Book Review: The Riddle of Fire by Thea Stilton (Incanto #4)

 

  Note: The title of this book has been translated into English by me for the reading comprehension of this blog's viewers as the book itself isn't available in English (yet). The original title reads Incanto #4: L'enigma del fuoco.

The fourth book, and the last I'll review from this series. Like I said before, they stopped translating the Incanto series into Dutch after this one, and since I don't speak Italian and it has not been translated into another language I speak, my Incanto journey unfortunately has to end here. I don't mind it that much because so far this has definitely been the most underwhelming series I've read by Geronimo and Thea Stilton so far, but it's not outright bad, either. Just mostly harmless and simple. 

Let's have a look then, shall we? Spoilers ahead!

Samah is our protagonist this time around. She's struggling a bit with the fact that she's the oldest sister, causing her to feel very responsible and protective over her younger four sisters, who don't always get along. She also has to prepare a speech for a meeting at the school. But when one day the evil wizard Egor encloses the school in a circle of fire, the girls will have to team up once again in order to find a vial (and of course its contents) that can put a stop to Egor's spell. But Egor is not alone this time, with his evil apprentice also trying to thwart the girls in his name.

It's a decent installment, however nothing special really. You can definitely tell that this was still rather early into the series. So far (like I've explained in my other reviews) the stakes in these books are usually rather low and the conflicts solved easily, but I feel that possibly in the later books things could get (a bit) more serious and high-stakes. Of course, I really can't know since I won't be able to proceed with the series unless they translate further, but at least I think that's the direction they were heading into. The series consists of fifteen books total, so it'd make sense to eventually become a bit more serious and high-stakes, especially since Egor is an ongoing threat who keeps returning.

There's definitely some elements in this book I liked better than in the other books. I think I liked Samah's arc about being the older sister and gathering the courage for her speech the best. Like with the other books, usually the main personal struggle of each of the sisters we're focusing on is rather simple, but they're not bad, either. But Samah's arc I felt was pretty complete and just neat. I think she's my favorite of the sisters in this series, even beating out Yara (who is my favorite in the alternate universe companion series to Incanto: Princesses of Fantasy Kingdom). 

I also liked the inclusion of a new threat, Egor's apprentice. His name is evading me right now, but he was a cool addition and it's also nice to have an antagonist who actually actively engages with our main heroines. Of course, Egor also exists, but he's usually more of a distant evil force to be reckoned with rather than a villain who gets up close and personal with the heroes in order to try and defeat him. Which is fine and all, but it does make him feel a bit unmemorable, since we rarely get to see the real Egor. It's usually just one of his spells we encounter, not the dark wizard himself.

The apprentice of course isn't Egor himself, but it's at least neat to have a more personal antagonistic character who engages with the our heroines. Makes the threat feel a bit more real and personal, rather than it just being a spell caused by a distant villain we never see. Of course, Egor could very well show up in future books, but again since I can't proceed with the series anymore I will never know. Still, Egor's apprentice was a nice touch and would made for a good recurring antagonist to serve under our Big Bad.

Now, for things I don't like so much: pretty much my criticism from the last review as well. The stakes in these books are just usually a bit too simplistic. And, like I said there also, of course these books are for a slightly younger target audience, but that doesn't mean that no effort should be put into the conflict or plots. It's just so easy and honestly kind of predictable how each book goes.

The formula is basically: One of the girls is having a personal problem at school (giving a speech, struggling with etiquette, being shy, etc.); Egor enacts some dark spell on the school (eternal winter, kidnapping the animal companions, a circle of fire, etc.); the girls unite and contact their mentor Alden, after which they see a riddle in the book they must solve and go on their journey; they encounter some minor problems on their journey (sometimes caused by Egor, sometimes by outside factors) that are solved pretty easily; after which complete the final riddle and thus their mission, eventually leading to victory over Egor's dark spell. The book then ends with a conclusion at the school where the central protagonist has now overcome her personal struggle from the beginning.

Again, we're only four books in so future installments could very well ditch this formula, but it just feels old even this early into the series. And like they didn't put in a lot of effort into the plots. Egor also doesn't feel like much of a threat if his spells are so easily defeated by five teenagers.

Another criticism I had in my previous review which still holds up here: I think our protagonist are far not proactive enough in standing up against Egor. Literally every book they only decide to do something about his spells (note: not him himself as a threat!) when he enacts them. But that doesn't really solve the problem at all: Egor is still out there somewhere and can just do whatever bullshit evil spell he wants next. You'd think that after a few books our heroines would be like "Hmm, since we're the protectors of the realm maybe we should find Egor and find a way to stop him before he preforms a spell we cannot stop one day." 

That's not what they do, at least not so far. They just sit around living their happy lives, and should Egor do something they stop his spell but never once consider to put an actual stop to him. Remember, Egor is not just some random guy who casts a spell every now and then; he's an actual dark wizard who wants to bring down not only our heroes and also their school with a ton of innocents in it, possibly all of Incanto. 

Our five heroes are the only ones who are capable of stopping them because they're the secret protectors of the realm...and they just don't do their job properly, by not seeking out Egor and putting a stop to him once and for all. Just imagine if Egor one day casts a spell they cannot stop, then they basically would've doomed their school, possibly all of Incanto because they refused to actually stop the problem at its source. Since these are our protagonists, the protectors of the real our heroes, as a reader you just want them to get off their royal princess asses and do something about Egor for once. Don't just wait until he casts his next spell, at least attempt to seek him out and stop him.

I know these books are more lighthearted children's books, but that doesn't excuse them from lazy writing especially if it makes our heroines look rather incompetent in the process. Heck, even Alden could suggest it since he's their wise old mentor, but he doesn't, either. He's perfectly fine with Egor just being out there and fucking shit up every now and then so long as the girls keep trying to stop his spells. I don't know, this feels like bad writing. I'm not asking for the girls to kill Egor or whatnot, but they can still go on a mission to stop him (capture him or take away his magic or something) without going against the lighter tone of the Incanto series.The girls not actively seeking him out in the first two books is somewhat excusable because Egor was only just starting to perform his evil spells and all that, but by book three and especially book four you want your heroes to be proactive and stop the damn guy causing so much trouble to the land.

Overall I don't consider any of the books in this series to be bad. They're simple, they're fun, and they have good moral lessons. But they also feel awfully formulaic and our heroines don't feel like the most competent of characters when they're actively not doing anything about the source of all of their problems. 

While I am a bit disappointed I won't be able to continue my Incanto reading and reviewing journey, I do not consider it a huge loss because of this. The books are fun to read, but they're not the best the Stiltons have to offer.

Rating: 3/5