don't want to be too spoiler. But Emily, Navin, and their crew of resistance fighters try too find the lost city of Cielis to go there and find the Guardian Council's powerful Stonekeepers. Too see if the Guardian Council's will help them save Alledia from the evil elf king. First they have to find information where to find the lost city of Cielis. They go to a bar to try to charter an airship, but what the get is laughed at and be called insane to believe such a lost city ever existed in the first place. But there was one airship crew member that actually believe there is such a lost city of Cielis. But of course the crew run into some trouble while they were at the bar. I am going to leave it off here lets just say trouble and mayhem happens for the crew after the bar incident. The crew also have new members to fight the elf king, but I won't say who they are because it spoiler. I am just going to say I am very glad and happy that they finally joined the crew to save Alledia and fight the elf king. All and all I absolutely loved and enjoyed everything about The Cloud Searches, that I can't wait to read The Last Council next!

The Cloud Searchers by Kazu Kibuishi is book number three in the Amulet series. Like the previous two, I absolutely adored this.

In this book, we continue to see Emily learning more about her power and how to control it. I really liked that when we see her training with Leon Redbeard, he says, "Do you remember what you learned at Demon's Head? The ability to hold someone without destroying it. Now you will need to take it a step further." This helped to both slowly guide her training as well as giving the readers a little refresher. Wonderfully done!

The artwork is so stunning; I love the style so much. I continued to enjoy most of the cast of characters, especially the new ones that we got to meet in this book!

My only complaint about is about the mother. It seemed to me that in this book, the mothers character just isn't consistent. One second she's listening and being supportive but the next she's not listening and causing issues. Rather than being a fully developed character, it's like she's just written in to certain scenes to help the story along.

Luckily, that didn't take away from my overall thoughts about the book! I would still highly recommend this series, beginning with book one of course. As soon as I finish typing this, I am going to request book four from my local library!

After a harrowing battle in Book Two, forces are scattered. Elf Prince Trellis is on the run from his oppressive father. The Elf King hires Gabilan the Assassin to go after both Trellis and Emily, the heroine of the story. Emily is reunited with her family but they decided to abandoned their house (the one that can walk around on its own) because it is too conspicuous. Her group winds up hiring an airship to go to the semi-fabled city of Cielis. Cielis was the home of the Guardian Council, a group of Stonekeepers who ruled the planet in peace and prosperity for many years. The Elf King rose up against them and pillaged the city, which has disappeared. Some think it wasn't completely destroyed and that a remnant is ready to fight back against the elves. The trick to confirm the story is that the city flies in the air--hence the need for an airship. With elves and assassins in pursuit, can they find the city and keep it secret so they can plan a counter attack?

The story is great though the author is clear a fan of Star Wars. Emily hires a gruff pilot in a seedy bar where fights break out. The pilot's ship is a bit of a shambles. They are going to a cloud city. A bounty hunter is in pursuit. Even borrowing all these elements, there's plenty of imagination and great characters to make this an exciting read.

Recommended.

Very much like my previous two posts for volumes 1 and 2 I am going to say similar things. Why? Because this is an interconnected series much more so than a general fiction series. Instead of complete books, this series is akin to reading chapters and then reviewing them. So forgive me if some of this seems repetitive.

Em and Navin have saved their mother and are trying to figure out how to deal with the next step in their journey. Two elves have changed sides and seem to be helping the group but how much can they really trust them? The group heads for the lost city of Cielis. Rumor has it, the city now floats high above the ground but no one has ever found it. The crew hires an airship pilot to get them there but when they find themselves under attack they have to decide whether the fate of one member is more important than the journey.

Before I get into the story can I just rhapsodize about the art for another minute? No really. It's amazing! I am in love with the gorgeous artwork and I spend so much time staring at it. I could probably read the actual story in about 30 minutes but it takes me so much longer because I stop and look at each page before moving forward. This series is worth it just for the art.

I also love how this story tackles tough issues. Em and Navin are on a quest and they need to continue forward to stop the Elf King from taking over the world. The problem is the amount of danger they face every day. Sometimes one of their own is taken or falls overboard and they have to wrestle with whether they go after their friend or focus on saving the world. It is a tough call to make and heartbreaking at the same time. Sometimes the needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few. It is a lesson Em is learning very quickly.

