A winning testament to the value of friendship and to a surly dragon’s power of persuasion.
Caution: a wyvern’s talons might pluck you up and drop you smack in the middle of a legendary quest.
Indomitable duo Karn and Thianna went their separate ways after battling the undead and outwitting ornery dragon Orm in Frostborn (2014). Karn now lives the life of a lauded hero. Content but somewhat jaded, he pines for the excitement and camaraderie he shared with Thianna. Enter Orm, who recruits Karn to seek the second Horn of Osius, an ancient relic capable of commanding dragons (Orm digested the first horn in book one to safeguard his kind). Karn is reluctant until he learns that Thianna was the initial recruit and has since disappeared. As Karn endeavors to solve an ancient riddle that will lead him to the horn and, more importantly, to Thianna, reminders abound that a soft heart is compatible with strength and resilience. As he did in the preceding volume, Anders presents a captivating world of richly imagined biomes, grim outlooks, plenty of gaming, and fantasy fauna (giant bats, gnomes, a pride of manticores preoccupied with manure). Whereas the first book was characterized by a fair amount of adult guidance, this tale is primarily propelled by young protagonists and antagonists (an enthralling doppelgänger dark elf pair also seeks the horn). In turn, Karn and Thianna are more defiant, less naïve, and have more to lose this time around—namely each other—but they refuse to lose themselves.
A winning testament to the value of friendship and to a surly dragon’s power of persuasion. (maps, glossary, game rules, “historical” note) (Fantasy. 10-14)Pub Date: July 14, 2015
ISBN: 978-0-385-39036-1
Page Count: 352
Publisher: Crown
Review Posted Online: May 11, 2015
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 1, 2015
Brilliant.
Young heroes rise to the challenge of protecting their home, family, and world when a new villain threatens the Glimouria Archipelago and the Immortal in this third series entry.
“New trouble” comes to the sanctuary of Glimt when Irian Guinne is kidnapped and Teren, the young Immortal, is threatened. Christopher Forrester, former princess Anya, jaculus dragon Jacques, and ratatoska navigator Ratwin undertake a series of herculean tasks to fulfill the kidnappers’ demands and free Irian, all without Nighthand’s knowledge or help. Christopher seeks knowledge from Naravirala the sphinx to understand his new, deeper connection to creatures (“It is the people you love who anchor you”), while Anya leans into her warrior nature (“What if I was born to be brave?”). Meanwhile, bandits with ouroboros bracelets pillage and burn across the Archipelago at the command of Astor Morax, and a fearsome tiger spies through mirrors. The white-presenting leads’ quest to save Irian is central, but brief sections visit Irian, Nighthand, and beautiful, deadly Carla Venasque. The climactic Battle of Glimt features ferocity, cleverness, sacrifice, and bravery, and the ending is more Shakespearean comedy than tragedy—but the danger to Teren is not over, leaving eager readers to await the fourth installment. This is a perfectly paced, mythology-laced tale of action, adventure, and heart that reminds readers that “the only thing stronger than fear is love, unceasingly and exultantly given.” Final art not seen.
Brilliant. (map, bestiary) (Fantasy. 10-14)Pub Date: Sept. 1, 2026
ISBN: 9780593809945
Page Count: 336
Publisher: Knopf
Review Posted Online: July 6, 2026
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2026
Is this the end? Well, no…the series will stagger on through at least one more scheduled sequel.
Sure signs that the creative wells are running dry at last, the Captain’s ninth, overstuffed outing both recycles a villain (see Book 4) and offers trendy anti-bullying wish fulfillment.
Not that there aren’t pranks and envelope-pushing quips aplenty. To start, in an alternate ending to the previous episode, Principal Krupp ends up in prison (“…a lot like being a student at Jerome Horwitz Elementary School, except that the prison had better funding”). There, he witnesses fellow inmate Tippy Tinkletrousers (aka Professor Poopypants) escape in a giant Robo-Suit (later reduced to time-traveling trousers). The villain sets off after George and Harold, who are in juvie (“not much different from our old school…except that they have library books here.”). Cut to five years previous, in a prequel to the whole series. George and Harold link up in kindergarten to reduce a quartet of vicious bullies to giggling insanity with a relentless series of pranks involving shaving cream, spiders, effeminate spoof text messages and friendship bracelets. Pilkey tucks both topical jokes and bathroom humor into the cartoon art, and ups the narrative’s lexical ante with terms like “pharmaceuticals” and “theatrical flair.” Unfortunately, the bullies’ sad fates force Krupp to resign, so he’s not around to save the Earth from being destroyed later on by Talking Toilets and other invaders…
Is this the end? Well, no…the series will stagger on through at least one more scheduled sequel. (Fantasy. 10-12)Pub Date: Aug. 28, 2012
ISBN: 978-0-545-17534-0
Page Count: 304
Publisher: Scholastic
Review Posted Online: June 19, 2012
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2012
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