Book Review: The Merchant of Death

Synopsis

Bobby Pendragon is a seemingly normal fourteen-year-old boy. However, there is something very special about Bobby. He is going to save the world.

Comments

I’m surprised the age range is so low for this book.  There is quite a bit of language and some fairly mature (teen) level sexual content.  This is better for 12+.

Language

Level 1 and 2 [?]

Sexual Content

Teen boy kisses teen girl, fairly descriptive. Long physical description of girl. Boy ‘makes out’ with girl. Boys discuss Pamela Anderson’s ‘before and after’ cosmetic surgery. Mention of Playboy magazine. Boys brag about getting to ‘first base’. Scantily-clad (‘thong’) girls on posters in boy’s room. ‘…she’ll think I was some kind of perv, watching her from the bushes.’

Drugs/Alcohol

Teen smokes cigarette.

Violence/Disturbing

Guns, spears, arrows used against people. Man hit by a train, ’sickening thud’. Quite a bit of description of animals killing and eating people,including a man being killed by an animal in the coliseum. Beast explodes. Ick. Villagers are tortured and starved by soldiers, babies die. Girl held hostage with knife at her throat, boy threatened.

Social/Family

Kid is bullied-threatened and physically hurt. Kids defined as nerds, dweebs. Coarse description of overweight woman ‘gordo’ , ‘doughy’, ‘fatso’.

Religion/Spiritual

‘evil intensity’ Historical reference to Christians being fed to lions.