Thursday, March 11, 2010

The Shadow of Malabron by Thomas Wharton

When Will steals his father's motorcycle and runs away from the campsite where they are staying, his plan is for revenge not to crash and end up in another land. He wants revenge on his father for taking him and his sister, Jess, away from the house they lived in before his mother died. His destination on the motorcycle is the Perilous Realm, what he thinks is an amusement park a few miles down the road from their campsite. Will does end up in Perilous Realm; too bad it is not an amusement park, but an entirely different world. An evil sorcerer brings him there and wants to capture Will to use him for his own nefarious reasons. The Perilous Realm is a world of stories where everyone and everything has their own and are all part of the weaving, the largest story of all. The Angel and his master want to create the end of all the stories; they want to control all of them for themselves. Will sets off on his journey accompanied by a young girl with extraordinary powers, her storytelling grandfather, a talking wolf, and a knight-in-training. Along the way, they pick up a man who is of the storyfolk and has a dark past as well a raven companion. Will and his friends set off on a journey to nowhere, to find the gateless gate in order to get Will back home to Elsewhere, avoiding the Angel and his minions the whole way.

Wharton does an extraordinary job of weaving the tales of many people together in order to create Will's story. His characters are vibrant and come to life. One cannot allow Will to stay in the Perilous Realm and it keeps a reader going until the very end. The book is action-packed and good for anyone who loves fantasy books. Delve into the Perilous Realms, read a story of stories and travel with Will across an unknown land as he endeavors to get back home.

Reviewer Age:16
Reviewer City, State and Country: Leverett, Ma USA