Mythology, magick, and mayhem—but mostly, mayhem.
New authors Galvin and Speakman present 12-year-old Californian Parker Quarry in stock but action-packed, third-person chapters alternating with the ancient journals of Vesiroth (circa 1,200-900 B.C.).
Apparently well-educated for his time, farmer Vesiroth writes of accessing magick and the power of the Nexus after the tragic loss of his family. But working with the magick of the Nexus “erodes the soul,” and soon Vesiroth is creating an increasingly corrupt family of genies who are eventually entrapped in metal canister-lamps. Meanwhile, back in the modern-day storyline, Parker has been transplanted to New Hampshire after getting into trouble one too many times. There, he, his cousin Theo, and the lovely overachiever Reese have released one of the genies and, after requesting a Porsche (they’re 12, after all), have run afoul of a throat-slitting cult. Brutal members of the Path worship the genies and appear capable of anything—except accurately aiming their endless supply of machine guns or missiles. With a massive rolling globe in a museum, endless chases on foot, car, and airplane, and the fortuitous appearance of a polar bear, there is no end to the assorted excitement. Gratuitous references to the Disney empire, along with a made-for-the-big-screen feel suggest this first of a two-part series may find its way into theaters, where the fast pace may eclipse the energetic but uneven plot.
Mythology, magick, and mayhem—but mostly, mayhem. (Adventure. 9-12)Pub Date: May 12, 2015
ISBN: 978-1-4231-7957-3
Page Count: 288
Publisher: Disney-Hyperion
Review Posted Online: Feb. 15, 2015
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 2015
Is this the end? Well, no…the series will stagger on through at least one more scheduled sequel.
Sure signs that the creative wells are running dry at last, the Captain’s ninth, overstuffed outing both recycles a villain (see Book 4) and offers trendy anti-bullying wish fulfillment.
Not that there aren’t pranks and envelope-pushing quips aplenty. To start, in an alternate ending to the previous episode, Principal Krupp ends up in prison (“…a lot like being a student at Jerome Horwitz Elementary School, except that the prison had better funding”). There, he witnesses fellow inmate Tippy Tinkletrousers (aka Professor Poopypants) escape in a giant Robo-Suit (later reduced to time-traveling trousers). The villain sets off after George and Harold, who are in juvie (“not much different from our old school…except that they have library books here.”). Cut to five years previous, in a prequel to the whole series. George and Harold link up in kindergarten to reduce a quartet of vicious bullies to giggling insanity with a relentless series of pranks involving shaving cream, spiders, effeminate spoof text messages and friendship bracelets. Pilkey tucks both topical jokes and bathroom humor into the cartoon art, and ups the narrative’s lexical ante with terms like “pharmaceuticals” and “theatrical flair.” Unfortunately, the bullies’ sad fates force Krupp to resign, so he’s not around to save the Earth from being destroyed later on by Talking Toilets and other invaders…
Is this the end? Well, no…the series will stagger on through at least one more scheduled sequel. (Fantasy. 10-12)Pub Date: Aug. 28, 2012
ISBN: 978-0-545-17534-0
Page Count: 304
Publisher: Scholastic
Review Posted Online: June 19, 2012
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2012
BOOK REVIEW
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Series fans, at least, will take this outing (and clear evidence of more to come) in stride.
Zipping back and forth in time atop outsized robo–bell bottoms, mad inventor Tippy Tinkletrousers (aka Professor Poopypants) legs his way to center stage in this slightly less-labored continuation of episode 9.
The action commences after a rambling recap and a warning not to laugh or smile on pain of being forced to read Sarah Plain and Tall. Pilkey first sends his peevish protagonist back a short while to save the Earth (destroyed in the previous episode), then on to various prehistoric eras in pursuit of George, Harold and the Captain. It’s all pretty much an excuse for many butt jokes, dashes of off-color humor (“Tippy pressed the button on his Freezy-Beam 4000, causing it to rise from the depths of his Robo-Pants”), a lengthy wordless comic and two tussles in “Flip-o-rama.” Still, the chase kicks off an ice age, the extinction of the dinosaurs and the Big Bang (here the Big “Ka-Bloosh!”). It ends with a harrowing glimpse of what George and Harold would become if they decided to go straight. The author also chucks in a poopy-doo-doo song with musical notation (credited to Albert P. Einstein) and plenty of ink-and-wash cartoon illustrations to crank up the ongoing frenzy.
Series fans, at least, will take this outing (and clear evidence of more to come) in stride. (Fantasy. 10-12)Pub Date: Jan. 15, 2013
ISBN: 978-0-545-17536-4
Page Count: 224
Publisher: Scholastic
Review Posted Online: Dec. 12, 2012
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2013
BOOK REVIEW
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