Unfortunately, the story itself lays an egg. For a really magical book about mythical animals, readers should try The...
Numerous books have successfully built on a premise of human interaction with mythical creatures, but this one is overstuffed and convoluted.
When Logan and his father move to the small town of Xanadu, Wyo., he becomes involved in the search for six missing griffin cubs from the Menagerie. The action is as wild and wooly as a mammoth, with those prehistoric beasts, unicorns, mermaids and hellhounds and other creatures appearing around every corner. In the space of one day, Logan complains, “my clothes have been set on fire by a phoenix, drowned by a kelpie, rolled on by a mammoth, clawed and nibbled by griffin cubs, and drenched in kraken ink.” Can he help classmate Zoe and her family save the Menagerie from being shut down by SNAPA (SuperNatural Animal Protection Agency)? Driven by the plot, the characters lack depth; the creatures provide heft, but there are too many, too conveniently introduced. Pop-culture references—The Hunger Games, the Pirates of the Caribbean films, Wheel of Fortune—feel like pandering and will date the book. One clever touch is Logan’s ability to communicate with the opinionated griffin cubs. Book 2 will pick up from the last sentence of the abrupt ending: “Someone had murdered the goose who laid the golden eggs.”
Unfortunately, the story itself lays an egg. For a really magical book about mythical animals, readers should try The Forgotten Beasts of Eld, by Patricia McKillip (1974). (Fantasy. 9-12)Pub Date: March 12, 2013
ISBN: 978-0-06-078064-7
Page Count: 288
Publisher: Harper/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: Jan. 15, 2013
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 2013
The farce is frantic to the point of being labored, but there’s still plenty of room in the Captain’s Underpants for this...
New threats to their small town, both in the present and the future, again send squabbling frenemies Alex, Herbert and Sammi—aka the intrepid AlienSlayers—through the wormhole in Alex’s backyard.
It’s all due to an elaborate scheme concocted by AeroStar, Sammi’s embittered 111-year-old future self. On the one hand, a century from now, the friendly aliens of Merwinsville have been stranded on the dark side of the moon while giant wreckers destroy their earthly Utopia. On the other, a time-traveling alien has sown giant, ambulatory, meat-eating plants in the present town’s community garden. Hurtling back and forth through time and space to the rescue puts the trio of sixth-graders in the way of a nonstop barrage of blaster fire from AeroStar’s Utility Tiara, a horde of attacking MinionBots, chases, narrow escapes and reunions with previously met allies. That’s not to mention poop, pizza and Sally Field jokes, practically superfluous Captain Underpants references, and multiple cascades of slime and alien vomit. Though billed as “Yet another novel in cartoons,” the many line drawings more often reflect the action than add to it; most of the tale is told in short cliffhanger chapters that alternate relentlessly between then and now.
The farce is frantic to the point of being labored, but there’s still plenty of room in the Captain’s Underpants for this gang of fellow travelers. (Science fiction. 10-12)Pub Date: May 14, 2013
ISBN: 978-0-06-201220-3
Page Count: 352
Publisher: Harper/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: Feb. 5, 2013
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 2013
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
A tongue-in-cheek ramble with frequent opportunities for derring-do and a multitude of supernatural entities more colorful...
The world turns out to need saving from more than just one menace in this conclusion to Yep’s teeming and polymythical fantasy/alternate history/quest/rescue/coming-of-age epic.
The long chase has taken young noblewoman Scirye and her motley band of human, dragon and magical animal allies around the Pacific Rim and beyond. It comes to an end (after diverse adventures in Central Asia) in the ruins of remote Riye Srukalleyis (the titular City of Death) with battles against both the evil sorcerer Roland and, unexpectedly, a mountain-sized mud monster. As in previous episodes, quiet moments are rare, fortunes reverse in an instant and new adversaries appear in quick succession. There always seems to be time, though, even in desperate moments, for wisecracks, arguments, explanations, declarations of nefarious intent or ruminative digressions. The result is a relaxed tale with surprisingly low levels of pain or violence, considering all the gunfire and swordplay, and a tidy ending that comes amid a wash of personal conflict resolution. Yep provides only a partial key to the plethora of gods, ifrits, griffins, talking animals, legendary or mythical locations, and villainous types here, but he closes with a list of his multimedia sources.
A tongue-in-cheek ramble with frequent opportunities for derring-do and a multitude of supernatural entities more colorful than dangerous. (afterword) (Fantasy. 10-12)Pub Date: Feb. 5, 2013
ISBN: 978-0-7653-1926-5
Page Count: 384
Publisher: Starscape/Tom Doherty
Review Posted Online: Dec. 25, 2012
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 15, 2013
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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