At the same time this book gave the viewers a lot of reveals. Not only did we learn some interesting things about the Elf King but we got glimpses into the previous defenders of the world. We also got some moments with the sinister voice in the amulet and a little more info on the elves working with the group. It was a fascinating time in the story.

At the same time the story keeps moving so fast that I am loathe to see myself reach the end of book six. However will I wait for the next book? Who knows but book four is on the way.

3 Stars
Published by GRAPHIX
September 1, 2010
199 Pages
Provided by--the Library

Bookworm Speaks!

Amulet #3 The Cloud Searchers by Kazu Kibuishi

****

The Amulet Saga continues and here is where things get moving.

Warning: Minor Spoilers.

The Story: Emily, Navin and their friends have managed to elude the servants of the Elf King and are now trying to find their way to Cielis, a city thought lost long ago. There they hope to solicit aid from the Guardian Council, a cadre of powerful Stonekeepers. Chartering an airship, they take off through the skies, but the Elf King is fast approaching.

The Good: As stated above, this is the volume where things are beginning to get rolling. The previous volume was more focused on setting up the current story arcs and introducing new plot elements but in Cloud Searchers we begin to see the story moving in a real direction. The last book we were introduced to the quest, here the quest begins.

The Good: What makes stories like Amulet so appealing is the timeless formula of the quest. An epic journey. Here is where the journey literally and figuratively taking off. As they travel on an airship they learn many things about the lore of the stones and about each other, all the while fending off threats. The journey serves as a metaphor for the growth of the characters and we see Emily and Trellis develop in their skills.

The artwork once again is superb with stunning two page spreads that breathe the world of Alledia into existence. But it is not merely the environments that make this volume and this series so well done. When they were starting out, Emily and Navin were very much children and it showed with their attire and round faces. In this volume both children have matured and even Karen their mother. Emily’s face develops more form, her hair acquires more definition and daresay she begins to ‘fill out’ in body as well as mind. She becomes more mature and more confident. Navin starts to change in his own way as well, but he is largely passed over to focus more on his sister, but even he starts to visibly mature. Perhaps this shows that while the artist is good at stunning vistas, he is also skilled with subtlety.

This could have been mentioned in an earlier review but what makes Amulet stand out from other stories is how a parent accompanies the young protagonist on the journey. That is a rare characteristic in fiction and really sets this book apart. Emily and Navin’s mother has recovered from her injuries and has joined the company. She does not change all that much considering, really just adapting to life in Alledia. However, this works in the book’s advantage as she provides an island of normalcy in a series that changes dramatically with each passing chapter. She still remains ‘motherly’ and treats her children fairly normally. It would have been all too easy to make her into some kind of macho fantasy, instead having her remain the straight woman is a much wiser course of action.

The character of Enzo, the airship Captain is introduced in this volume and he is a good character. At first glance, he can seem a little one dimensional. A gruff captain that rides his crew hard and doesn’t take flak from anybody. This not a deal-breaker though, not every character has to be a model of depth and multiple facet’s, he can just be what he is. A deeper look though shows, there is more depth to him than meets the eye, such as his jaded belief in the lost city and his former relationships.

The Flaws: There is one glaring omission that was put right on the front cover. It clearly shows Navin holding a wrench and wearing goggles and overall looking like a gearhead. While it is made very clear, even since the first volume, that Navin has an affinity for machines and their operation but we never see him dressed in that particular garb. Its not that big a deal but it feels like the author wrote a check and didn’t cash it.

That aside, the real major flaw of this story is the villain. Trellis and the elf Luger from the previous volume are no longer the main antagonists and so the Elf King assigns a bounty hunter named Gabilan to hunt down Emily and Trellis. His design is fantastic, looking appropriately menacing for a villain, but that’s the problem, his design is pretty cool but his characterization is nothing new. He is a typical amoral thug who tries to capture them. And he wants to overthrow the king…Bookworm thinks he has seen that in other books. Finally, perhaps they are saving him for a later volume, but he is never seen again in the rest of the books. Once again, we encounter a come and go scenario. In of itself, these events are not bad. Many have said that a story is simply when you have characters and make things happen to them. Its just this character is given so much buildup and page time that the fact that he is defeated and never seen again (in a way that’s not funnily ironic) it can seem anticlimactic at times.

