This Insider Feels Only Hope

SPOILER ALERT
This review is for those who have read or are familiar with the previous books, Disney After Dark, Disney At Dawn, Disney In Shadow, Power Play, Shell Game and Dark Passage, or don't mind knowing major spoilers for them.
SPOILER ALERT

~The Insider~
Kingdom Keepers
Book 7
By Ridley Pearson
Amazon ~ Powell's

Deep within the catacombs beneath an Aztec temple, a Disney witch doctor is summoning powers that should be left alone. As terrifying wraiths and demons attack the Archives on the Walt Disney Studios lot, leaving a trail of destruction in their wake, Finn, Willa, Philby, Maybeck, and Charlene are summoned to Disneyland fresh from high school graduation. They must stop an enemy that hasn't been clearly identified.

In this, the final installment in the epic Kingdom Keepers series, betrayal and ambition push the boundaries of loyalty. Chasing scattered clues in pursuit of a long-lost icon--whose magic offers a fighting chance against an evil that Walt Disney himself created--the Keepers find their hearts and minds tested in the park where it all began. Bonds that once threatened to fray are renewed under the pressure for survival. As the five are pushed to their limits--and then beyond--feelings intensify behind self-imposed walls of well-kept secrets.

With its dazzling action sequences and moments of touching intimacy, Kingdom Keepers VII: The Insider will leave readers breathless, cheering, and biting their nails. It's a winner-take-all battle for magical good--but then why is Disneyland burning out of control?

Not only was this the longest of the series, it also dragged way, way, WAY too long. The Insider included everything, plus the kitchen sink, yet still managed not to expand on anything other books set up. It took me three borrows from the library to get through this, and even then I almost ran out of time on the 3rd try.

You Will Never Reach That Passage

SPOILER ALERT
This review is for those who have read or are familiar with the previous books, Disney After Dark, Disney At Dawn, Disney In Shadow, Power Play, and Shell Game, or don't mind knowing major spoilers for them.
SPOILER ALERT

~Dark Passage~
Kingdom Keepers
Book 6
By Ridley Pearson
Amazon ~ Powell's

The five Kingdom Keepers and their core friends have uncovered a startling truth: Maleficent and the Overtakers (Disney villains) are plotting a catastrophic event that could have repercussions far beyond the world of Disney.

Aboard the Disney Cruise Line’s inaugural passage through the new Panama Canal, the Keepers and their holograms uncover a puzzle hidden within the pages of a stolen journal. The point of that puzzle will reveal itself in the caves of Aruba, the zip lines of Costa Rica, and the jungles of Mexico. A destructive force, dormant for decades, is about to be unleashed. The five Kingdom Keepers are to be its first victims.

I'm so glad I'm almost done with this series. This book took me forever to actually get to reading - I made just about any excuse not to have to read it.

The Game is Never Over

SPOILER ALERT
This review is for those who have read or are familiar with the previous books, Disney After Dark, Disney At Dawn, Disney In Shadow, and Power Play, or don't mind knowing major spoilers for them.
SPOILER ALERT

~Shell Game~
Kingdom Keepers
Book 5
By Ridley Pearson
Amazon ~ Powell's

As the Disney Fantasy joins the cruise fleet, a special treat is in store for guests aboard its inaugural sail from Cape Canaveral to Los Angeles: the Disney Host Interactive teenage guides will be part of the Fantasy crew.

Finn, Maybeck, Charlene, Willa, and Philby are to attend the cruise as celebrity guests, and to perform a ribbon cutting for the DHI server to go live. The Fantasy is now the most advanced cruise ship in the world.

But all is not right belowdecks. Strange things are happening. Unexplained phenomena. Only the Kingdom Keepers know the truth behind their invitation: nearly every Disney villain is represented onboard the new ship: whether on its decks or in its theaters. It's believed the Overtakers have infiltrated the cast and are "stowaways." Worse: it is believed they have stolen an important journal that once belonged to Walt Disney himself--Finn has been having dreams about this--and that some kind of mission is planned.

The ship sets sail filled with enthusiastic guests and crew, and the battle is on in new and exotic arenas: the beaches of Castaway Cay, the caves of Aruba, the locks of the Panama Canal, Costa Rica's rain forest zip line . . . But the end game is far more complicated and intense than anything the Kingdom Keepers had planned on. If the Overtakers get their way, a power will be unleashed that no one will have the ability to vanquish: Chernabog, dormant for years, is about to have his full powers restored. . . .

First things first, this series has no concept of continuity, as further evidenced in Book 5. And I don't even mean stuff that's changed from previous books, I mean stuff that happens all within this book.

