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    Century #1: Ring of Fire
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    Century #1: Ring of Fire
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    Century #1: Ring of Fire
    Audiobook8 hours

    Century #1: Ring of Fire

    Written by P. D. Baccalario

    Narrated by Carrington MacDuffie

    4/5

    ()

    Currently unavailable

    Currently unavailable

    About this audiobook

    Every hundred years, four kids from four cities must save the world.

    Rome, December 29.

    A mix-up with their reservations forces Harvey from New York, Mistral from Paris, and Sheng from Shanghai to share a room with the hotel owner's daughter, Elettra. The four kids discover an amazing coincidence-they all have birthdays on February 29, Leap Day. That night, a strange man gives them a briefcase and asks them to take care of it until he returns. Soon afterward, the man is murdered.

    The kids open the briefcase. In it they find a series of clues that take them all over Rome, through dusty libraries and dark catacombs, in search of the elusive Ring of Fire, an ancient object so powerful that legend says even a Roman emperor couldn't control it.

    In the first book of the Century quartet, Italian author P. D. Baccalario begins a mystery that will take four cities and four extraordinary kids to solve.


    From the Hardcover edition.
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherPenguin Random House Audio
    Release dateSep 8, 2009
    ISBN9780307582447
    Unavailable
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    Reviews for Century #1

    4/5

    52 ratings12 reviews

    What did you think?

