SILVERBOY

This compelling magical adventure rises above its many flaws. Fifteen-year-old Tommo is an escaped spellgrinder’s apprentice, and like all boys of his profession, he is dying. Ground spellstone dust has given his skin an eerie blue glow, and has afflicted him with the quivers, a degenerative illness that will soon lead to an unpleasant death. Nevertheless, he’s determined to end his days in freedom. On the run from the hangman, he falls in with Akenna, a foul-mouthed fisher girl fleeing her abusive father. All the teens want is sanctuary, but they won’t be able to find safety unless they rescue their nation from the cruel usurper of the throne. For some reason, he thinks Tommo and Akenna are a danger to him. The complexities of world-building are too extensive for this brief tale and require an excess of exposition, but are nevertheless cleverly original. Inexpert prose and a rushed conclusion detract, but overall, Tommo’s story is both intriguing and worthwhile. (Fantasy. 12-14)