A predictable but eventful magical adventure with good characterization.
McCauley offers the second book in a YA fantasy series chronicling the early days of a reluctant future king in medieval Britain.
In some ways, Pip is just an ordinary kid, but key aspects set him apart. A triple spiral symbol marks his palm, for one thing, and he’s being trained by Merlin, one of the most powerful mages in Britain. This is because Pip is also a mage, whose skills include aura reading, spell casting, and knowledge of future events. His abilities are so strong that, alongside Merlin and King Arthur, he helped break the world into two separate realms: Earth and Magic. This division saved many people from enslavement by evil forces, but at a cost: Pip’s mother died, and most of his family now resides in the Earth Realm. In the Magic Realm, Pip finds himself on a new mission after he senses the thoughts of a Northman, Halfdan Ragnarrson, who has an aura of “black ice.” Halfdan plans to remobilize villainous forces to take power. To do this, he willingly gives up his own soul, as well as the souls of his future heirs, to the demon Beli. Pip must overcome self-doubt and master his sword-fighting skills to protect his adopted family: the bookish scribe Alfred; Caraline, an intuitive wise medicine woman; and her niece, Gwenn. McCauley doesn’t break much new ground in this fantasy tale, which focuses on a battle between good and evil, and stars a male chosen one who’s loath to assume his destiny. That said, the author transitions well between exciting battle scenes and Pip and Halfdan’s thoughts and offers some intriguing supporting characters, including Alfred, Caraline, and Ælfstan, a hobgoblin emissary from the Faerie world. The awe-inspiring Merlin is humanized with references to his “large wobbly belly” and his irritating snoring. The feisty Gwenn is shown to have the power to transform into a feline and spy on enemy camps. Although readers will be able to guess where the story is headed, it presents a pleasant transition to the next installment.
A predictable but eventful magical adventure with good characterization.Pub Date: Oct. 1, 2024
ISBN: 9781951069247
Page Count: 168
Publisher: Celtic Sea, LLC
Review Posted Online: Aug. 11, 2024
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
BOOK REVIEW
Ideas abound, but when the focus shifts from Thomas' determination to take the measure of the house (literally and...
Dies Drear? Ohio abolitionist, keeper of a key station on the Underground Railroad, bearer of a hypercharged name that is not even noted as odd. Which is odd: everything else has an elaborate explanation.
Unlike Zeely, Miss Hamilton's haunting first, this creates mystery only to reveal sleight-of-hand, creates a character who's larger than life only to reveal his double. Thirteen-year-old Thomas Small is fascinated, and afraid, of the huge, uncharted house his father, a specialist in Negro Civil War history, has purposefully rented. A strange pair of children, tiny Pesty and husky Mac Darrow, seem to tease him; old bearded Pluto, long-time caretaker and local legend, seems bent on scaring the Smalls away. But how can a lame old man run fast enough to catch Thomas from behind? what do the triangles affixed to their doors signify? who spread a sticky paste of foodstuffs over the kitchen? Pluto, accosted, disappears. . . into a cavern that was Dies Drear's treasure house of decorative art, his solace for the sequestered slaves. But Pluto is not, despite his nickname, the devil; neither is he alone; his actor-son has returned to help him stave off the greedy Darrows and the Smalls, if they should also be hostile to the house, the treasure, the tradition. Pluto as keeper of the flame would be more convincing without his, and his son's, histrionics, and without Pesty as a prodigy cherubim. There are some sharp observations of, and on, the Negro church historically and presently, and an aborted ideological debate regarding use of the Negro heritage.
Ideas abound, but when the focus shifts from Thomas' determination to take the measure of the house (literally and figuratively), the story becomes a charade. (Mystery. 8-12)Pub Date: Sept. 9, 1968
ISBN: 1416914056
Page Count: 260
Publisher: Macmillan
Review Posted Online: Oct. 26, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 1968
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
A quick, agreeable caper, this may spark some discussion even as it entertains.
Myla and Peter step into the path of a gang when they unite forces to find Peter’s runaway brother, Randall.
As they follow the graffiti tags that Randall has been painting in honor of the boys’ deceased father, they uncover a sinister history involving stolen diamonds, disappearances, and deaths. It started long ago when the boys’ grandmother, a diamond-cutter, partnered with the head of the gang. She was rumored to have hidden his diamonds before her suspicious death, leaving clues to their whereabouts. Now everyone is searching, including Randall. The duo’s collaboration is initially an unwilling one fraught with misunderstandings. Even after Peter and Myla bond over being the only people of color in an otherwise white school (Myla is Indian-American; mixed-race Peter is Indian, African-American, and white), Peter can’t believe the gang is after Myla. But Myla possesses a necklace that holds a clue. Alternating first-person chapters allow peeks into how Myla, Peter, and Randall unravel the story and decipher clues. Savvy readers will put the pieces together, too, although false leads and red herrings are cleverly interwoven. The action stumbles at times, but it takes place against the rich backdrops of gritty New York City and history-laden Dobbs Ferry and is made all the more colorful by references to graffiti art and parkour.
A quick, agreeable caper, this may spark some discussion even as it entertains. (Mystery. 10-12)Pub Date: May 30, 2017
ISBN: 978-1-4197-2296-7
Page Count: 272
Publisher: Amulet/Abrams
Review Posted Online: Feb. 19, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 2017
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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