A zany, wholly absorbing start to an otherworldly, whimsical adventure worthy of multiple volumes.
A boy discovering new abilities braves strange new worlds and enemies in Horne’s middle-grade SF/fantasy novel, the first in a series.
Skylar lives a quiet life on “one of the first-ever Earths” long before the dinosaurs. Though he’s merely 10, he’s old enough to undergo a ritual in which he’ll prove himself as a worthy villager. This entails staying overnight in a cavern and experiencing a hyper-realistic dream of floating among the stars. Amazingly, this sortie saves his life when, during his absence, a raid wipes out his village, including, as far as he knows, his family. He is captured by a group of traveling knights headed back to their kingdom. These are the same knights behind the raid (under the king’s orders), and they have an unspecified plan for keeping the boy alive. Skylar, meanwhile, continues dreaming; he converses with the stars, who tell him he’s a starship and train him in flight and the use of weapons, dropping countless technical words he’s never heard before. Quite unexpectedly, he bonds with the knights, who come up with a way to disguise Skylar’s true identity as the survivor of the king-ordered massacre. Once in Almagest, the grand world capital that’s filled with immeasurable riches, Skylar simply has to play a part for the benefit of Sage, the same-aged boyking—but it won’t be easy with the Master of Keys in Sage’s ear. This enigmatic figure, who hides behind a wooden mask, proves alarmingly unpredictable, both in terms of his actions and the motives that seem to drive him.
Horne’s story, notwithstanding a handful of somber turns, is largely tongue-in-cheek. Much of this tone is courtesy of the relentlessly snarky, mysterious, and somehow still-charming narrator. This voice winkingly delivers a moral (“Because this story has kids in it”) and berates the reader for not stopping the proceedings and demanding clarification of how seasons work on this Earth. The narrator likewise goes to great lengths to avoid the “m-word” (magic), which is not so easy when Skylar shocks even himself with a magical feat or two. This sympathetic young hero is perpetually confused—by his apparent newfound skills, his strange dreams, the knights’ plan for him, and the local culture (he inadvertently offends the chancellor’s 10-year-old librarian daughter). Readers don’t know much more than Skylar does as the story stirs up a host of questions with very few revelations regarding the recurring dream sequences, the medieval setting, or even the narrator. The cast, however, is a genuine delight, from the personable knights to the village witch, with the Master of Keys serving as an especially haunting villain. Throughout, Bernardin’s bold, superb black-and-white artwork leaves lasting impressions, including images of the unnerving Master of Keys and Skylar’s more explosive outer-space dreams. The author holds back answers (presumably waiting for the sequel), and the startling denouement will surely entice readers into keeping eyes out for the next book.
A zany, wholly absorbing start to an otherworldly, whimsical adventure worthy of multiple volumes.Pub Date: Aug. 21, 2024
ISBN: 9798986496153
Page Count: 484
Publisher: N/A
Review Posted Online: Aug. 28, 2024
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
BOOK REVIEW
A pleasing premise for book lovers.
A fantasy-loving bookworm makes a wonderful, terrible bargain.
When sixth grader Poppy Woodlock’s historic preservationist parents move the family to the Oregon coast to work on the titular stately home, Poppy’s sure she’ll find magic. Indeed, the exiled water nymph in the manor’s ruined swimming pool grants a wish, but: “Magic isn’t free. It cosssts.” The price? Poppy’s favorite book, The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe. In return she receives Sampson, a winged lion cub who is everything Poppy could have hoped for. But she soon learns that the nymph didn’t take just her own physical book—she erased Narnia from Poppy’s world. And it’s just the first loss: Soon, Poppy’s grandmother’s journal’s gone, then The Odyssey, and more. The loss is heartbreaking, but Sampson’s a wonderful companion, particularly as Poppy’s finding middle school a tough adjustment. Hartman’s premise is beguiling—plenty of readers will identify with Poppy, both as a fellow bibliophile and as a kid struggling to adapt. Poppy’s repeatedly expressed faith that unveiling Sampson will bring some sort of vindication wears thin, but that does not detract from the central drama. It’s a pity that the named real-world books Poppy reads are notably lacking in diversity; a story about the power of literature so limited in imagination lets both itself and readers down. Main characters are cued White; there is racial diversity in the supporting cast. Chapters open with atmospheric spot art. (This review has been updated to reflect the final illustrations.)
A pleasing premise for book lovers. (Fantasy. 9-12)Pub Date: May 2, 2023
ISBN: 9780316448222
Page Count: 320
Publisher: Little, Brown
Review Posted Online: Feb. 24, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 2023
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
© Copyright 2025 Kirkus Media LLC. All Rights Reserved.
Follow
Popular in this Genre
We can’t wait for you to join Kirkus!
It’s free and takes less than 10 seconds!
Already have an account? Log in.
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
Welcome Back!
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
