THE TOMB OF SHADOWS

The Seven Wonders series continues as Jack McKinley and his friends try to save themselves and, while they’re at it, the world.

Jack, Cass, Marco and Aly are Selects, born with genetic abnormalities that give them superpowers but which will kill them by age 14 unless they can find seven magical Atlantean Loculi hidden in the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World. In the first two volumes, they raised the Colossus of Rhodes and found ancient Babylon in a parallel world, and now they have the Loculus of Flight and the Loculus of Invisibility. They are on their way to Turkey in search of the Loculus of Healing in the Mausoleum at Halicarnassus. The series so far doesn’t match the Percy Jackson tales for characterization or for the building of believable mythic worlds. Nevertheless, the cinematic plotting, the mystery of Jack’s mother’s death (or disappearance?) and the friendship among friends trying to grow into their powers without dying in the process will satisfy fans of the several similar fantasy-adventure series available. This series, though, is unique in staking out its turf in Atlantis and the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World, doling out one wonder per volume.

An exciting-enough excursion into a world full of wonders.