User blog:7GSTF/Revisiting The Elementalists

I set a precedent by writing about some of the best Choices series ever written, and I am going to continue on that path here. I had read the Elementalists a long time ago, as part of a Youtber's playthrough, since diamonds weren't as easily available as they are now. I had enjoyed the story. I hadn't noticed too many glaring issues, but now that I have finished the two part series, I can talk about the good, the bad and the ugly of the series from a place of authority. I won't be dividing this blog into sections, I as do sometimes - I will simply talk at length about what stood out to me in these two books. I am not considering their holiday special, as it is too short has little merit when compared to the two fully fledged books that Pixelberry published all those years ago.

What was clearly evident both then and now was the fact that this book series was heavily 'inspired' by Harry Potter (HP). Yes, the memory of the book series was fading fast, but back in 2018, there was still a good amount of buzz associated with HP. Consider the fact that the last film was released 12 years ago! (Yes, 2011!) It is therefore easy to realise how much the fanfare has died down today, which is only natural. The Elementalists borrows a good bit from the Harry Potter series, but doesn't rip it off completely, which is why it is still a good series to read. The idea of sources and types of magic are certainly unique, while the 'Attuned' and 'Unattuned' concepts are ripoffs of Muggles and Wizards, respectively. Raife, in essence, is a copy of Voldemort, but there is no such equivalent for Kane who is in the second book. the lore is similar, but not the exact same, which allows for some narrative exploration into various other concepts. I felt that it was a throwback to my childhood. I completed reading the HP series when I was 11 years old, way back in 2009, and this series was a lovely window into the thoughts, feelings and emotions that I felt back then. This series was rather innocent, and filled with fantastical events and full of the most magical worlds. I will give PB credit for using Wood nymphs instead of the goblins that Rowling used. The ideas of a 'rooted' and 'free nymph' were certainly unorthodox. They could have explored the wood nymph angle more with a spin off or something similar, but alas, PB's writing has changed greatly. I will not rant about that again.

In this book, we have one dynamic that is well fleshed out. The dynamic is one between the twins. Only HSS Class Act and in this series do we get to play as a pair of twins, and this book executes it better. The dynamic with your twin, Atlas is realistic and portrayed well too. Typical sibling talk, with disagreements and arguments abound, as well as the occasional heartfelt moment now and then. Atlas behaves like a sibling, with the back talk, the snarky quips, the displays of annoyance, the playfulness, the competitiveness, the occasional twinge of jealousy, and the teamwork to take down opponents and outsiders. It is rather endearing. This is a sibling relationship that I can not only get behind, but also make sense of. They understand each other, but do not feel the need to completely agree with each other on every topic. The siblings actually talk about family matters, their alienation from each other and the perennial threat that they face in the form of Raife and Kane. They do not talk about inappropriate NSFW subjects all the time, something that the recent books from PB do all the time.

The animations, artwork and effects of the spells are on point. With each of the spells casting a unique and easily recognisable signature, the writers and artists showed us that they really cared about how this book looked like, not just how good it was to read. The spells are a mixture of the obvious, to the funny, the dangerous, the powerful and the nefarious. They are not similar to the HP spells. They are original and consequently, very fun to use.

The inclusion of 'Thief', a substitute of Quidditch in HP and similar to flag football is 'take it or leave it' for me. It doesn't spark the imagination as much as Quidditch did, and it certainly doesn't feel as exciting either. However, it is action packed, and it does feature prominently in some events in service of the storyline, so it is not a complete wash. However, it is not exactly a reason for reading this book either.

The friend group is great, with a mixture of various personalities. Griffin is the realist, Shreya is the fiery, passionate, elite, Zephyr is the one who goes with the flow, Aster is cheery, and a breath of fresh sunshine, and Beckett is the prim and proper. Simply put, there is something for everyone here. You can choose your LI, with the exception of Zephyr, from these chaps accordingly. It must be said that Beckett is a forced LI. I didn't realise that this was much of an issue the first time I read this duology, when I watched a Youtube playthrough. However, when I read the books this time, this forced LI nonsense was painfully clear. Beckett got twice the number of scenes that other LIs got, and that is with the choice of not romancing men being taken by me! It was infuriating. A reminder to be sure, of the days when Choices forced LIs willy nilly onto the readers (they got rid of most of the choosing and the forcing, when they introduced single LI books). It must be said that their characters aren't wafer thin, and they show a great degree of change and growth over the course of the story.

The teachers are well developed characters as well, and they provide a good degree of depth to the story. Professor Swan in particular is an excellent character. She had a number of excellent scenes as well, and her connection with the MC is one which is certainly genuine, built on understanding and love. Kontos and Englund are entertaining to say the least, Katrina is way too pretty to be just a side character (she could have been a brief LI), and she is quite intelligent as well. Dean Goeffe is a good example of a twist villain. PB wrote her dark side pretty well.

Coming to villains, both of them lived up to the hype. Neither go down easily, and they seriously trouble the MC for a long time. The climactic battle is satisfying, with an excellent conclusion. The battle scene is filled with great moments too. There is very little wrong here. They have their own reasons for their evil, and it is a good thing that PB have clearly differentiated the two villains in their personalities and their motivations. Raife and Kane are clearly different and at no point do you feel that the conflict between the MC and them is simply a rehash of the previous conflict. PB have put in some work regarding their villains, and the results are clear to see here.

The storyline is coherent, and while it could have gotten one more book to close out the series, the ending is thankfully not a rushed one, and consequently, it ends on a rather happy note. Most will say that this ending, by PB's standards was a very good one, and befitted the series. It did its job. Nowhere does the action drag, and none of the chapters feel too long or boring. There is always something interesting happening. The characters have decent story arcs of their own and nowhere does it feel that they have become too one dimensional.

Apart from the over focus on Beckett and the 'Thief' tournaments, there was little not to love in these two books. It definitely rejuvenated my interest in Choices, if only momentarily. It hit me with nostalgia, for it was a throwback in more ways than one to a better era of writing and storytelling. I feel justified in the rating I gave it last year in my comprehensive book review for Choices. In a way, it welcomed me back to an era of Choices that still inspired me. Well, it certainly brought back many good memories.

Thank you PB for making this book.

7GSTF