His saving grace is that his action scenes are pretty cool and the fact that he was a catalyst for an important detail about one of the characters and the fact he knows more than he lets on about the stones makes him add another layer of mystery to the story and lends to the book’s strength. That things are not always what they seem.

Final Verdict:

Five out of Five Stars

For Reviews and More, visit jordan.danbrantley.com

4 - Another good volume and the story and world are expanding nicely. This series has had excellent pacing and lots of nice surprising turns. The artwork is exceptional as always. The only thing I did not understand was Redbeard, the fox warrior said he received the curse of being a fox as a child, because his birth record showed him as not being a fox. In the previous volume however, it showed his father looking very close to him and also a fox many years ago. Hopefully they explain this more, because it left me a bit confused.

I am a homeschooling mother with an interest in graphic books, both fiction and nonfiction, for adult or child readers. I just finished reading this book. My ten and thirteen year old sons also read this book and the whole series, and they wanted me to read it so I could enjoy the story too.

In this third book in the series this hero's journey quest, a battle of good versus evil continues with just as much action as in the others. In this book Emily learns more about the magic stone that gives her power and more about the enemy they are fighting. This time, as the title and cover art reveal, they are looking for a land some believe is just a myth, which is hidden in the clouds.

This story began on Earth in the first book, and the second and third book takes place entirely in the other world, a mysterious land which looks wild and medieval in its natural state and filled with walking and talking animals and weird monsters, living "stuffed animals" and robots. Their main vehicle in this story is a cross between a zeppelin and a spaceship yet they are attacked by a traditional looking dragon.

This book series has high quality full color illustrations which makes it more visually appealing than some other graphic books for children on the market. The pages are high quality glossy paper.

This book and the series is a high action story that involves lots of fighting, multiple brushes with death, and escapes. It's well written in that it is a solid hero's journey story which being done well, draws the reader in immediately, and makes us root for the hero from the start. We want to find out what happens next and we want the good guys to win. The second and third book is clearly a good versus evil story which gets more complicated as the series goes on.

The book ends with a journey finished but opens the way for the next segment of the story, that Emily is being trained to be one of the members of the prestigious and important "Guardian Council". At the time I'm writing this the fourth book has not yet been released.

I recommend this for tween or young teen who enjoys graphic novels, or for reluctant readers who enjoy reading about fantasy, adventure and the battle of good against evil. I would say this is more of a boy book but with its girl main character and the strong draw of the story that engages the reader, some girls might enjoy it too.

Emily and Navin's mother has been healed, and the good guys are safe for the moment. But of course, that won't last long in "The Cloud Searchers," the third volume of Kazu Kibuishi's epic graphic novel series -- this time it's a Hayao Miyazaki-esque flight to the clouds, in search of a floating city lost for years.

Emily and her friends have to get to Cielis, a city said to be destroyed by the elf army. However, it may actually have been hidden in the sky. Unfortunately, the moment they hire an airship captain to take him to this legendary lost city, elf soldiers try to arrest them -- as well as Prince Trellis and a timid, amnesia-stricken Luger, who are now wanted for treason.

As the motley crew sets off for a city that may or may not exist, they end up encountering plenty of perils in the sky -- especially since the Elf King has sent a brutal bounty hunter after them. And as Emily works to master her powers with the Stone, Trellis reveals a horrifying fact about the Elf King that may change everything.

"The Cloud Searchers" isn't quite the gripping, suspenseful story that The Stonekeeper's Curse was, mainly because most of it is spent on the airship cooking and practicing Stone magic. But don't worry, Kibuishi manages to insert plenty of exciting action (WYVERN ATTACK!) interspersed with solid character interactions.

