Matt de la Peña is the New York Times best-selling, Newbery-medal-winning author of six young adult novels and four picture books. Matt received his MFA in creative writing from San Diego State University and his BA from the University of the Pacific, where he attended school on a full athletic scholarship for basketball. de la Peña currently lives in Brooklyn, NY. He teaches creative writing and visits high schools and colleges throughout the country.
This book was a true struggle to get through and I literally had to force myself to turn on the CD on my way to work. Why am I still in this thing? For the 6th book, by Jennifer A. Nielsen. THIS, however, left a bad taste in my mouth.
Let's start with the positive.
Though not quite as masterfully as the previous book, Curse did explore Riq's character farther than The Stuck-Up Sidekick the first two gave him. It also was not bland—although that may have been best as the alternative was to give an almost cheap-horror-film quality to certain parts.
Moving right along...
Dak, had I been in charge of the next, fifth book, I would have immediately addressed his very serious time-traveling illness, the only thing to account for his purely idiotic lines and behavior, which completely go against his natural character. Consider the following: "Itchy [a nickname for the Mayan leader]! How is that bad boy? He never calls, he never writes�" "Here's some love advice for you: pick a girl who isn't moody but more like a boy, like Sera here! [paraphrasing]" and even in the face of horrific tragedy, continuing to use the quickly-worn-out name, "lover boy." Dak is now completely cringe-worthy.
Also, when using the complicated element of time travel in a book, it is best to stick to one of two methods: (1) "rewrite" time so that the future is new, save those who did the traveling, or (2) results of time travel incorporate themselves into the old future in subtle ways. 1 is the more possible version, and also the method used in previous books. This code is violated when Curse explained how a historical event they knew came about as a result of their actions with the Maya. Not a big thing to be noticed by younger readers, but still it bothered me, especially as the whole point of their travels is to CHANGE history, not fulfill it.
Last, but the least (favorite), is Peña's obvious disregard for Christians, in giving the monks a cruelness and disrespect for Mayan culture that would shame any man. Any time the monks were mentioned were with a who-do-they-think-they-are-invading-Mayan-land-and-impressing-a-religion-on-them attitude, instead of the I-have-this-incredible-news-that's-too-good-not-to-share aura that surround many missionaries. I do not know what really happened out there way back then, but the lack of an attempt to portray the "Christians'" side was almost insulting, although unfortunately becoming very popular in modern literature.
The verdict? Lame and underdeveloped for adults/teens, and weird, lame, uneducational, maaaaaybe bearable, and possibly nightmarishly freaky for kids. I can't yet say I would recommend this series to anyone.
so I loved the last three sooo much, and I was sooo excited to read the fourth! I read and was like " why the misery." It was sooo bad. I'm not a big fan of Dak, but he's hardly in it so the book was sooo bleak. But I liked the last one and the same guy wrote it so. I don't know it was just bad.
Three kids (Dak, Sera, and Riq) are on a mission to fix the future from disasters. If they fail to make the correct changes in the past there might not be a future. Sera has seen the future and there is no way to stop the Cataclysm while stranded with Dak and Riq thousands of years in the past. After their last three adventures, they find themselves in Central America for their next adventure. They get their long before the Spaniards do. They become friends with the Maya who do not behave like the stereotypes say. They thought the bloodthirsty stereotypes the kids had assumed were true. After spending time with the Mayas the mission of this adventure becomes clear. The point of this adventure is to keep a specific Mayan codex from being burned by the Spanish. The kids go forward in time, facing many dangerous obstacles along the way, and save the codex.
I would recommend this book because the suspense mixed with the mystery is very entertaining. When they were facing the dangers to save the codex, you really didn't know if they were going to be able to save it. I didn't like how some of the characters didn't seem the same as the last book. I wish one author wrote all the books but instead a different author writes each book. This makes variations in the characterization. However there are a lot of good things about the book. I like how the author makes history exciting. In this book the kids travel back in time to the Maya culture. most kids would think a Maya culture would probably be boring but Infinity Ring makes this seem exciting. They do this by including action scenes in the history. I would rate this book 4 out of 5 stars. Most of the stars came from the fantastic job the author did on this book. I left one star out because of the variations in the characters from book to book.
