Often times the first is the book that is the most interesting because the author probably gets talked into turning it into a series. Unless the books are planned to be a series, they often turn out to be disappointing.

He's not related to the composer, no. The first book in the series is one of my absolute favorite books ever. The rest of the books are good, but I think they decline as you go through them. 

senf

I have added Tchaikovsky to the list. Is he related to the famous composer? That would be an interesting relationship. What did you think of this series? I am always interested in good pointers.