If you were in middle school during the 2000s, you probably read the Pendragon series by D. J. MacHale. Also known as Journal of an Adventure through Time and Space, these novels have nothing to do with King Arthur Pendragon of British legend; they follow Bobby Pendragon, a teenage boy from modern-day Earth, as he crosses the cosmos to keep the worlds in balance.

The series fits the themes I have looked at so far in Tragic Flaw September, and serve as a strong case-in-point, with obedience and community driving much of the conflict.

Ten novels total, one for each of the ten “territories” (a world at a specific location in time and space), contain this adventure. Each territory has a “turning point,” a critical moment that forever influences the direction it goes in. Enormous social change, for better or worse, is on the line. Bobby and the other Travelers can use special means to transport themselves across these worlds, so that the turning point swings in a way that benefits its inhabitants.

Enter Saint Dane, a rogue Traveler with shape-shifting and mind-controlling abilities, who seeks to use the turning points to bring ruin. He resembles figures like Loki (mythological and Marvel), the Four Horsemen from Revelations, the Egyptian god Set, and Emperor Palpatine from George Lucas’s Star Wars – out to dominate what he can and destroy what he cannot.

The scale of the series’ stakes is large, yet the stories are on-the-ground. The turning points relate to areas such as technology, warfare, and governance. In each novel, Saint Dane sides with one faction out to oppress or eliminate another, while the Travelers ally themselves with the targeted group.

One can already see how the tragic flaw of community comes into play, as Saint Dane leads others to commit tyranny, corruption, and even genocide. He often aligns himself with factions of the governing elite, where the tragic flaw of obedience also appears. A number of horrors happen due to people doing what they are told, no matter the consequences. Though, occasionally, he leads chaotic criminal groups in insurgencies against the legitimate rulers.

Playing on people’s hatred for the outside and loyalty to their orders, Saint Dane’s most formidable weapon is the shortsightedness of humans.

I chose to review the novels as a group, for one weakness they have is their formulaic repetitiveness. The territories themselves have their unique flavors, but the similar story structures leave a stale aftertaste over time.

The series also tapers off in the later installments, particularly in the events surrounding Bobby’s Earth friends Mark and Courtney. The conclusion still works in the end, and the final chapter helps bring everything full circle, so I can appreciate most of the journey.

And now, for the score:

Plot: 3/4

Character: 3/4

World-building: 4/4

Details (Scene, Prose): 4/4

Miscellaneous: 4/4

Total: 18/20

It is great for young adults, using more mature language but not going overboard. A fun adventure, presenting stories where the fate of worlds boils down to tragic flaws. I definitely plan on rereading them at least one more time.

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