1) Sera, one of the 3 main characters is experiencing illusions that are telling her the Cataclysm is near, which is a disastrous event that will end humanity itself. Sera, Dak, and Riq utilize the infinity ring to teleport back in time to fix the "breaks" in time to prevent the foresight she has seen. But they encounter Mayan wars and more enemy travelers along their way. But after all their effort, it ends up their is still "breaks" in time, which will continue in the next books in the series in order to fix the breaks.
2) Readers that are interested in action and adventure/suspenseful books will be interested in it. While it also has blood and gore involved as their are wars.
3) The characters had an intense time while they were amidst puzzles and almost were enemies against themselves. Overall, they were cooperative in solving the mysteries and the clues that were provided to them by the infinity ring. The most significant relation was between themselves, but also had breaks in it while they argued about possible solutions often.
4) It was both action-packed and slow, while there were a lot of fighting involved, finding the actual solution itself was very very slow. The most important conflict was when other enemy time travelers took the codex, which would be the knowledge of destructive weaponry blueprints encoded.
5) I would recommend this to middle schoolers because it applies to us and has the genre type that suits me and possibly others.
They are definitely starting to mess up the time travel and their internal consistency. In this one, Sera thinks she programs in a certain time, but they end up at a different time - where they were supposed to go anyways. Then, the fix something and go to the original time to fix something related to the first thing. But the clue at the second stop has parts that only make sense if they completed the first stop. Since they are supposed to not have anything adjust due to their changes in the time-stream, the second clue couldn't be written the way it was. Also, the clues are getting harder because the SQuare wasn't completely programmed - and that doesn't make sense. Wouldn't they just be missing clues, not having actual clues that are just harder to figure out? I would probably stop reading here, but I've already checked the rest out from the library and I'm curious to see how it ends (plus it's only 1.5 hours to read each book).
While this series is so predictable that it's detracting from my enjoyment of the books, this particular one was better than some of the others. We actually get to see Rik, Daq, & Sera on two trips through time in this book. They visit the Mayas and try to save the original Codex (that doesn't mention the SQ). Along the way, we also find out more about Sera's experience of the Cataclysm.
I dislike time travel, for many reasons, but no need to go into it here ... The author was good with timeline consistency, and even added a little "destiny is inescapable" to the plot. The 3 protagonists, some of the most knowledgeable and organized kids I have ever read, are set on a mission to save time and existence by a group of time-watching, time-protecting adults. What is up with kid sidekicks and heroes? Anyway, they fall into a time they were not supposed to go to, but there is a point; i.e. destiny mention (avoiding spoilers). While there they learn that what they have been taught about a people is sorely inaccurate, family connections go beyond time, and friendship is the most vital relationship in the world. The story is definitely geared toward young teens and even younger children, but it was a nice page-turner. Low on action, bigger on mystery, droplets of "romance" and decent enough I would like to at least read the first 3 now. One should not start a series in the middle. This is one of the faults of the novel. There are lots of references to previous stories, incidents, and so on. There is a good attempt and execution to try to have the reader know enough about the past to keep reading on, but only if you have read the other stories. Some of the banter and chemistry between the protagonists seemed un-authentic. I would have to read the prior stories to know fact. In the end, it was a good fun and encouraging read
For the most part, I really, really enjoy this series. I love the history of it. With the ones like the last book, where I know a lot of the history, it's fun to watch it unfold. This one was really interesting for me, because I don't know quite as much about the history. I thought I knew more about the Maya than I did. (I even asked a fellow history teacher, and we were under some of the same incorrect beliefs about the Maya.) It makes me want to learn more, so when I come across things I don't know, I will do more research. I love learning new things. I also love that the books in this series, while they do have common elements, aren't just retelling the same story in a different century.
