Stoneheart (The Stoneheart Trilogy)

A couple of weeks ago I read [b:Jack Flint and the Redthorn Sword|2105989|Jack Flint and the Redthorn Sword|Joe Donnelly|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1408939187l/2105989.SY75.jpg|2111376] and gave it two stars (my review here), now I read [b:Stoneheart|40240034|Stoneheart (Stoneheart trilogy, #1)|Charlie Fletcher|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1527680017l/40240034.SY75.jpg|2118649] and give it four, yet I see their overall ratings in GoodReads are not dissimilar. What's the difference?

On the face of it there are a lot of similarities: both books have a protagonist about the same age. Jack Flint is 13, George Chapman in [b:Stoneheart|40240034|Stoneheart (Stoneheart trilogy, #1)|Charlie Fletcher|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1527680017l/40240034.SY75.jpg|2118649] is 12, In both the protagonist steps out of the normal world of school and teachers and homework into a strange fantasy world full of danger. And both encounter a rather aggressive girl in the other world. But of the two I enjoyed Stoneheart more. So I'm trying to put my finger on the difference.

George Chapman and Jack Flint are both bullied in the everyday world, but learn to be brave in the fantasy world. There are other similarities. There is a quest, a task that must be accomplished before normality can return. There are allies and enemies, and there are betrayals and suspected betrayals. There is a talisman, or a mcguffin if you prefer, an object that has to be sought that is supposed to solve the main problem.

There are also differences in the setting. Jack Flint's other world is really other, with different geography, different rulers and government, different society and social structure. George Chapman's world is London in the 21st century (though one which still has Routemaster buses with a rear platform), but it is a London in which statues come to life and war among themselves, though the everyday citizens of London are quite unaware of it. The premiss is even more fantastic than Jack Flint's world, but I think the main difference is that it is more consistently handled.

Another similarity is that both books are described as forming part of a trilogy. I'm not sure that that is the best description, though. They are more like [b:The Lord of the Rings|3263607|The Fellowship of the Ring (The Lord of the Rings, #1)|J.R.R. Tolkien|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1486871542l/3263607.SY75.jpg|3204327], a single book divided into three volumes for convenience. The story continues from the first volume, and I don't think I'll finish either, because I didn't see the second volume in the library I borrowed them from. In the case of the Jack Flint one, that does not bother me much, but I would like to read the sequel to [b:Stoneheart|40240034|Stoneheart (Stoneheart trilogy, #1)|Charlie Fletcher|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1527680017l/40240034.SY75.jpg|2118649].