TEMPEST

This third volume of the Valley Chronicles finds human and animal heroes defending the Valley against the forces of the Dark Heart.

Mainer John Jenson has just entered high school. Yet his dedication to the Valley, a realm where humans and animals share language and magic, remains strong. Using teleportation runes, he brings Princess Sapphire to his world to attend Herbert High’s homecoming dance. When he goes to the Valley to pick up his date, he brings his sister, Violet, to visit Sapphire’s sibling, Princess Ruby. Meanwhile, Violet’s dog, Hodgey, works with a squad of animals—including Twiggy, a gecko; and Sunny, a bear—to track down the gems that create their enemies, the Soldiers of Sorrow. They find the underground Vault of Sorrow and encounter the Blood Red Man, an emissary of the Dark Heart—a cult that wants to rule the world by making its inhabitants suffer. Meanwhile, at the dance, John’s friend Xavier tells him, “Your life is in danger.” Xavier has video evidence that Caleb, the former Soldier of Sorrow named Jealousy, has made John a target of the Dark Heart. The cult also moves against Princess Ruby, creating carnage and a refugee crisis in the Valley. Will joining forces with the Ice King allow the heroes to stop the Dark Heart? In this third volume of his YA fantasy series, Selbrede orchestrates a massive plot through the rotating first-person perspectives of John, Violet, and Hodgey. Although all-out war characterizes the later portions of the book, a dark tone is established fairly early as characters die at the hands of a bloodthirsty former princess. The narrative takes on a political tinge as groups of animals grow isolated and especially when Ruby notes, “We must maintain order without becoming a police state.” Yet Selbrede always gives the proceedings an enjoyable sense of the unexpected. His love of comic books is plain; for instance, Caleb gives a supervillain speech that rivals anything that DC’s Justice Society of America has ever heard. The final sections may make readers wonder whether this epic tale should have been told in one book or two.

A satisfyingly grand conclusion to Selbrede’s trilogy that leaves room for further adventures.