The Council of Mirrors
Written by Michael Buckley
Narrated by L.J. Ganser
4/5
()
About this audiobook
Grany Relda’s body has been hijacked by the Master, and it’s up to Sabrina, Daphne, and the rest of the Grimms to fight for her freedom and that of Ferryport Landing in the series’ grand finale. As war rips the town apart, Sabrina consults a team of magic mirrors, who prophesize that the
only way the good guys will win is if she leads the army herself. Now, Sabrina controls the fate of all the Everafters, the very people who have made her life so difficult since she and Daphne arrived in Ferryport Landing. Will they listen to a Grimm? And can she really save them?
The beloved Sisters Grimm series is the perfect opportunity for existing fans to revisit the adventures of the Grimm family and for new readers to discover the magic of the series for the first time.
“Kids will love Sabrina and Daphne’s adventures as much as I did.”—Sarah Michelle Gellar, star of Buffy the Vampire Slayer
Michael Buckley
A nomad at heart, Michael Buckley has travelled widely in the Himalayas, Central Asia, and South Asia. He is author of a number of books to these regions, including: --Eccentric Explorers: wild and wacky adventurers of the Tibetan plateau --Travels in the Tibetan World: detailing personal voyages to many Tibetan enclaves --Shangri-La: a Travel Guide to the Himalayan Dream --Tibet: the Bradt Travel Guide Books about environment crisis in Tibet: --Meltdown in Tibet (Palgrave-Macmillan, New York, 2014) is about serious environmental issues on the Tibetan Plateau. Also available as ebook version. --Tibet, Disrupted is a companion digital photobook, updated and revised, published 2020. This is available for download via Amazon Kindle, Apple Books or the iTunes Store. The photo-based book is over 430 pages long and focuses on visual presentation with minimal text. --This Fragile Planet His Holiness the Dalai Lama on Environment Photobook with quotations from His Holiness, compiled and edited by Michael Buckley published on Apple Books platform. Published in larger-format print version by Sumeru Books, September 2021 --The Snow Leopard's New Friend Tibetan Animal Tales. A children's book for ages 8+ featuring 10 tales about the amazing animals of Tibet. The back of the book features profiles of the real animals as well as section on Activities. Published on Amazon Kindle platform and Apple Books platform. Published in print version by Sumeru Books, September 2021. Print version translated into Tibetan, published in India by the LTWA, September 2021. As well as being a writer, Buckley is a passionate photographer, documentary filmmaker and environmental explorer. He is filmmaker for three short documentaries about major environmental issues in Tibet that go under-reported--or not reported at all. To find out more, go to www.WildYakFilms.com/: --Meltdown in Tibet == about dams and water problems on the Tibetan plateau --From Nomad to Nobody == about the plight of the vanishing nomads of Tibet --Plundering Tibet == about the devastating impact of mining in Tibet --Mekong Apocalypse == about the devastating impact of China's megadams on Cambodia and Vietnam
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Reviews for The Council of Mirrors
25 ratings6 reviews
- Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5**spoiler alert**First of all, I would like to say that I have read and enjoyed books 1 through 8 of the Sisters Grimm series. Most of the characters were likeable, the scenarios were entertaining, and the battle was, if nothing else, interesting. That being said, I was disappointed with the conclusion, in particular the ending. The battle/war scenes were well written, but some of the plot twists, such as the death scene after the wedding, were predictable. The ending, though predictable, could have been written better. Through cheesy dialogue (and a good-alway-triumphs-over-evil feeling that was so overdone I felt sick to my stomach), the story ended happily as we all knew it would.But then the epilogues.The first epilogue was difficult to read. Not just because it wasn't the ending we all knew was going to happen eventually (though that may have been a small part of it), but also due to the fact that Sabrina's whole personality had changed. She wasn't the sort-of-troubled, independent girl that we had followed from "The Fairytale Detectives". Instead, she was a secretive adult who was sacrificing everything she was to marry some guy she didn't even love. Some guy who didn't even know what an everafter was. Where was the "the queen of sneaks"? Where was the girl who had risked her life to fight the Scarlet Hand? Where was the girl who had endured Puck and his pegasi army?Apparently, she got