Gripping

I know I keep telling you guys about the Fablehaven series by Brandon Mull, but I'm enjoying it so much it's kind of hard not to gush about how good it is. Grip of the Shadow Plague is the unlikely third title in the series, which, even though I had been told was a trilogy, will actually be five books. I really liked the first one, I loved the second one, and this one just blew me away. I really like the characters and their world, but what I enjoy the most is how the pieces fit together. Something (a place, an object, a creature) that was mentioned in passing in one book will later rise to prominence and come into play in another one. New characters will be introduced, and they will change the dynamic between the characters we already knew. Said well-known characters will evolve, change, and find themselves in a completely new position that will alter the aforementioned group dynamics, and all of a sudden you have a new playground with the same old pieces. Am I making any sense? These constant changes are fun and unexpected, but they are conducted in such a way that you can only nod and say "Well, it makes perfect sense". Add to that an exciting, fast-paced story that Mull tells in a supremely entertaining way, great dialogue, and plenty of adventure, and the result is a rollercoaster of a series that I can't recommend enough.