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THE FAMILY BOOKSHELF - 09/17/2008
(by Rich Gawel - Staff Writer - September 18, 2008)
The Emerald Isle Offers New Young Adult Fantasy
The last Harry Potter novel came out a year ago, and despite rumors and wishful thinking to the contrary, we won’t see a new entry in that series anytime soon. But that’s okay. The selection of fantasy novels for middle schoolers and young adults has never been better, so plenty of great alternatives are available for kids looking for something new.
In fact, three of the genre’s best authors hail from Ireland. Eoin Colfer, Michael Scott, and Derek Landy have taken the baton from J.K. Rowling, and they’re running with it—maybe all the way to the top of the bestseller charts. These three authors have new novels hitting the bookstores this summer, all crackling with wit, adventure, and imagination alike.
Artemis Fowl returns!
The biggest book of the three has to be Colfer’s latest Artemis Fowl adventure, “The Time Paradox.” Artemis Fowl is the teenage heir to a underworld empire. He’s also, quite possibly, one of the smartest human beings in history. But his criminal ambitions take him beyond heists involving homo sapiens, as he sets his sights on the fairy realm. Yet these fairies are no Tinkerbells, as they pack powerful magic and cutting-edge technology far beyond our civilization.
Don’t let that larcenous setup dissuade you from the series, though. He would be the last to admit it, but Artemis has a heart. Even his most audacious crimes have some noble goal, like curing his ailing mother, finding his missing father, or taking down villains out to conquer the world. Colfer’s sly prose will have you and your kids laughing out loud, and his ingenious plot twists will keep all of you turning the pages long after you should have been asleep. The Time Paradox is no exception.
Artemis’ mother is ill again, but this time, she has a disease that only is supposed to affect magical creatures. The fairies used to have a cure, taken from the brain fluid of a rare lemur. But that species is now extinct. Worse, Artemis himself had a hand in its extinction five years before. So, he must enlist his fairy allies to send him back in time and save the lemur so he can return to the present and save his mother. It should be easy for a genius like Artemis, right? Of course not.
As in all time travel novels, Artemis must take pains not to otherwise affect the space-time continuum. Colfer does a very good job of laying out the rules and preserving the internal logic. Also, the author sets up some compelling obstacles, including the younger Artemis. While he may not have the older version’s experience, the younger Artemis does have his intelligence. Even more challenging, he lacks the morals that Artemis the elder has developed over the previous five novels. Throw in additional enemies, human and fairy alike, and it seems like an impossible task only our hero can complete.
Colfer is a master of melding traditional fantastic elements, like the krakens that haunt the open seas and fairy healing magic, with sci-fi elements like neutrino laser blasters and supersonic subterranean shuttles. He also is deft with plot, with labyrinthine twists that all add up to a very satisfying conclusion. And, his trademark wit with is in full force as the characters and narration all offer one-liners, puns, and put-downs. It’s an excellent addition to the series. If you aren’t a fan yet, find the first novel as soon as you can, and get yourself and your kids reading! You should be caught up in no time, and very glad you did.
An immortal adventure
Last year, Michael Scott earned justified accolades and awards for his novel, “The Alchemyst,” the first in a planned six-book series called “The Secrets of the Immortal Nicholas Flamel.” This rousing adventure thrusts two American teens, twins Josh and Sophie Newman, into a cold war between powerful races of magical beings. Of course, they may be the Two Who Are One, the twins of prophecy who may save the world or destroy it.
During that novel, they discover that the kindly owners of the San Francisco shops where they work are really Nicholas Flamel, an alchemist who knows the secret of immortality, and his sorceress wife, Perenelle. The Flamels possess the Codex, an ancient book of magic, only to lose most of it to Dr. John Dee, an equally powerful wizard who serves the Dark Elders. Dr. Dee pursues the Flamels and the twins for the remainder of the story, which skillfully mixes hairs-breadth escapes with realistic character development despite the otherworldly presence of witches, golems, and other denizens of the fantastic.
