None
The seemingly ordinary young members of The Mysterious Benedict Society (2007) reunite for another grand adventure, though the author’s mannered prose style, his habit of explaining things that need no explanation and his protagonist’s compulsive need to ruminate over the ethics of every action may wear down less patient readers. When beloved sponsor and narcoleptic genius Nicholas Benedict goes missing, Reynie, Kate, Sticky and now-three-year-old Constance set out to the rescue. Fortunately, Benedict has left a trail of not-too-cryptic riddle/clues to follow. Unfortunately, his evil twin Ledroptha Curtain and minions are usually a step ahead. Also unfortunately—for the story, at least—the author trots in so many grown-ups to help the young folk along that in the end their own abilities only fitfully come into play. The rescue is ultimately accomplished, although as Curtain escapes, there may well be more outings for the Society down the road. Though still entertainingly quirky, this second doorstopper episode has more of an air of trading on the previous one’s cleverness than building on it. (Fiction. 11-13)
None NonePub Date: May 1, 2008
ISBN: 978-0-316-05780-6
Page Count: 440
Publisher: Megan Tingley/Little, Brown
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 2008
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Mebus (probably) concludes his tangled but inventive epic, cranking up the struggle among New York City’s supernatural residents to a climactic battle in Central Park. Even as the power-mad magician Willem Kieft is gathering an army of minor gods and murderous spirits on the pretext of wiping out the indigenous Munsees once and for all, young Rory and his indomitable little sister Bridget set out on a frantic, five-borough search for fragments of a certain diary that may hold the key to both their stricken mother’s life and Kieft’s defeat. Though a partial list of names at the front isn’t going to help readers keep track of the teeming cast, there’s plenty of action and humor (“God of Spies! That’s so me!” warbles flamingly idiotic bit player Nathan Hale) to compensate—plus spectacular magic, stunning revelations and encounters with such New York icons as Teddy Roosevelt and a subterranean alligator “easily the size of a tour bus.” The ultimate victory is credibly hard-won, and though the tale’s internal logic doesn’t bear close inspection, overall it’s turned out to be a grand adventure. (Fantasy. 11-13)
Pub Date: May 1, 2010
ISBN: 978-0-525-42240-2
Page Count: 384
Publisher: Dutton
Review Posted Online: March 4, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 2010
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
In a prequel to The Ice Bear (1986), Siri’s people live in the frozen Starkland settlement, residing peacefully with the primitive Furfolk, who communicate by whuffles and grunts. Siri’s Uncle Thorvald plans to convince the king to rescind their people’s banishment to that remote arctic isle with the gift of an ice bear and its cubs. To do this he needs the help of his friend, a Furfolk man, who can handle the bear on the long sea journey; Siri accompanies them disguised as one of the Furfolk man’s children. But when the king insists that the Furfolk man stay with the bear, Thorvald is forced to betray his friend for the sake of his people, while Siri chooses to betray Thorvald for her new Furfolk friends. Her allegiances have shifted during the course of the journey, and in the end it is left unclear whether her people will try to destroy the Furfolk, and what Siri can do to stop them. This complex, atmospheric morality tale offers no easy answers, and takes place in a world that is alien and exotic. (Fiction. 10-12)
Pub Date: Aug. 26, 1999
ISBN: 0-688-16602-4
Page Count: 152
Publisher: Greenwillow Books
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 1999
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