lost on her way to the altar.And towards the end, when everyone's favorite flying boy appears, it seems like the future was changed a little TOO much, because all the maturity future Sabrina promised doesn't exist. It's as if Puck heard about Sabrina's extreme personality change and decided to remind her about the good old days when he used to throw glop grenades at her and turn her green.The first epilogue was less substance and more "where everyone is now", but the entire premise felt forced and just plain wrong. By tweaking the ending of the book a little, deleting the first epilogue, and rewriting the second, Michael Buckley could have concluded the series on a much stronger and believeable note.Now to discuss the second epilogue...It starts off as the first epilogue: an update on the characters lives. But it also had Sabrina complaining about being an adult...and a a parent. She mentions a nameless danger (possibly a new book opportunity-Sisters Grimm: The Second Generation), and then finds out that her daughter has sprouted wings. Apparently, Puck has also hopped aboard the denial train, as Alison and Emma know nothing about everafters or even being a Grimm. It's like Daphne and Sabrina meeting Relda for the first time, only in Council of Mirrors, there is no excuse. Puck and Sabrina have intentionally let their daughters be ignorant to their heritage (something that hurt and troubled the original sisters Grimm) for no reason.All in all, "The Council of Mirrors" was a good book with some glaring errors, which I can only attribute to either laziness or boredom on Mr. Buckley's part. If you are a fan of the series, you should definitely read this, because whether we like it or not, this is canon. However, you may not be fully satisfied at the conclusion.
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5This is the last book in a series of 9 books which cover about 1 year in the life of two young girls who lost their parents two years ago. After spending 1 year in foster care, they are reunited with a grandmother they have never met in the city of Ferryport Landing where book number 1 begins. Like with the previous books, The Council of Mirrors starts with a blurb that will be repeated in the last ⅙ of the book. THEN the first chapter starts two weeks earlier.Sabrina is now 12 and Daphne is now 8. Ferryport Landing was originally named Faerie Port Landing and began when the Brothers Grimm brought a boatload of real life Everafters to New York (right outside of NYC) from Europe. See, they didn’t write fairy tales, they were chronicling the real lives of the Everafters. There is a forcefield around the city that doesn’t allow the Everafters to leave AS LONG AS a Grimm descendent is also living there... That is why the grandmother was not known by the girls - their father had had enough and refused to be part of the keeping of the Everafter chronicles.At the start of this book, Sabrina and Daphne are trying to save their grandmother from The Mirror created by the Evil Queen (aka Bunny) who made him then asked him “Who’s the fairest of them all?” She also created 20 or so other mirrors who are now helping the girls. First, as the other mirrors call him as he was the prototype, has escaped the mirror and is currently residing in the body of Grandma Relda.Most of the Everafters have been following him for the last few years as part of a group called The Scarlet Hand. It has torn families apart as Beauty is helping the Grimms but the Beast and their daughter are with The Scarlet Hand. Cinderella (aka Cindy) has been helping the Grimms but her human husband has caused problems for them. Prince Charming has been married to three different princesses, but still really loves Sleeping Beauty. They have never married because of issues in her past from the REAL story before Bunny (the evil queen) rewrote the story making herself into the evil queen worried that her daughter is prettier than she is. 6 of the dwarfs live in the subways of NYC but Seven has been taking care of Prince Charming.In the end, of course the girls are able to save the day, though many of the Everafters do NOT live happily ever after as they are killed, but Grandma Relda is saved and Mirror learns about love. ( )altonalibrary Aug 8, 2012
