A dreamy lad traverses a world inhabited by robots in this loose-jointed picaresque. Falling through a hole atop an ancient mound in Oklahoma, young Code finds himself in the Greater Mekhos Co-Prosperity Sphere, an entirely robotic land set up centuries ago as a science experiment. It is now threatened by its squidlike magnate Immortalis, who has taken the first step toward conquering both Mekhos and Earth by commanding every robot to disassemble itself. Scotching those plans requires much derring-do. Code must escape deadly metal gardeners in the Toparian Wyldes, ride herd on a huge and enthusiastic Atomic Slaughterbot named Gary, defeat a snotty but well-armed defender of Clockwork City and finally ingest the (fortunately small) Robonomicon, a universal database that transforms Code into a powerful cyborg. Along the way, he meets various chatty inhabitants, such as the seemingly endless Infinipede and dinner-party robohostess Lady Watterly. Diaphanous the plot may be, but the climax brings on plenty of large-scale destruction, and fans of Dale Basye’s Heck: Where the Bad Kids Go (2008) and other underworld odysseys will relish the wink-wink satire. (Fantasy/SF. 11-13)
Pub Date: Jan. 4, 2011
ISBN: 978-1-59990-280-7
Page Count: 256
Publisher: Bloomsbury
Review Posted Online: Dec. 22, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 15, 2010
Like its bestselling progenitors, a nonstop spinoff afroth with high tech, spectacular magic, and silly business.
With their big brother Artemis off to Mars, 11-year-old twins Myles and Beckett are swept up in a brangle with murderous humans and even more dangerous magical creatures.
Unsurprisingly, the fraternal Irish twins ultimately prove equal to the challenge—albeit with help from, Colfer as omniscient narrator admits early on, a “hugely improbable finale.” Following the coincidental arrival on their island estate of two denizens of the subterranean fairy realm in the persons of a tiny but fearsome troll and a “hybrid” pixie-elf, or “pixel,” police trainee, the youngest Fowls immediately find themselves in the sights of both Lord Teddy Bleedham-Drye, a ruthless aristocrat out to bag said troll for its immorality-conferring venom, and Sister Jeronima Gonzalez-Ramos de Zárate, black-ops “nunterrogation” and knife specialist for ACRONYM, an intergovernmental fairy-monitoring organization. Amid the ensuing whirl of captures, escapes, trickery, treachery, and gunfire (none of which proves fatal…or at least not permanently), the twins leverage their complementary differences to foil and exasperate both foes: Myles being an Artemis mini-me who has dressed in black suits since infancy and loves coming up with and then “Fowlsplaining” his genius-level schemes; and Beckett, ever eager to plunge into reckless action and nearly nonverbal in English but with an extraordinary gift for nonhuman tongues. In the end they emerge triumphant, though threatened with mind wipe if they ever interfere in fairy affairs again. Yeah, right. Human characters seem to be default white; “hybrid” is used to describe nonhuman characters of mixed heritage.
Like its bestselling progenitors, a nonstop spinoff afroth with high tech, spectacular magic, and silly business. (Fantasy. 11-13)Pub Date: Nov. 5, 2019
ISBN: 978-1-368-04375-5
Page Count: 368
Publisher: Disney-Hyperion
Review Posted Online: July 13, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2019
The 10th and final full-length episode in an alternate-Earth series that's just about reached its sell-by date unites the five members of the central cast in yet another rescue mission to a distant land. This time its a thinly disguised medieval Japan, where bluff young warrior Horace has been swept up in the entourage accompanying a kindly emperor who is on the run from a vicious usurper. Thanks to a sequence of massive coincidences, he is soon joined in a remote mountain fortress by Rangers Will (who graduated from "apprentice" about five volumes ago) and his crusty mentor Halt, plus temperamental Princess Evanlyn and her spunky frenemy Alyss. While the usurper and his forces obligingly winter nearby, the menfolk train a peasant army for the true emperor while Evanlyn and Alyss set out to recruit more allies and have an air-clearing heart-to-heart about who really loves whom. By the end battles are won, bad guys slain, feasts held and everyone heads home for weddings and further adventures. The "keep it simple" approach has served Flanagan—and readers who prefer predictable plots and easily recognizable settings and character types—well, but the formula has staled. "The Final Battle" blazoned on the cover indicates a recognition of this fact, though loose ends leave open the possibility of further, as-yet-unplanned developments. Here's hoping a break will restore zing to future adventures. (Fantasy. 11-13)
Pub Date: April 1, 2011
ISBN: 978-0-399-25500-7
Page Count: 448
Publisher: Philomel
Review Posted Online: April 4, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 2011
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