The second book, The Magician, continues that pursuit. Only this time, Dee finds an ally in Nicolo Machiavelli, another immortal serving the Dark Elders and preparing for their world domination. Scott’s fictional Machiavelli is every bit as intelligent and ruthless as his real-life counterpart, if not more so. Josh and Sophie find more allies of their own in the Comte de Saint-Germain and Joan of Arc, now married and living in Paris.
Scott’s greatest strength is his mastery of history and mythology. The Flamels, Dee, Machiavelli, and other characters all are based on historical figures, and Scott has done his homework. For example, the home of the real Nicholas Flamel still exists in Paris. It’s now a restaurant. Scott himself has dined there, and it appears in this novel. And with the exception of Josh and Sophie, all of the magical characters come from the world’s folklore, from the Celtic warrior Scathach to the feline Egyptian goddess Bastet. Reading these books is like taking a course in world mythology, but much more fun.
Scott’s next strength is his character development. Josh and Sophie may have a destiny, but they realistically wrestle with the choice of receiving magical powers or returning to their normal teenage lives. They also are very convincing as they are shocked by and then accept the wonders around them. Similarly, Nicholas and Perenelle are very believable as a couple that has been married for centuries, with a history and love all their own. You’ll care about these characters, and you’ll be impatient for book 3, “The Sorceress,” due next year.
A bone-chilling tale
Like Michael Scott, Derek Landy returns with the second book in his fantasy series, “Skullduggery Pleasant: Playing with Fire.” In the first novel, 13-year-old Stephanie Edgley meets her late uncle’s best friend, the eponymous detective Skullduggery Pleasant. But her uncle was a famous horror author, and Stephanie is surprised to learn his books have some basis in truth—especially since Skullduggery is a fireball-wielding skeleton who, fortunately, works for the good guys.
There are bad guys a plenty in Skullduggery’s world. Like Scott’s series, some dark wizards are working toward bringing primal gods, this time known as the Faceless Ones, back to our dimension. It’s unfair to say that one book copied the other, as both novels appeared around the same time. And if you read enough fantasy, you’ll always find villains who are trying to bring evil monsters into our world. But while authors may ply similar ideas, they distinguish themselves in the execution.
Scott is served well by his encyclopedic knowledge of history and mythology. Landy, like Colfer, snaps with wit. In this novel, Stephanie is now known as Valkyrie Cain, and she is Skullduggery’s apprentice and partner. He is a typical hard-boiled private eye, with all the charm, ego, and sarcasm that genre entails. He just happens to be a magical skeleton who favors vintage Bentley automobiles and natty pinstriped suits. Valkyrie could have stepped from a 1930s mobster movie herself as the wisecracking dame who everybody underestimates.
The plot is rather straightforward. Baron Vengeous, who used to serve the Faceless Ones, wants to resurrect a monster known as the Grotesquery. This demonic beast has the power to open a portal to bring the Faceless Ones back to our dimension, and it’s up to Valkyrie and Skullduggery to stop Vengeous and his allies. There are twists and turns along the way along with hints at a grander conspiracy behind the events of both and probably future novels, in the grandest noir tradition of corruption in high places.
“Skullduggery Pleasant: Playing with Fire” is a light read, but it’s a lot of fun. It’s great popcorn for kids who like mysteries like the Hardy Boys and Nancy Drew as well as fantasy like Harry Potter and Narnia. It also is good preparation for future mystery lovers who may grow up to enjoy books by the likes of Raymond Chandler or James Patterson, or even adult supernatural detectives like Jim Butcher’s Harry Dresden. Add a fire-throwing skeleton as the hero, and you and your kids are in for a wild ride.
The post-Potter world
Yes, the Harry Potter novels are works of genius that will stand next to the Lord of the Rings and other classics for generations to come. But there’s no need to keep rereading them when writers like Colfer, Scott, and Landy are masterfully building their own worlds too. Any one of these authors’ series will provide you and your children with many afternoons of summer fun, reading under your favorite shade tree. Then again, you and your family may devour these books so quickly, you should check out all three series.
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