Cut Off The Power

SPOILER ALERT
This review is for those who have read or are familiar with the previous books, Disney After Dark, Disney At Dawn, and Disney In Shadow, or don't mind knowing major spoilers for them.
SPOILER ALERT

~Power Play~
Kingdom Keepers
Book 4
By Ridley Pearson
Amazon ~ Powell's

For the five teens who modeled as Disney Hologram Imaging hosts, life is beginning to settle down when an intriguing video arrives to Philby's computer at school. It's a call for action: the Overtakers, a group of Disney villains, seem to be plotting to attempt a rescue of two of their leaders, both of whom the Disney Imagineers have hidden away somewhere following a violent encounter in Epcot. A staged attack by new Overtakers at Downtown Disney, startles the group. One of their own, Charlene, is acting strange of late. Has she tired of her role as a Kingdom Keeper or is there something more sinister at play? When caught sneaking into Epcot as her DHI, acting strictly against the group's rules, Finn and Philby take action. Has the 'impossible' occurred? Have the Overtakers created their own holograms? Have they found a way to 'jump' from the Virtual Maintenance Network onto the Internet, and if so, what does that mean for the safety of the parks, and the spread and reach of the Overtakers? Are they recruiting an army from outside the parks? A dark cloud in the Kingdom Keeper era is unfolding, and with dissention in their own ranks, it's unclear if there's any chance of escape.

Don't know if it's because of the break between the first three and this one, or if the writing has actually improved, but I liked this book a lot more than the others. That said, I still have a bit of nit-picking to bring up.

There Was No Way Out for the Keepers

SPOILER ALERT
This review is for those who have read or are familiar with the previous books, Disney After Dark, and Disney At Dawn, or don't mind knowing major spoilers for them.
SPOILER ALERT

~Disney In Shadow~
Kingdom Keepers
Book 3
By Ridley Pearson
Amazon ~ Powell's

With the adventures set forth in the first books now behind them, Kingdom Keepers 3: Disney In Shadow follows the five teens, Finn, Philby, Willa, Charlene, and Maybeck as they search to find Wayne, their mentor and head Imagineer who has mysteriously gone missing. Concerned Wayne has been abducted by the Overtakers-Disney villains, who along with other Disney characters, take over the parks when the turnstiles stop spinning, and want desperately to steer the parks to a far darker place-the five kids pick up a major clue from a close friend, Jess, whose dreams (nightmares, really) often accurately predict the future.

The very few clues from Jess's dream lead the kids into Disney's Hollywood Studios and Epcot--through imaginary worlds that become real, by imaginary kids who are real. Each clue seems tied to the last, and with the stakes growing ever higher, what starts out as a puzzle ends up as a fight for their lives. Through a transparent paper box, a quest for a sword, rides on Soarin' and Maelstrom, life-and-death encounters with giant snakes, and a devious Maleficent, the Kingdom Keepers not only begin to decipher deeper meanings to the clues, but discover new truths about themselves and their ever-growing friendships.

I have do doubt whatsoever that this series was started before a plan was fully mapped out. And I'm not saying that's automatically a bad thing, but if you're gonna change something between book 1 and books 2, 3+, you'd better have a good explanation for how/why it changed.

No Attempt to Stop the Kingdom Keepers

SPOILER ALERT
This review is for those who have read or are familiar with the previous book, Disney After Dark or don't mind knowing major spoilers for it.
SPOILER ALERT

~Disney at Dawn~
Kingdom Keepers
Book 2
By Ridley Pearson
Amazon ~ Powell's

It's supposed to be a happy day at the Magic Kingdom—the return of the teenaged holographic hosts. But things go very wrong when a sudden lightning storm disrupts the celebration, and Amanda's mysterious sister, Jez, disappears. The only clue is the sighting of a wild monkey in the Magic Kingdom during the storm. The mystery deepens as Finn is contacted by Wayne, an old man he hasn't heard from in months. Wayne tells Finn that there's trouble at the Animal Kingdom: the evil Overtakers have gained control of one of the computer servers that will be used to operate Daylight Holographic Imaging there. That means that if any of the holographic hosts fall asleep, they will go into comas—permanently.

Definitely much better than the first. There was more characterization in the first 2 chapters of this than there was the entire first book.

The Park After Dark

~Disney After Dark~
Kingdom Keepers
Book 1
By Ridley Pearson
Amazon ~ Powell's

In this fantastical thriller, five young teens tapped as models for theme park "guides" find themselves pitted against Disney villains and witches that threaten both the future of Walt Disney World and the stability of the world outside its walls.

Using a cutting-edge technology called DHI—which stands for both Disney Host Interactive and Daylight Hologram Imaging—Finn Whitman, an Orlando teen, and four other kids are transformed into hologram projections that guide guests through the park.

The new technology turns out, however, to have unexpected effects that are both thrilling and scary. Soon Finn finds himself transported in his DHI form into the Magic Kingdom at night. Is it real? Is he dreaming?

Finn's confusion only increases when he encounters Wayne, an elderly Imagineer who tells him that the park is in grave danger. Led by the scheming witch Maleficent, a mysterious group of characters called the Overtakers is plotting to destroy Disney's beloved realm, and maybe more.

This gripping high-tech tale will thrill every kid who has ever dreamed of sneaking into Walt Disney World after hours, and wondered what happens at night, when the park is closed.

The idea behind this book turned out to be better than its execution. I've been curious about this series ever since it came out. Sure, it's a cash grab, but if it's enjoyable and imaginative, who cares? Unfortunately, at least as far as Book 1 is concerned, there was way too much imagination and not enough explanation. What I mean is that it's one thing to build a world of magic and science and wonder, but it's another to immerse your reader in it.