Reception
The New York Times commends Brennan as "a master of the hairpin turn, leading readers in one direction and suddenly reversing their expectations . . . Brennan excels at maintaining suspense.”
Sponsored by The Young Adult Library Services Association, teen readers from the various YA Galley Groups selected Faerie Wars as the Teens' Top Ten book for 2003. School Library Journal stated that Faerie Wars has a "complex plot with plenty of drama and action". However, it criticised Faerie Wars for "sinking under its own weight". Nathan Brazil from SF Site commends Faerie Wars for plot that alternates between "provoking and serious" and " funny, fast paced adventure". He also comments on the lack of depth in the story. Nicholas Tucker from The Independent compares Faerie Wars to Harry Potter for its inventiveness and to Gormenghast for its dark themes. He also commends the Brennan for avoiding "unlimited melodrama in contemporary writing often ends up choking on its own rhetoric" by "infusing his story with affectionate irony as characters are brought down to earth by humour". Kirkus Reviews comments that Faerie Wars is the "perfect choice for Harry Potter fans who don't know what to read next, aside from unjustifiably archaic gender roles."
Carolyn Cushman reviewing for Locus commented that The Purple Emperor "lacks the novelty of the first volume, but the fast-paced adventure and numerous quirky characters keep things lively." Kirkus Reviews comments on The Purple Emperor that "Brennan cuts chapters off sharply, maintaining heated suspense, but the ultra-quick pinballing between threads is sometimes frustrating." The review also comments on the "gross-out factor" with "verbose worms are implanted in people's butts and speak to them inside their brains."
Kirkus Reviews on the Ruler of the Realm criticises "Brennan's characters for seem younger than their ages and his prose is often cluttered". However, "images are colorful, and the ricocheting narrative--each chapter ending in suspense and the next chapter jumping to a different plotline--pulls readers to a surprisingly satisfying conclusion."
Kirkus Reviews on the Faerie Lord criticises the novel for its "disturbing definition of female sexiness just tops off this queen (Blue)'s notably passive and love-focused role, and may well outweigh Brennan's sweet touches and lovely final revelations."
Oisín McGann, writing for the Inis Magazine, praises The Faeman Quest for having "a fast pace, a light-hearted tone and rich descriptive passages." However, it criticised the novel for having "a few key scenes...which seemed to happen while the reader isn’t looking."
Read more about this topic: The Faerie Wars Chronicles
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