A swiftly paced and wildly delightful fantasy romp.
For a seventh grader and his pals, saving humanity means braving an underworld teeming with perils in Davis’ debut middle-grade novel.
Unabashedly nerdy Max Kellerman’s home away from home is his uncle’s bookstore in Providence, Rhode Island. After an odd run-in with a professor there, he learns all about creatures who have long been stealing people’s time to gain a life force; once they’ve acquired enough time, they’ll use it to enter the humans’ realm and destroy Earth. The details are vague: All of that pilfered time is in “the Vault,” located in another realm called Nemesis. Max, with help from friends Derek and Sam, can upend the creatures’ apocalyptic plans by destroying said Vault. But Nemesis may also have information about Max’s father, a theoretical mathematician who went missing after an explosion at the Zurich university where he was working. After finding their way to the other world, the youngsters battle (and mostly flee from) an array of monsters with reptilian scales or “razor teeth” while steering clear of Nemesis’ much-feared ruler, Abaddon. Davis energizes this story with an unwavering pace; even early scenes of exposition suggest an urgency (Earth is in danger) and ominous threats, as when Max receives an unnerving phone call. Once in Nemesis, creatures pop up one after the other, from two-headed, dragonlike Narks to wereboars sporting “high-voltage tusks.” The author skillfully depicts these beings, along with various underworld spots like the alliterative Maze of Madness and Point of Paradox. It’s not all frights; food-obsessed Derek provides comic relief, while the trio’s amiable quasi-guide, Humphries, a slimy, six-armed, three-eyed Boggart, is a welcome contrast to the terrifying beasts. While this book could easily be a stand-alone adventure, Davis leaves room (and unanswered questions) for a sequel. Peacock’s bold-lined, comic book–style artwork merely hints at the monsters but aptly showcases the kids dodging falling debris or holding on tight to one of Humphries’ arms.
A swiftly paced and wildly delightful fantasy romp.Pub Date: March 17, 2024
ISBN: 9798990031623
Page Count: 202
Publisher: Philaments
Review Posted Online: April 25, 2024
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
Hugely entertaining, timely, and triumphant.
Robot Roz undertakes an unusual ocean journey to save her adopted island home in this third series entry.
When a poison tide flowing across the ocean threatens their island, Roz works with the resident creatures to ensure that they will have clean water, but the destruction of vegetation and crowding of habitats jeopardize everyone’s survival. Brown’s tale of environmental depredation and turmoil is by turns poignant, graceful, endearing, and inspiring, with his (mostly) gentle robot protagonist at its heart. Though Roz is different from the creatures she lives with or encounters—including her son, Brightbill the goose, and his new mate, Glimmerwing—she makes connections through her versatile communication abilities and her desire to understand and help others. When Roz accidentally discovers that the replacement body given to her by Dr. Molovo is waterproof, she sets out to seek help and discovers the human-engineered source of the toxic tide. Brown’s rich descriptions of undersea landscapes, entertaining conversations between Roz and wild creatures, and concise yet powerful explanations of the effect of the poison tide on the ecology of the island are superb. Simple, spare illustrations offer just enough glimpses of Roz and her surroundings to spark the imagination. The climactic confrontation pits oceangoing mammals, seabirds, fish, and even zooplankton against hardware and technology in a nicely choreographed battle. But it is Roz’s heroism and peacemaking that save the day.
Hugely entertaining, timely, and triumphant. (author’s note) (Fiction. 8-12)Pub Date: Sept. 26, 2023
ISBN: 9780316669412
Page Count: 288
Publisher: Little, Brown
Review Posted Online: Aug. 26, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 15, 2023
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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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