Having said that, I didn't enjoy this particular book as much as I liked the last two. I can't quite put my finger on it, I just didn't like it quite as much. (This one does have one of those historical paradoxes like the one found in the old movie "Somewhere in Time" -- where did the watch come from? That wasn't what bothered me, though.)
I will definitely continue this series to the end. And not just because I feel like once I've started it, I have to finish it...I really am having fun with these books.
MATT DE LA PENA REQUIRED AUTHOR This is book 4 of the infinity ring series where Dak, Sera and Riq travel back to the time of the Mayans to try and solve the riddle of the infinity ring. They arrive in a horrible storm where Dak gets injured saving a Mayan girl from a crumbling wall. The basic plot behind this book is that the three teenagers are historians that are trying to solve and help history while solving a riddle. Sera has a dream where she sees the future where her uncle is dead and so are her friend's Dak's parents, and she almost has the infinity ring stolen from her. Riq develops a relationship with a young Mayan girl who later leaves them clues in a cave for their escape (because they go farther forward in time) and a letter. The letter thanks Riq for his gift of friendship and for helping her realize she could be anything she wanted. Then they witness the torching of entire Mayan villages by a Spanish Monk who wants to rid the city of evil and the devil, as they notice that he is holding a codex that is fake. They plan an elaborate plan to replace it with the real one, which they do all while struggling to keep hold of the infinity ring. This was a fun read with lots of page turning action and good ideals taught like the power of friendship.
Curse of the Ancients is the 4th book in the Infinity Ring series where Sera, Dak, and Riq travel back in time to a Mayan village where they have to save the Mayan Codex from being stolen by another tribe trying to claim all discoveries made by the original creators before traveling again, but 100 years later to the same village. Once again they have to save the Mayan Codex but this time from the Spanish Conquistadors who want to rid the land of the Mayan culture and replace it with theirs by setting all traces of Mayan culture ablaze, including the Mayan Codex. However, the three time travelers are not alone. There is another member of the Hystorians in the village, but there are also members of the SQ the secret government who seek to stop Hystorians from fixing the time breaks they've created.
I bought this book when I was in the 5th grade only to read it a few months ago for a project, and I regret not reading it sooner on my own time because once I started I did not want to stop after 10 minutes of reading in class to wait for the next part. I was hooked and I recommend this book and the other 3 books before it. I do feel bad for Riq in the end though.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
We still haven’t heard much about the parents which was the WHOLE REASON THEY ARE TRAVELING THROUGH TIME!!!
And i never know what they’re trying to change
Nice that Riq got a little love story
- Sera has a memory of a giant flood - Have to figure out some riddle. Dak just wants food - Captured by Mayans and they had the ring - Actually trying to help. Dak is paranoid - They’re not historians which is surprising - Dak lost consciousness after getting smacked by the ceiling - Kisa asks about historians - Thinks kisa is part of the riddle - Ring won’t work because different calendar - One of the numbers in the riddle is present day - Riq wants to stay in this time - Recognizes they aren’t really changing history? - Riq thinks kisa left him a clue - Met the historian - Shown a door that had never been opened. They know a locksmith - Kisa left a letter for riq in the future. She became a historian! - Maria killed(?) someone who was trying to steal the ring - Find a hieroglyph that isn’t mayan, but chinese
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
I HATE that this series has online "games" in between the books that are necessary to the story line. In addition, I feel like the characterization of the characters changes from book to book. In one book, Riq and Sara seemed to have "chemistry" between them, and then that disappears -- which is FINE because Sara is 11 years old, and Riq is 16.
The concept is intriguing -- time travel, an organization which has manipulated time for its own benefit, breaks in time that need to be repaired -- but the writing is not consistent and the story line is a bit unrealistic. The kids need to be a bit older. Thinking about an alternate history is interesting as well.
