Book Summary - Pendragon: The Quillan Games

“Pendragon: The Quillan Games.” the seventh book in the series by D.J MacHale, is a story about a teenage boy named Bobby Pendragon. Bobby at times is very brave,  and at other times very scared. He is smart and a good leader. When Bobby is faced with the decision to enter a set of games that can potentially end up killing him, he comes to the conclusion that he must enter, otherwise he will lose the territory. In the end of the story, Bobby learns the importance of never giving up and discovers the value of looking to your friends for help.

In the exposition of “Pendragon: The Quillan Games”, Bobby is expected to find a way to stop conqueror Saint Dane from pushing the Quillan territory and its people the wrong way on its future course of history. Bravely Bobby goes looking all around the territory looking for their traveler (guardian) so that Bobby gets a sense of what he is supposed to do and how to prevent it.  Bobby then finds the traveler of Quillan and learns that the only way he can save the territory is to enter in some “games” that could potentially end up costing him his life. Bobby’s bravery is shown through when he goes all around the territory while he is being chased and hunted to be captured.

At the climax of the story, scared but brave Bobby begins to understand that the only way to save this territory is to enter the games. Initially Bobby was thinking about just leaving the territory so that he may live without the fear of dying. Hearing that if he gives up, people will continue to bet their lives on whether or not certain people in the game will win, lose, live, or even die, he begins to find courage. Bobby gathers his courage, straightens up, and decides to enter the games if it means protecting the people of Quillan from betting their lives. This unselfish act shows that Bobby will do what ever it takes to save the people of Quillan, even if it means risking his own life.

In the resolution of “Pendragon: The Quillan Games,” Bobby enters the games and tells all the people of Quillan not to vote for him, hoping they don't wager anything, stupid,  like their lives. When Bobby enters the games and wins, it looks as if he has saved the territory. Then out of nowhere, a power hungry corporation forces the people to wager on the outcome of the games. Bobby then goes into thinking that all hope is lost because the traveler from Quillan joins the evil Saint Dane. Then while looking to his friends for help, a new traveler emerges and Bobby pulls himself together. Bobby doesn’t give up, he wins the final game but the outcome is not what everyone was hoping for as the people still continued to wager on the games. After his loss, Bobby moves on to the next territory. From this experience, Bobby learns when facing difficult decisions, to look to his friends for support and to never give up, even when the going gets tough.

At the end of the story, Bobby is still the same character he was at the beginning of the story. He is still a little scared and still is brave when he has to be. Bobby loses his second territory which only makes Saint Dane stronger. Through out the entire story Bobby’s motivation has been the same, to save the territories and prevent Saint Dane from growing stronger. I don’t think there is any better of a motivation than to save an entire territory.”