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5This is the last book in a series of 9 books which cover about 1 year in the life of two young girls who lost their parents two years ago. After spending 1 year in foster care, they are reunited with a grandmother they have never met in the city of Ferryport Landing where book number 1 begins. Like with the previous books, The Council of Mirrors starts with a blurb that will be repeated in the last ⅙ of the book. THEN the first chapter starts two weeks earlier. Sabrina is now 12 and Daphne is now 8. Ferryport Landing was originally named Faerie Port Landing and began when the Brothers Grimm brought a boatload of real life Everafters to New York (right outside of NYC) from Europe. See, they didn’t write fairy tales, they were chronicling the real lives of the Everafters. There is a forcefield around the city that doesn’t allow the Everafters to leave AS LONG AS a Grimm descendent is also living there... That is why the grandmother was not known by the girls - their father had had enough and refused to be part of the keeping of the Everafter chronicles.At the start of this book, Sabrina and Daphne are trying to save their grandmother from The Mirror created by the Evil Queen (aka Bunny) who made him then asked him “Who’s the fairest of them all?” She also created 20 or so other mirrors who are now helping the girls. First, as the other mirrors call him as he was the prototype, has escaped the mirror and is currently residing in the body of Grandma Relda.Most of the Everafters have been following him for the last few years as part of a group called The Scarlet Hand. It has torn families apart as Beauty is helping the Grimms but the Beast and their daughter are with The Scarlet Hand. Cinderella (aka Cindy) has been helping the Grimms but her human husband has caused problems for them. Prince Charming has been married to three different princesses, but still really loves Sleeping Beauty. They have never married because of issues in her past from the REAL story before Bunny (the evil queen) rewrote the story making herself into the evil queen worried that her daughter is prettier than she is. 6 of the dwarfs live in the subways of NYC but Seven has been taking care of Prince Charming. In the end, of course the girls are able to save the day, though many of the Everafters do NOT live happily ever after as they are killed, but Grandma Relda is saved and Mirror learns about love.
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5My biggest gripes with the story were the major plothole/inconsistency at the end that was never clearly addressed and the scenario in the very last epilogue - two huge problems that I just couldn't ignore. I suppose the plothole/inconsistency (no mention of what happened to the Scarlet Hand Everafters; based on earlier events in the series, they would have been released from the castle) was hinted at in the final epilogue, but I feel like it really should have been dealt with more directly. As for someone not knowing something in the final epilogue, that made no sense at all to me. Despite those problems though, I did enjoy reading the book with my kids and thought that overall it this was a good, satisfying ending to a fun series. I especially loved the way the author decided to resolve the problem with Mirror. It may not have been very realistic; but this was a children's series after all. I'm glad it ended on a positive note rather than a dark one.
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5This is the last book in a series of 9 books which cover about 1 year in the life of two young girls who lost their parents two years ago. After spending 1 year in foster care, they are reunited with a grandmother they have never met in the city of Ferryport Landing where book number 1 begins. Like with the previous books, The Council of Mirrors starts with a blurb that will be repeated in the last ⅙ of the book. THEN the first chapter starts two weeks earlier.Sabrina is now 12 and Daphne is now 8. Ferryport Landing was originally named Faerie Port Landing and began when the Brothers Grimm brought a boatload of real life Everafters to New York (right outside of NYC) from Europe. See, they didn’t write fairy tales, they were chronicling the real lives of the Everafters. There is a forcefield around the city that doesn’t allow the Everafters to leave AS LONG AS a Grimm descendent is also living there... That is why the grandmother was not known by the girls - their father had had enough and refused to be part of the keeping of the Everafter chronicles.At the start of this book, Sabrina and Daphne are trying to save their grandmother from The Mirror created by the Evil Queen (aka Bunny) who made him then asked him “Who’s the fairest of them all?” She also created 20 or so other mirrors who are now helping the girls. First, as the other mirrors call him as he was the prototype, has escaped the mirror and is currently residing in the body of Grandma Relda.Most of the Everafters have been following him for the last few years as part of a group called The Scarlet Hand. It has torn families apart as Beauty is helping the Grimms but the Beast and their daughter are with The Scarlet Hand. Cinderella (aka Cindy) has been helping the Grimms but her human husband has caused problems for them. Prince Charming has been married to three different princesses, but still really loves Sleeping Beauty. They have never married because of issues in her past from the REAL story before Bunny (the evil queen) rewrote the story making herself into the evil queen worried that her daughter is prettier than she is. 6 of the dwarfs live in the subways of NYC but Seven has been taking care of Prince Charming.In the end, of course the girls are able to save the day, though many of the Everafters do NOT live happily ever after as they are killed, but Grandma Relda is saved and Mirror learns about love. altonalibrary Aug 8, 2012atms Aug 28, 2012
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Sisters Grimm are Sabrina, age twelve, and Daphne, who is eight. This is the ninth and final book in “The Sisters Grimm” series. The premise for the story is that fairy tale characters are real beings known as “Everafters” and that years ago Wilhelm Grimm brought them all to America, established a city named Ferryport Harbor in New York state on the Hudson River for them, built a magic wall around it to protect them, and appointed his descendants to watch over them. However, war has broken out between a group of rebels known as the Scarlet Hand, led by the Magic Mirror, who want to leave, and its opponents, led by Prince Charming, who seek to follow Wilhelm’s original plan. Some of the main characters include the Big Bad Wolf (Mr. Canis), Red Riding Hood, the Titan, Briar Rose (Sleeping Beauty), Snow White and the seventh dwarf, Puck, Pinocchio and Gepetto, the Wicked Queen (Bunny Lancaster), Morgan le Fay, Baba Yaga, Grendel, Goldilocks and the Three Bears, King Arthur and his knights, Robin Hood and his men, the Queen of Hearts, and many others. In previous books, the Magic Mirror had captured Sabrina and Daphne’s parents, Henry and Veronica, and their little brother Basil to use the baby in his plot to escape. During this time, the two girls lived in several foster homes until they were located by their Granny Relda Grimm and brought to live with her at Ferryport Landing. Mirror fails in his plan for Basil, so after the parents escape with the baby he captures Granny Relda and decides to kill all the Grimms so that the magical barrier will collapse. In the meantime, Sabrina has gathered the other magic mirrors and seeks their advice on how to deal with their enemy. They tell her to join forces with the Scarlet Hand against Mirror, in exchange for offering all the citizens of Ferryport Landing their freedom. What will happen? Can they free Granny Relda? And will any of them survive the battle? Not having read the first eight books of the series (The Fairy-Tale Detectives; The Unusual Suspects; The Problem Child; Once Upon a Crime; Magic and Other Misdemeanors; Tales from the Hood; The Everafter War; and The Inside Story; there is also A Very Grimm Guide with extra information about Fairyport Landing, the characters, and the series itself, which might be very helpful in explaining the plot), I was admittedly at a disadvantage picking up the story in book nine. As a result, some things were a bit confusing, especially at first. Numerous plot devices in the book are dependent upon understanding events that had happened in earlier books, certain individuals are identified by a number of different names so that keeping who’s who straight can be difficult at times, and several characters seem to have switched back and forth between the two sides with relative ease. At the same time, the tale is told in a very exciting manner that moves along quickly and readily keeps the reader’s attention. As to language, there are a few childish slang terms, such as kicking or saving someone’s butt, and the ubiquitous “OMG” (someone may claim that it means only “Oh my gosh,” but we all know what it really means). One character is reported to have gone through several failed marriages and another is said to have been uncomfortable with her “husband’s ex;” also one individual is called a “harlot” (does someone really think that these things are appropriate for a children’s book?) And towards the end, a lot of destruction and death occur. In fact, the publisher’s blurb says, “This final chapter is the end of the road for several beloved characters.” For kids who have seen an average of 8,000 murders on television by the time they finish elementary school, this may be no big problem, but sensitive children, especially on the younger range of the given reading level, could be affected adversely. My conclusion is that while this isn’t a terribly bad book, it doesn’t have anything particularly worthy to commend it as a truly great book.