Instruct: Classify Amazon reviews into positive or negative sentiment
Query: The characters are the only redeeming quality...

...and even that isn't good enough. Niles is an amateur, and marks himself as such clearly in this series. Predictability, boring descriptions, and poor sentence structure are everywhere in the novels, jarring the reader from their "suspension of disbelief." The characters might have been good, but Niles treats them one-dimensionally. Foreshadowing ineptly reveals the entire plot early, making the only suspense in the book the curiosity of who will be knocked off. The books follow the "small problem / adventure / big problem / dramatic battle of epic proportions with lots of carnage" formula that leaves little room for originality (kind of like the cheesy "Mighty Morphin' Power Rangers" series). All in all, the books are only worth it if bought for $2 or less used.