The lively final volume of a charming series.
Stevens’ middle-grade fantasy-trilogy conclusion sees his titular hero revisiting loved ones and battling his sorceress nemesis.
Thirteen-year-old Dirk lives with his family on a farm in Britannia, which is under Roman control. Last year, he escaped a curse, created by the sorceress Ethelda, and, thanks to Beldor, the High Wizard of the West, he can use a magic ring to change between human and dragon forms. He’s restless for adventure and misses his friends, so he sneaks away to visit Beldor at his cave. The wizard and his companion, Ydda, help the boy forge a magical sword. Dirk then plans to visit the island of Codhaven, where his beloved Galinda lives and is about to celebrate her 13th birthday. However, a strange white bird has been observing Dirk—an extension of Ethelda, who craves revenge for the death of her husband, Augurald, who was killed by dragon fire. She’s also manipulating other people who might help her find the Wand of the Black Sphere. It turns out that a cracked, black orb is now in the possession of Roman commander Lucius Cassius Taurinus—and that Dirk may have a second, intact wand. The third volume of Stevens’ middle-grade series is a perfect balance of education and entertainment. A few light opening scenes reintroduce readers to the city of London before it became a teeming metropolis. Unusual terms, such as “triclinium”—a room for lounging and eating—are unobtrusively defined in the story. Along with vibrant history, the author ably develops two major themes. The first is that animals should be treated like people; Dirk can speak with various fauna and has friends among them, such as Pinkfoot, a goose. The boy protagonist also longs to visit the wild while toiling on his family’s farm. The second theme is that family is about more than mere blood relationship; Dirk still considers his dragon-mother, Gernith, to be an important part of his life regardless of the curse that initially bound them together. Detailed illustrations by the author enliven scenes throughout.
The lively final volume of a charming series.Pub Date: Oct. 23, 2019
ISBN: 978-0-9963839-8-1
Page Count: 238
Publisher: Dragon's Egg Books
Review Posted Online: Feb. 13, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 2020
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
BOOK REVIEW
The best-selling author of tearjerkers like Angel Falls (2000) serves up yet another mountain of mush, topped off with...
Talk-show queen takes tumble as millions jeer.
Nora Bridges is a wildly popular radio spokesperson for family-first virtues, but her loyal listeners don't know that she walked out on her husband and teenaged daughters years ago and didn't look back. Now that a former lover has sold racy pix of naked Nora and horny himself to a national tabloid, her estranged daughter Ruby, an unsuccessful stand-up comic in Los Angeles, has been approached to pen a tell-all. Greedy for the fat fee she's been promised, Ruby agrees and heads for the San Juan Islands, eager to get reacquainted with the mom she plans to betray. Once in the family homestead, nasty Ruby alternately sulks and glares at her mother, who is temporarily wheelchair-bound as a result of a post-scandal car crash. Uncaring, Ruby begins writing her side of the story when she's not strolling on the beach with former sweetheart Dean Sloan, the son of wealthy socialites who basically ignored him and his gay brother Eric. Eric, now dying of cancer and also in a wheelchair, has returned to the island. This dismal threesome catch up on old times, recalling their childhood idylls on the island. After Ruby's perfect big sister Caroline shows up, there's another round of heartfelt talk. Nora gradually reveals the truth about her unloving husband and her late father's alcoholism, which led her to seek the approval of others at the cost of her own peace of mind. And so on. Ruby is aghast to discover that she doesn't know everything after all, but Dean offers her subdued comfort. Happy endings await almost everyone—except for readers of this nobly preachy snifflefest.
The best-selling author of tearjerkers like Angel Falls (2000) serves up yet another mountain of mush, topped off with syrupy platitudes about life and love.Pub Date: March 1, 2001
ISBN: 0-609-60737-5
Page Count: 336
Publisher: Crown
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 15, 2001
A first novel, this is also a first person account of Scout's (Jean Louise) recall of the years that led to the ending of a mystery, the breaking of her brother Jem's elbow, the death of her father's enemy — and the close of childhood years. A widower, Atticus raises his children with legal dispassion and paternal intelligence, and is ably abetted by Calpurnia, the colored cook, while the Alabama town of Maycomb, in the 1930's, remains aloof to their divergence from its tribal patterns. Scout and Jem, with their summer-time companion, Dill, find their paths free from interference — but not from dangers; their curiosity about the imprisoned Boo, whose miserable past is incorporated in their play, results in a tentative friendliness; their fears of Atticus' lack of distinction is dissipated when he shoots a mad dog; his defense of a Negro accused of raping a white girl, Mayella Ewell, is followed with avid interest and turns the rabble whites against him. Scout is the means of averting an attack on Atticus but when he loses the case it is Boo who saves Jem and Scout by killing Mayella's father when he attempts to murder them. The shadows of a beginning for black-white understanding, the persistent fight that Scout carries on against school, Jem's emergence into adulthood, Calpurnia's quiet power, and all the incidents touching on the children's "growing outward" have an attractive starchiness that keeps this southern picture pert and provocative. There is much advance interest in this book; it has been selected by the Literary Guild and Reader's Digest; it should win many friends.
Pub Date: July 11, 1960
ISBN: 0060935464
Page Count: 323
Publisher: Lippincott
Review Posted Online: Oct. 7, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 1960
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
SEEN & HEARD
SEEN & HEARD
SEEN & HEARD
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