SOUL EATER

The third episode (of a planned six) in this prehistoric epic continues its predecessors’ quick pacing, vivid storytelling and strong connections between human characters and the natural world. When his beloved four-legged companion Wolf is captured by the dreaded Soul Eaters, two-legged Torak pursues past the forests he knows so well and out onto the bitterly hostile northern ice fields. With help from a small band of friendly ice-dwellers, Torak and his loyal if contentious friend Renn learn the requisite survival skills (with plenty of narrow squeaks), and rescue Wolf from a planned blood sacrifice intended to release a horde of demons into this world. But the demons are released anyway, requiring the sacrifice of a life to imprison them again. Once again, Paver tells the tale from both animal and human perspectives, cranks up the suspense and takes her young heroes through deadly encounters with storms, bears (here, polar bears) and spirits, then closes with the revelation of further challenges to be faced in battling the Soul Eaters. Compelling from first page to last. (Fantasy. 11-13)