Robert Beatty (1) (1963–)
Author of Serafina and the Black Cloak
For other authors named Robert Beatty, see the disambiguation page.
Series
Works by Robert Beatty
Tagged
Common Knowledge
- Birthdate
- 1963
- Gender
- male
- Nationality
- USA
- Places of residence
- Asheville, North Carolina, USA
- Occupations
- writer
- Short biography
- Robert Beatty writes imaginative fiction for middle grade and young adult readers. He lives in the forested Blue Ridge Mountains of Asheville, North Carolina with his wife and three daughters (ages 3,12,14) who help create and refine his stories. The Beattys love to explore the beautiful Biltmore Estate, the darkened forest trails, and the creepy old graveyards where his novels take place. In the category of "write what you know," Robert has four cats, four dogs, and four horses; he loves birds and nature, history, fantasy, and period dramas. Robert's Disney-Hyperion novel "Serafina and the Black Cloak" prowls into bookstores in July 2015. In his past lives, Robert was the chairman/CTO of the highly respected literary magazine, Narrative Magazine. He was also one of the early pioneers of Cloud Computing, the co-founder/CEO of Plex Systems, and the co-founder of Beatty Robotics. In 2007, he was named an Entrepreneur of the Year.
Members
Reviews
Meh. Slow plot, infuriating repetitions ("no I, only we"), multiple dei ex machina. Plenty of local geographic details, but not very true-to-life Appalachian culture.
This was a solid second edition to this trilogy. I felt like the first book was better, but the storyline was fast paced and engaging. We learned more about Serafina and Braeden, plus we had a bunch of all new characters! I would recommend this book and I can't wait to read the third one and finish off the trilogy. 4.5 out of 5 stars.
I ended up liking it more than when I started it. It was slow going at first, but got better and picked up and got a little more interesting.
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Awards
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Associated Authors
Statistics
- Works
- 10
- Members
- 4,398
- Popularity
- #5,696
- Rating
- 3.9
- Reviews
- 98
- ISBNs
- 114
- Languages
- 8
- Favorited
- 1
Young Serafina is the daughter of the Chief Mechanic at the Vanderbilt's Biltmore Estate in North Carolina. While he works throughout the estate, she is the "Chief Rat Catcher" (a job lovingly given to her by her Pa) and stays out of sight. No one living in the great house knows she exists. Pa and Serafina secretly make their home in the basement.
While working in the basement one day, Serafina witnesses a terrifying scene. Soon, children at the Estate begin visiting one by one. Although Serafina's Pa has forbid her from wandering around the Estate, and especially from going into the forest surrounding the mansion, Serafina believes she is the only one who can find the missing children and put a stop to the terror.
This middle grade book combines many different genres and good character and plot development to interest adult readers. While there are elements of magic and fantasy, this book is much more grounded in reality than something like the Harry Potter series (which may make it more or less appealing, depending on reader preferences). The author is a fan of the Biltmore Estate, and nicely weaves historical detail about its construction, architecture, and the Vanderbilt family into the plot. There's even a touch of North Carolina folklore.
Like many good middle grade books, the main characters grapple with age-relevant issues of friendship, trust, questioning their parents/guardians, acceptance, etc.
A solid 4 stars.
Thank you to NetGalley and Disney Hyperion for a galley of this book in exchange for an honest review.… (more)