From School Library Journal
Grade 8-11–This sinister tale takes place after the events in
Wormwood (Putnam, 2004) and centers on a magical knife stolen from its owner by a young London thief. The theft sets off a chain of events involving a barmaid, a would-be magician, and Tersias, a 12-year-old blind boy who predicts the future with the help of a malevolent, supernatural Wretchkin. Lord Malpas, the rightful owner of the cursed knife, remains a sketchy character and readers never know what drives him. As is usual in Taylor's work, good vs. evil and the quest for ultimate power drive the plot and the characters in a dizzying display of malicious machinations. Violence and cruelty are overcome by the strength of love in a miraculous ending too neat to be entirely believed. Teens who enjoy complex, dark tales would be better served by Marcus Sedgwick's
The Book of Dead Days (2004) and
The Dark Flight Down (2005, both Random).
–Sharon Grover, Hedberg Public Library, Janesville, WI Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
From Booklist
Gr. 8-11. This macabre, old-London tale of corruption and redemption revolves around 12-year-old Tersias, a blind oracle. His is a sorry life, locked in a cage, forced to speak the future to earn coins for an abusive owner. Tersias' prophetic powers come from a Wretchkin, a nefarious otherworldly creature who also uses Tersias for his own gain. Other power-hungry sorts seek to use the boy as well, including Lord Malpas, burdened with a dark family curse, and Solomon, an apocalypse-obsessed cult leader. The boy's only friends are a band of young thieves who have robbed Malpas of two magical objects coveted by most of the story's characters, and which bring them all together in a final confrontation. Though some holes in the backstory and weak characterizations may pose obstacles for less-motivated readers, this is still more accessible than Taylor's
Shadowmancer and
Wormwood (both 2004), and the story's gritty setting, moody tone, and brisk action will appeal to many.
Holly KoellingCopyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved
