The Diamond of Darkhold: The Fourth Book of Ember (Books of Ember)

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Editorial Reviews:

Product Description
It’s been several months since Lina and Doon escaped the dying city of Ember and, along with the rest of their people, joined the town of Sparks. Now, struggling through the harsh winter aboveground, they find an unusual book. Torn up and missing most of its pages, it alludes to a mysterious device from before the Disaster, which they believe is still in Ember. Together, Lina and Doon must go back underground to retrieve what was lost and bring light to a dark world.

In the fourth Book of Ember, bestselling author Jeanne DuPrau juxtaposes yet another action-packed adventure with powerful themes about hope, learning, and the search for truth.

Customer Reviews: Read 10 more reviews...

4 out of 5 stars

This Ember Glows Dim September 5, 2008
12 out of 16 found this review helpful

Ever since they emerged from the City of Ember, I have been waiting for them to go back and see what has become of their city. This book finally takes us back to the City of Ember. Perhaps others may have been waiting too.

Darkhold's Ember is nothing like the City of Ember of book 1. This time the story is not satisfying, despite offering a reasonable explanation about the fate of those who wandered into the Unknown Regions. Other than that, the journey felt rushed and not well developed. I doubt this was intentional to indicate that Ember is now irrelevant.

There is also an issue with filler content. For example, there is an entire subplot of minor characters that could be dropped to save at least 20% of the book and nothing would be lost at all.

The author also continues to explore themes of alternate energy that she touches on in her other books, especially Car Trouble.

The first book of Ember presented with an amazing world unlike anything that we had experienced before. A city of hope, created with love, reflected with a greatly crafted amount of detail, suspense, sorrow, and expectations. You will not find any of that here.

The problem with sequels is that they get compared to the previous installments. In that department the Diamond of Darkhold is clearly the 3rd best in the series, after City of Ember and People of Sparks. Unfortunately, this also makes it the 2nd weakest.

Without question, this book is an enjoyable read for the Ember faithful and serves as a reasonable conclusion for the series. Sadly, compared with past glory, this ember glows dim...

A note of caution for new readers:

Despite the quick summary in the first few pages, new readers to the series will be lost. They will most likely not enjoy this book as it really assumes that they had read the previous three books - which really should be read as they are quite good!

3 out of 5 stars

Nothing new September 2, 2008
10 out of 17 found this review helpful

I wish this book had had more depth to it. There are too many different points of view from minor characters that are not developed well. We're supposed to believe that the people of Sparks are "struggling" through a harsh winter, but I saw no description or details that made me believe there was any real danger. In fact, there was hardly any description of anything or anyone. I never felt a part of the world, and therefore didn't really care what happened to Lina and Doon (or any of the other POV characters). The book relies too much on setting and character development from the previous novels and gives us nothing new.

The ending seems to indicate that we will see more of this world, probably farther into the future. Let's hope she spends more time on setting, plot, and character development in future installments.

2 out of 5 stars

The Sparks have Fizzled Out September 14, 2008
6 out of 10 found this review helpful

Jeanne Duprau needs to leave the story of Ember and Sparks alone. It was a dynamic duet that worked and was a sophisticated and well written two book story that was finished. Book three was bad enough and probably one of the worst books I've ever read, so I was leary about trying yet another Ember story. Diamond of Darkhold is not as bad as Yonwood but it is very lame. This installment does not add to the original story in any significant way, and there are just pages and pages of fluff and filler that say and do nothing. I can wrap up the whole plot to this story is a minute. Very black and white and straightforward, no suspense or mystery, no action and the author's writing has certainly declined. She is riding high on the success of the first two books which have now turned movie and she is trying to eek out all she can out of a story that is simply done. I felt this book a waste of money and time and would not recommend this book. I gave it a generous two stars only because she does bring back the creative element of electricity once again at the end of this novel, the one key creative element that made the first two books wonderful. After the last two books, I doubt I'd pick up another book by this author ever again.

5 out of 5 stars

A Stunning and Poignant Conclusion to the Books of Ember September 11, 2008
4 out of 7 found this review helpful

Jeanne DuPrau has written beautiful and poignant conclusion to the story of the City of Ember. As always,
the writing is perfect, with just the right combination of adventure and thoughtfulness. In this last book we
see what the future holds for Lina and Doon and while we are left with a feeling of hopefulness, there is also
a certain sadness as we see Ember fade in the distance. I hope to see more books from this creative and
talented writer in the future and recommend all the books of Ember to readers of any age.

5 out of 5 stars

Well worth the wait!! September 23, 2008
2 out of 4 found this review helpful

We read all three of the previous "Ember" novels and enjoyed them all. Waiting for this one was hard, but it was well worth it! We were afraid that the story would resolve with this novel, but it appears there is opportunity for future segments of the story. The author writes so well that it is a pleasurable read in addition to an enjoyable storyline. We hope the first movie does it justice!!

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