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    • 4/5
      A intriguing story about four kids born on the same date (the day after mine) more or less thrown into a mystery race though Rome, against time and a mad man with a magic violin. I loved the way the author uses history and natural forces more than magic and plays with the symbols that all ready exist within the city's borders (like the star of Italy and the violin of Nero) instead of making up too much. Make you learn much more than you would have expected when you opened the book. The characters are also more than just four versions of the same, but I'd like to see more of the differences. The language was also great to be a children book, but I really struggled with it being written completely in present tens. It was exiting enough as it was.
    • 2/5
      Ring of Fire by P. D. Baccalario (Century Quartet #1)Pages: 304Release Date: September 8th, 2009Date Read: 2011, November 12-22ndReceived: BorrowedRating: 2/5 starsRecommended to: 10+SUMMARY -Fernando of Melodia, owner in part of the Domus Quintilla hotel in Rome, has made a huge mistake. He came to the airport, expecting to pick up a French woman and her daughter to transport them to the hotel - but now three other families are all saying they booked the same room for the same night! Fernando's daughter, Elettra, makes room for the foreign children in her own room - Sheng from China, Mistral from France, and Harvey from America. Things seem to go smoothly until the children discover they all have something extraordinary in common. When they are given a briefcase by a man who is clearly in trouble - and later killed - the four children team up to discover what this briefcase is about, before another murder is committed.MY THOUGHTS -There are books out there that are childish but timeless. Childish in the manner of The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe, or in Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone. These books are not rare, but they are not easy to come by, either. If you think I'm going to say that Ring of Fire falls into this small category, you will have to forgive me - I will say no such thing. I wish it wasn't so - I really wanted to love this book - but it fell short in a lot of areas.The writing is very short. Like... Oh, it's strange. It's also a translation, and some of the phrases had me cringing. For one, they often described the MC as "the girl" or the Antagonist as "the man". Soooo annoying.In the end, I just skimmed. How sad. I don't feel remorseful at all.CHARACTER NOTES -Elettra was a really neat character, I'll give her that. Sharp, witty, kind, and willing to work hard. My only problem? She seemed a bit too sharp. Like, too smart and knowledgeable and trained for a 12-year-old. Slightly unbelievable, don't you think?The other children were just...meh. Harvey - serious in an unrealistic too-mature-for-an-American-teen-his-age. Sheng - I found him quite stupid (while he tried to be funny). You'd think he'd start babbling off in Chinese every once in a while in his nervousness or fear; but no, the only Chinese he ever said was, "Hao"...for everything. And Mistral - just flat.Jacob Mahler, the villain, wasn't near enough spooky or intimidating or nasty mean. Based on his description (he carries a violin that entices people when played and makes them fall asleep; it also turns into a weapon from a horror film) you'd think he'd be amazing. But no. I mean, maybe the point-blank writing style takes away the mystery and excitement.STORY NOTES -Too easy. Waaaay too easy. Maybe not to the typical 11-year-old who hasn't had a full taste of the world and good literature yet. But to an adult who has read nearly 500 books and who has written a few (drafts) - just, stop, ok? No more. I can't take how easy it is. There are no disappointments, setbacks, or frustrations. Even for a children's book, that's just not very good story-telling.There was one scene in the very middle that struck me as really cool, but it was the only scene. The children are searching a professor's house and they discover something very interesting about it - and it turns into something intense and - stops. Things lull. Holes form. Beatrice suddenly gets a whim to save the girl. Why was she here in the first place? You know what, nevermind, I don't care.SUMMING IT UP -A lull of boringness. Oh, my sister, how I wish I could have liked it. I'm sorry - I really tried.Nothing For the Parents. 10+
    • 3/5
      This is a cute mystery for kids aged 9 and up. I especially liked the Roman setting and the kids are pretty believable as kids - all with distinct personalities. There's a whole section of pictures and scrapbook items in the book that follows the kids' journey through Rome. Others have said it is reminiscent of The DaVinci Code, but it feels like a good old-fashioned kids' mystery - like Encyclopedia Brown or Scooby Doo or Johnny Quest (the original, not the cleaned up remade ones).Honestly, this reminded me of the Easter egg hunts my folks used to do for me starting with an egg that had a clue to lead me to the next egg, and so on. Sadly, my Easter egg hunts never occurred in Rome.I especially liked the sense in the book of Other Adult Things hovering in the background - you can sense these things are there, but since the story is from the perspective of kids you don't delve too far or expect much explanation. This added to the reality of the kids' voices and I really liked it for that.
    • 4/5
      A mix-up with their reservations forces Harvey from New York, Mistral from Paris, and Sheng from Shanghai to share a room with the hotel owner's daughter, 12 year old Elettra. The 4 kids discover an amazing coincidence, they all have birthdays on Feb.29 Leap Day. That night, a strange man gives them a briefcase and asks them to take care of it until he returns. Soon afterward, the man is murdered. The kids open the briefcase and find a series of clues that take them all over Rome in search of the elusive Ring of Fire, an ancient object so powerful that legend says even a Roman emperor couldn't control it.
    • 3/5
      First in a trilogy, this tries to create a sense of mystery and intrigue but falls flat. Nevertheless, kids will not be able to see the gaps in the story, especially those who are just graduating to reading longer books and will feel a real sense of accomplishment finishing a more adult looking and sounding book.
    • 3/5
