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BETWEEN

Thesman (Sea So Far, 2001, etc.) proposes an inglorious take on human origins in this tale of a teenager caught between an array of magical creatures protecting one of the last “Darkwoods” on earth, and Hunters bent on destroying it. Charlotte begins to suspect that all is not as it seems at the Puget Sound guesthouse where she’s summering when she notices that her adopted little brother’s shadow has disappeared. After several other odd incidents, she concludes that something in the nearby woods threatens Will—and that the owners of the guesthouse, along with a pair of unpleasant guests, know more than they’re telling about it. As it turns out, the unicorns, dragon, shape-shifting Fox Fairy, and other beings tied to the Darkwood have identified Will as an orphaned child of the Fair Folk, a potentially powerful ally against humans, dubbed “Mudwalkers,” who were created long ago as playthings by a malicious Chimera, but then escaped to conduct a campaign of destruction against the world’s forests. When the possibility that Will might join the residents of the Darkwood spurs a gathering of particularly evil Mudwalkers to set a forest fire, Charlotte joins the successful defense, then goes on in subsequent years to become a renowned naturalist. What with rather nebulous bad guys and several unexplained circumstances, the story’s internal logic isn’t any too solid, and the ecological message, along with humankind’s low origins, is hammered home. But Charlotte narrates in a distinctly personal voice, and the author lightens the tone by casting interestingly rude characters on both sides of the conflict. Ably done, but without the spark of The Other Ones (1999). (Fiction. 11-13)

Pub Date: May 20, 2002

ISBN: 0-670-03561-0

Page Count: 224

Publisher: Viking

Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010

Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 2002

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THE EMPEROR OF NIHON-JA

From the Ranger's Apprentice series , Vol. 10

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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THE ICEBOUND LAND

From the Ranger's Apprentice series , Vol. 3

A mild case of middle-volume-itis afflicts the third episode in this increasingly popular fantasy series, as Flanagan alternates short chapters to weave a double-stranded tale that advances the main story only an inch or two while filling out the page count with incidental adventures and repetitive explanations. In the odd-numbered chapters, Will and Evanlyn, enslaved by Skandian (Viking) captors in the previous volume, manage to escape into the snowy northern mountains, but only after Will acquires an addiction to warmweed, a brain-numbing narcotic. In the even-numbered ones, Will’s Ranger mentor Halt and talented knight-in-training Horace set out through Gallica (France) on a rescue mission, and are themselves temporarily imprisoned by a cruel robber baron. The author hasn’t expended much effort to develop original cultures or characters, but—repeated side comments and references to past events aside—his fluent writing, engaging protagonists and credibly choreographed fight scenes will keep readers involved. (Fantasy. 11-13)

Pub Date: June 1, 2007

ISBN: 978-0-399-24456-8

Page Count: 272

Publisher: Philomel

Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010

Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 15, 2007

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