THE NYC WEREWOLF IN CAMELOT
Book Four
by Bert Murray & Phyllis Fahrie
A college-aged werewolf and his compatriots travel back in time to Camelot, where they go up against Mordred, Morgan le Fay, and a vampire in this fourth installment of a YA fantasy series.
It’s 2018, and Lucy and James are on a beach at night while visiting the Hamptons estate of James’ aunt, known as Mrs. T. “I never thought so much about moonlight until you and I became a couple,” Lucy tells James, a nod to the fact that her boyfriend belongs to the Brotherhood of Wolves, a centuries-old society of werewolves. The Brotherhood has long been influenced by the tales of King Arthur and the Round Table; in fact, James’ late uncle, known as Mr. T, built a round table in the estate’s attic while attempting to create a time-travel portal to that era. He never succeeded, but now Mrs. T, who’s been experiencing ghostly visitations by her late husband, brings Lucy and James to the table, along with Michael, another relative with lycanthropic powers, and Mr. Walker, who’s gone on previous Brotherhood adventures. Thanks to Mr. T’s directions, the table-portal now works, and James, Lucy, Michael, and Mrs. T land back in Camelot just in time to stop Mordred’s attempt to kill the wizard Merlin. Later, while the crew is on a mission to find Lady Guinevere’s lost dog, they stumble onto a plot by Morgan le Fay, aided by the vampire Meleagant, to free the imprisoned Mordred. The tale ends with a major royal ceremony.
Although it’s fast-paced and entertaining, this latest installment in Murray and Fahrie’s YA series clocks in at only 74 pages, and it suffers a bit from its brevity. Anyone who’s first entering the world of the Brotherhood by reading this book may yearn for more backstory, if only to understand how Mr. Walker, who doesn’t have wolfish powers, came to be part of this group. Still, the authors manage to pack an enjoyable mix of elements into this book’s scant page count. Lucy, who serves as the narrator, has a relationship with James that calls the Twilight series to mind; the narrative takes some timeouts for her to relish making love with him. Lucy also offers relatable responses to her situation, including an eagerness to have a firsthand look at Guinevere’s fabled beauty, and at least a momentary desire to return to her “normal life back at college...where I could just relax in my apartment and read a good book and then go to Starbucks and get a Caramel Macchiato.” The crew sometimes exhibits an appealingly goofy Scooby-Doo-like dynamic, as when the apparently older Mr. Walker wields a sword while saying “Don’t worry, Mrs. T, I was captain of my high school fencing team.” The authors ably tee up how Lucy and James might engage in Camelot activities in upcoming books, with the couple meeting Lancelot; the famed knight compares his bond with Guinevere to the couple’s own and notes, “Because you are from the future you know as much about me as I know about myself.”
An appealing fantasy mashup that’s ripe for further development in future volumes.