The Cheap Reader

I'm a total sucker for quest books. There's nothing more that I enjoy than traveling to a far off land with the 'chosen' one to fight bad guys and save the world. It's a simple idea but I keep finding myself drawn to these type of books. Merchant of Death is no different.I found it a bit hard to get myself situated in the book. Travelers are a brand new (and I assume made up by MacHale) idea/creature. Because of this I was a bit in the dark about many things. Even though I was confused it was a good thing because Bobby and his friends were in the dark as well so we were learning together. Eventually I started figuring out how things work so I got more into the book. I really like the idea of multiple worlds and how everything changes between them. It's a really interesting idea. I look forward to seeing how the author deals with it in the other books.I didn't love the characters. They didn't really jump out to me. If anything they seemed like cookie cutter people. Maybe it's just because it's the first book and there was so much to do? It wasn't a turn off though. Just an observation.The story is a good one. I know I was a torn by the situation as Bobby was. I wanted him to return home because he didn't ask for any of this but I knew he needed to stay and help the people. Kudos to the author for getting me invested like that.The bottom line? It's an enjoyable read but not my favorite of this type of book. Glad I have the next 3 books on hand.