There's also a lot of development for Trellis, who reminds me a lot of Avatar The Last Airbender's Prince Zuko -- we see more of his grumpy kindness here, as well as the true reason he's rebelling against the Elf King. Luger is also... well, very different from the coldhearted, ambitious warrior of the past, and we see more of Emily's motivations and why she's still in Alledia.

Kibuishi's art also continues to be awesome -- a sort of Americanized manga style, littered with robot bunnies and anthropomorphic animal-people. A lot of time is spent on the airships and floating citadels, which are washed in warm oranges, soft purple skies and cool blue-greys. But the villainous elf characters are usually given darker, grimier-looking backdrops.

"The Cloud Seekers" is a great "bridge" between epic story arcs, full of airborne action, lovely art and some dark new twists. We're waiting for book four, Mr. Kibuishi!

Recovered and reunited after their adventures in The Stonekeeper and The Stonekeeper's Curse, the Hayes Family, Silas Charnon's helper robots, and Leon Redbeard set out upon their next quest in the struggle to free Alledia from the Elf King: finding the lost city of Cielis, former capital when the five great Stonekeepers who comprised the Guardian Council ruled Alledia. Meanwhile, Trellis, traitorous son of the Elf King has found Luger much the worse for wear after his defeat by Emily and defied an order to return home and be executed, and the Elf King has hired Gabilan the Assassin, an elf with a giant chip on his shoulder to go along with his giant ambitions, to kill them all.

In this book Kazu Kibuishi temporarily sets aside his determination not to resemble anyone else in order to celebrate a couple of his early influences. The scene where an airship is hired is obviously inspired by the similar spaceship hiring scene in Star Wars Episode IV - A New Hope and the quest for Cielis is clearly Hayao Miyazaki's visionary Laputa or Castle in the Sky reimagined all the way down to nearly identical airships!

With this volume Kibuishi has finished assembling the cast who will be taking the next step in the saga:

Cielis itself.

If you haven't read The Stonekeeper (Amulet Vol. 1) or The Stonekeeper's Curse (Amulet Vol. 2), this review will contain some mild spoilers.

Although her mother was saved, Emily has accepted that she is the chosen Stonekeeper and has a destiny that she just can't walk away from. After learning the story behind the stone in her amulet, she, her brother, mother, and allies set out to find the lost flying city of Cielis so the Guardian Council can help Emily come into her own and defeat the elf king.

This volume explains why the city of Alledia has gone to pot and how it fell into the control of the elf king in the first place. There are also some unlikely alliances formed and a few plot twists thrown in for good measure. Although the fantasy hero quest aspect seems eerily familiar (my mind often drifted to 'Lord of the Rings'; I could almost envision Emily succumbing to the amulet's power, and then rocking back and forth while stroking it, whispering "my precious") it was different enough to be its own enticing story.

As with the first two volumes in the series, the illustration, writing, and editing were phenomenal. Since I had a chance to read the pre-release greyscale ARC I can't speak to the colouring, but if it's anything like the previous volumes it will also be excellent and complementary to the scenes. And just like the first two volumes, I'm left itching to read the next installment.

" The cloud searchers" is the third book in the acclaimed young adult graphic novel series "Amulet." This book focuses on Emily, Coglsey, Navin and other resistance fighters on their way to the lost city of Cielis. Unexpectedly, the group joins forces with Trellis, the elf King's son and Luger-two characters who battled wtih the resistance fighters in the past over the magical stone Emily must carry. Now Trellis wants Emily's help to defeat the Elf King, whom he says is no longer his Father. The curse of the Stonekeeper is to eventually be taken over by the stone, and to become an empty shell so that the stone can use its magic to do harm. Gabilan, the Elf King's enforcer, finds and battles Emily and the resistance fighters; and is defeated by the power of the Stones. New characters Max Griffin and his soldiers then show up to show the way to Ceilis.

Kazu Kibuishi is the author and illustrator of this series. Kibuishi does a wonderful job with the illustrations, which are detailed and absorbing. The Stonekeepers story is very reminisant of the "Lord of the Rings" trilogy. The plot is told in a very straightforward manner. In many ways, it is a very good series for 9 to 12 year olds, but lacks humor and insight into the characters motives. At times, I wished for the character of Phone bone-from the series "Bone" to come in and make jokes to lighten up the mood a bit.