Of course, a child who loved the Magic Tree House series would probably love this series as a next step up.
Matt de La Pena For some reason when I started this book I did not realize that it would be a middle-grade book, and then I got into it and didn't want to stop. It is the fourth installment in the Infinity Ring series and tells the story of Historians Scera, Dak, and Riq as they travel back in time to save the ancient Mayan codex from the evil reality changing SQ. This book is silly and entertaining, but the thing that was most shocking to me was when half way through the novel, one of the protagonists mentioned that they were only eleven. These kids are doing things way beyond their cognitive development, getting in fights, subverting time traveling terrorists, falling in love, driving motorboats, not to mention traveling all over the world and through out time.
CATEGORY SATISFIED: MATT DE LA PENA AUTHOR Though it costed some effort to get invested in the characters, this is a likable book. The story follows three time-traveling adolescents charged with saving the world by preventing certain events in history. There is a thread of early romance between two characters which finds its way to the center of the plot. Though I can't identify the specific reason why, the story-line felt somewhat contrived until the latter half of the novel. This is a good read for anyone over 10 years old.
It was pretty good but a large portion of the plot was quite unbelievable. The characters are all from different ethnicities of each other and the European Spaniards didn't even blink twice regarding a African boy running around pretending to be one of them. I'm sorta a stickler for maintaining realistic, time period prejudices. If it's based in the past, as hard as it is to read and write, I feel it's important not to try and change that history with the current prejudices if today. Because if this I found the story to be unbelievable.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
An interesting dive into two different times in Ancient Mayan civilizations. We get an idea of what Sera saw in her dream of the cataclysm. The three kids fix another break involving real people that actually existed (Father Diego de Landa), but like book 2 in Paris it is harder to see how that impacts history as young readers might know it. Book 1 & 3 were a little more familiar, maybe because they were figures and events in American history instead of world history. I plan to keep reading the series, partly because they are pretty quick reads.
This one pissed me off just as much as the last one and my daughter definitely won't be reading this series.
News flash Matt de la Pena: MAYANS PRACTICED HUMAN SACRIFICE, UP TO 80,000 OF THEIR OWN PEOPLE. So the "evil" monks who "can't leave us alone, we aren't hurting anyone" was pure and absolute BS.
The 6th book is Jennifer Nielsen's, so I will continue to it, even though the last two were garbage. I am losing my patience with the characters though. The seres is just too juvenile.
I really liked this one. I feel like all the characters grew up a bit in it which was great because the younger boy's attitude and use of "dude" was getting old for me. This one was also fun because it happened in more than one time period which gave great interest to the book and made it feel like it sped along quickly.
This was an amazing addition to the collection it got me so into it. I couldn't stop reading it when Dak was unconscious and I really enjoyed the kinda intense parts of when there being caught and everything. I really got to enjoy this one and think it went very well with the last few. Definitely recommend the read its really good.
I'm a little annoyed with the transition from one book to the next. Book 3 started out talking about their time with Dolly Madison, but that wasn't in book two. Then book 3 ends with us thinking they are going somewhere, but that's not where book 4 is. It shouldn't be that difficult to align these endings and beginnings.
I really like this series of Time Travel Books. In this book, Dak, Sera and Riq try to save the world by fixing problems in the past. This time they travel to Central America in the year 638 to help the Mayas save their true history. Some villains have tried to rewrite history and the heroes keep the real history of Mayan culture and traditions from being destroyed. It was a great adventure.
Very interesting to learn about the Mayan culture. I enjoyed this book for the most part. The main problem I had is that I'm really tired of the bickering that goes on between Dak and Riq. It's interfering with the story now.
It was cool to read about the Maya civilization! I wasn't a huge fan of how Sera looked down upon their science/medicine, but I can understand where she was coming from.