      Elettra, Harvey, Mistral, and Sheng are four 12-yr-olds who just happen to share a Feb. 29 birthday and end up sharing a room at Elettra's father's hotel on Dec. 29. They also happen to get involved in a murder, a mystery, and a puzzle that began hundreds of years ago. Who is the mysterious professor that died on the bridge and handed the kids his briefcase full of ancient maps and toy tops? And who is the mysterious violin player after the briefcase? The kids don't know it, but they've been handpicked to fulfill an ancient prophecy. Book 1 in the Century Quartet series.
    • 3/5
      Every hundred years four children are selected to take on the task of....something. Even after finishing the book I'm not entirely sure what that task is fully. The four children, Elletra, Harvey, Mistral, and Sheng find themselves thrown together by the oddest of circumstances. It becomes obvious that these circumstances have been set up to place these four key players in the correct position to begin. And so it does begin...in Rome. The descriptions of the city were quite nice and my version included a few pages of colored photos af some of the points of interest which was nice since I know not much about Rome.The story itself revolves around the action the four children take once they meet and find themselves in posession of several strange articles. We follow their escapades as they try to solve the mystery of what these items mean and the power they must hold, for a killer has been set on their trail that will stop at nothing to have them. The children are likeable but there is very little depth or growth to them. Their journey is filled with accidental findings to help them continue when there were no apparent clues to help them.The book ends with an obvious cliff hanger which I feel inclined to add to my TBR list if only to figure out what the task set for the children really is.3/5
    • 3/5
      According to legend, every 100 years mankind is tested and, in order to be saved, four children must take on the task of saving the world...On December 29, thanks to a hotel reservation mix up, four children find themselves thrown together in one room in Rome. Elettra, the hotel owner's daughter, Harvey from New York, Sheng from Shanghai, and Mistral from Paris. In getting to know each other, they find out they are all Leap Year babies. Suddenly, a freak blackout drowns the city in darkness and the kids decide to take the opportunity to explore.On the streets of Rome, the kids run into a man who gives them a briefcase. Wearily, they take it back to the hotel and open it. Inside they find a series of clues that make no sense to them at first, but soon they find themselves traversing the city in search of an elusive answer, running from a dangerous hit-man, and being drawn deeper into a centuries old mystery.This book sounded very interesting to me and I was looking forward to it. I tend to like stories where characters are searching for the unknown with a bit of the paranormal/mysterious element thrown in but this one came up short for me. I am usually very good at suspending disbelief when needed, but here I couldn't buy that these four kids would automatically bond, roam the street of Rome, and get in that much trouble without anyone noticing. For instance, one of the kids gets kidnapped and no one notices and the other kids say nothing. I had trouble with that. Also, I found Harvey to be very unlikable and wondered why these kids would still want him around. He said no to everything, was moody, and generally mean and annoying. Yes, there is always room for the contrarian but he was the epitome and then some.I will say this --- I have been to Rome and I think the author did a good job of describing the city and it's little quirks. There are many fantastic things in Rome that can make the imagination run wild. I wish more of that was incorporated here but the story was about these four kids and not the city. Also, it did pick up toward the end and had it's moments. For 12 year-olds (the ages of the children in this book), I can see the draw here --- to be in a big city, without parents butting in, and involved in a centuries old mystery, it could be very thrilling.This is the first book in the Century series. Four others are planned.
    • 4/5
      "Century, The Ring of Fire," is an excellent book for young adults. The author, Pierdomenico Baccalario, a native of Italy, sets this treasure hunt in Rome. His searchers are an international quartet of preteens, all born on February 29. They are drawn together by unknown forces to find the mysterious Ring of Fire. The book blends the right amount of fantasy and reality to keep the reader enthralled. It is impossible to read slowly through the book, as the action and mystery draw you enticingly from page to page. I found the photographs and illustrations, which were exquisitely done, to be very helpful in following the trail of the kids around Rome. The only regret is that we will have to wait for the following books, as this is the first of four parts.
    • 4/5
      A fun read, one that I hope to return to soon!
    • 5/5
      I have currently been suffering of a sort of brain fog, not allowing me to focus on any reading material that isn't simple, so as I was wandering around the book store looking for something that would perhaps help, I came across the Century books which looked totally beautiful, all 4 lined up in place. I never read Ulysses Moore, but I am aware that it's a juvenile book so I thought - why not? I never read any adventure or mystery books either, so picking up this series was new for me.
      I am giving it a 5/5, but I'm not sure if it's because it helped me get through my reading dizziness or because it is actually great. All I know is I couldn't put the book down and read it in about 2 days which was a goal for me considering the state I was in. I can't wait for the second one.
    • 5/5
      On December 28th three families from different countries arrive at a small hotel in Rome run by 12-year-old Elettra’s father. Because of a mix up in the reservations Elettra finds herself forced to share her room with the children of the visiting families (Harvey, Sheng, and Mistral), only to discover a strange coincidence. Upon the discovery that they all share same rare birthday, February 29th, a blackout hits the city. When the children wander outside they encounter a doomed old man who is running for his life, and who he hands them a briefcase full of strange objects. Later they discover that the man was murdered. Now the new friends find themselves with the mysterious contents of the briefcase, and must follow the clues to retrieve the Ring of Fire before the same killer who the man was running from catches them. WOW is the first word that comes to mind when I started reading this book, I loved how quickly the story moved along. The characters are nothing to new, and are a bit stereotyped, but it really didn't seem to matter with the uniqueness of this adventure.