This sequel to Malice (2009) draws the rival casts of evil monsters and teenage rebels into climactic battles both in this world and the parallel one behind the pages of a comic. As Seth makes his way back into Malice with the talismanic Shard and joins the effort to mount an attack on the dread Deadhouse, a new ally, Alicia, nervously tracks the House’s sinister master Tall Jake to the decrepit English psychiatric hospital where Grendel—the mad, disturbed, misshapen graphic artist (and maybe god?) who has created both the comic and the world it depicts—is imprisoned. Like the opener, this features expertly meshed multiple plotlines, colorful supporting characters (notably a clockwork sabertooth and a Malice resident afflicted with “regenerative leprosy,” meaning that he keeps losing body parts that then grow back), frequent eerie skitterings and sudden feelings of dread plus nonstop action that breaks, occasionally, from prose into graphic-novel–style panels festooned with noisy sound effects. A real crowd pleaser, with further episodes possible but not necessary. (Graphic hybrid/fantasy. 11-13)
Pub Date: Oct. 1, 2010
ISBN: 978-0-545-16045-2
Page Count: 400
Publisher: Scholastic
Review Posted Online: Sept. 15, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 1, 2010
A mad mix of attacks, chases, squabbles and revelations goose the main plot along while setting the stage nicely for the...
In this hectic middle volume, Rex’s notably diverse crew of human, part-human and nonhuman allies splits up in hopes of scotching the schemes of the sorceress Nimue, who is out to create a worldwide army of mind-controlled “sugar zombies” through magically enhanced breakfast cereal.
Rex fills in background as he goes, from doughty pixie Prince Fi’s search for his brothers Fee, Fo and Denzil to Merle Lynn’s exposé of his sword-in-the-stone trick (“It was magnets”). The action here takes place mostly in England, where the discovery of a portal to magical Pretannica allows separate missions to seek help from the queen of the Fay and to rescue the kidnapped queen of England, who has been imprisoned in what she thinks (with some justice) is a Harry Potter story. Meanwhile supergenius Emily, sasquatch ex-librarian Biggs and the others stay stateside to work on cryptic clues (what would a story like this be without cryptic clues?) and prevent Nimue from seizing the portal. Much of the frequent black-and-white art was not available for review, but those examples included exemplify Rex’s usual hilarity.
A mad mix of attacks, chases, squabbles and revelations goose the main plot along while setting the stage nicely for the closer. (Fantasy. 11-13)Pub Date: Feb. 5, 2013
ISBN: 978-0-06-206005-1
Page Count: 400
Publisher: Balzer + Bray/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: Oct. 30, 2012
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 1, 2012
Extraneous elements, rampant psycho-symbolism and multiple point-of-view switches turn this into a loosely woven grab-bag,...
Having narrowly avoided becoming dinner in The Witch’s Guide to Cooking with Children (2009), sibs Sol and Connie face another folkloric fate in this equally gothic sequel.
Hoping to leave child-eating neighbor Fay Holaderry far behind, Sol and Connie board a departing bus—but then incautiously step off while the driver fixes a flat and are immediately lost in a justly ill-reputed forest. Fortunately, they run into Monique, a friendly forester who leads them to her cabin. Unfortunately, Monique is another evil witch, who transforms the children into animals for her bespelled huntsman, David, to hunt down and convert into taxidermy exhibits. McGowan infuses his tale with Brothers Grimm–style motifs and atmosphere, but obscure riddles, Sol’s homemade computer and several other elements turn out to clutter the story rather than contribute to it. Furthermore, David’s fatalistic ruminations on his curse (recorded in multiple journal entries) are likely to leave even adult readers cold, and his relationship with Monique comes off as, at best, ambiguous. Tanaka’s scenes of androgynous-looking children gradually acquiring animal parts ably abet the atmosphere.
Extraneous elements, rampant psycho-symbolism and multiple point-of-view switches turn this into a loosely woven grab-bag, but the resolution does provide some satisfaction. (Fantasy. 11-13)Pub Date: March 19, 2013
ISBN: 978-0-8050-9324-7
Page Count: 304
Publisher: Henry Holt
Review Posted Online: Nov. 30, 2012
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 15, 2012
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