Reason for Reading: Next in the series.

Finally, the year long wait is over and Book Three is here and well worth the wait is was! The Cloud Searchers is the best book in The Amulet series to date! Kibuishi keeps taking this story further and deepening the plot with each book. Much happens in Book 3 that brings the storyline to new heights. We learn some background of the world they are in, Alledia, and more about the stones and their powers and purposes.

In this volume Emily and the gang are in search of the fabled lost city of Cielis, which some say may have taken to the skies to hide. Emily joins forces with a previous enemy, she looses two dear friends, she becomes more powerful and she finally learns what her purpose here is.

Kibuishi's illustrations are, as usual, fantastic. I love the buildings, cities and towns he creates. His creatures and enemies are dark and scary and this volume has an overall dark and oppressive atmosphere with its colours ranging from greys to black. This suits the story very well.

The author puts a few references to incidents from both previous volumes quickly here and there which a reader appreciates when there has been so much time since publication of Book One. I was excited from the first page! The only thing I'm concerned about is how long the wait will be until Book Four hits the shelves!

In the Amulet series there are stonekeepers. Stonekeepers are powerful people. Emily is the main character. In the third book Emily and Navin go to find Cielis. Navin is Emily's little brother. Cielis is a city of stonekeepers located in the sky. Leon escorts her to Cielis. Leon is a foxman, a bounty hunter. He found Emily in book 2 and trained her. He is her helper.

My favorite book in the Amulet series is the fourth book. My favorite part in book 1 is when Emily becomes a stonekeeper. My favorite part in book 2 is when Emily fights the giant and when Navin becomes the new commander of the resistance. My favorite part in book 3 is when Emily finds Cielis and finds a place where she fights an elf. Elves are an army that fights the council. The worst elf of is the Elf King.

I recommend this series to people who like comics, series and monsters. JG

Review of: "Amulet: The Cloud Searchers," by Kazu Kibuishi.

This is an action fantasy book that I thought my 4th grader would like. Although it is third in a series I was hoping that it could stand alone as the cover and synopsis seemed interesting. The storyline is as such: Emily, her brother Navin, and their crew board an airship to find the lost city of Cielis before the evil Elf King (and his minions), their enemy, find and destroy them. My 4th grader told me that he liked the color sketches and the storyline was good. He told me this book was like a mix of fantasy and science fiction similar to Star Wars. The foundation of the story was built on Books 1 and 2 so my Son had to fill in gaps with some of the back-story. All in all two fourth grade thumbs up. He likes it and I will be ordering Books 1 and 2. Four stars.

amulet #3
kazu kibuishi

Do you like books about an enchanted Amulet and a lost city than read Amulet #3 the cloud searchers. Emily is trying to escape the Elf Kings partner. They have to go into town to find a pilot to drive them to Celis the lost sky city. They meet Enzo the pilot to drive them to Celis. But they encounter some danger on the way like cloud tornados and sky eels.

Emily has been picked to be the new Amulet keeper. The amulet has magical powers that she has to find out. She lost her father when she was four only her and her mother survived. She has to find a captain to bring her to Celis. Emily has to trust the prince to take down the Elf King. Leon Red Beard is a red fox. He is training Emily to use the amulet. He researched Celis in his library. Caption Enzo is going to fly Celis. He has been a pilot for year’s.

Kazu Kibuishi made Amulet a really interesting series that leaves you at suspense at the end of every book. The third is my favorite because it takes place flying in the sky. I give it five stars because it has a lot of climaxes and suspense. I recommend this book to ages 9-12 that like action and mystery its so good you will not put it down. Its so good you might even feel like you are in the story. read Amulet 1-5 its the best comic i have ever read.

Great story that sucks you in within the first few pages. My daughter read them in three days. She loved them so much she made me read them, and I have to say I loved them as well. Beautiful artwork, great characters, intriguing plot. We are eagerly awaiting books 8 & 9.