A grim, gruesome, overly ambitious jumble.
A blacksmith’s apprentice and a sword-wielding princess unite to defend their conquered people against periodic plagues of murderous monsters.
Having endured a reign of terror for centuries, thanks to hordes of murderous monsters released at unpredictable intervals by high-tech conquerors the Elduari, the people of Varen have split into cowed appeasers and surreptitious rebels. Among the latter is young Argo, who’s fretting at signs that another Release is imminent, and his chance-met ally, Ana, who’s bent on revenge against those who killed her little sister. The rebels have not only the super-powered Elduari and their vicious creations to battle but also their own people, many of whom are too frightened to resist or are actually secret spies bearing futuristic surveillance gear. Bachmann must therefore resort to unlikely contortions to keep his protagonists alive, first through multiple battles with overwhelmingly powerful foes, and then, in a ham-fisted effort to complicate the moral landscape, a climactic confrontation with the Elduari king, who offers a thoroughly unconvincing justification for the centuries of slaughter before making way for a tidily simplistic resolution. Still, from the eldritch masked Elduari and their terrifying minions to his depictions of hideous transformations and gory murder sprees, the author does show a knack for creating gut-wrenching horrors. Readers with properly strong stomachs may be inclined to forgive the contrivances. The cast reads white.
A grim, gruesome, overly ambitious jumble. (map) (Fantasy. 10-14)Pub Date: June 25, 2024
ISBN: 9780063210394
Page Count: 288
Publisher: Greenwillow Books
Review Posted Online: May 30, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 2024
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
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
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