From School Library Journal
Grade 6 Up–Vesper, a bat, dreams of following in his fathers glorified path as a Knight of the Moon. Unfortunately, he is too young to participate in the battle against their mortal enemies, the squirrels. When an army of bats massacres the Starwife, a young squirrel maiden, Ysabelle, must travel to the distant land to restore power and become the successor to the Oaken Throne. She and her traveling army of squirrels capture Vesper and decide to take him with them. Their journey throws them into a terrifying world of pure evil, and the bat and the squirrel must overcome their differences and work together to defeat the forces that threaten to destroy their worlds. Readers will have a hard time putting down this dark, gripping tale of love, treachery, and the clashing forces of good versus evil. This second book in the series stands completely on its own. The well-rounded characters enhance the excellent plot, which is sure to keep readers on the edge of their seats up to the very last page. Fans of the previous book and of the Deptford Mice trilogy (Chronicle) will not be disappointed. This book will also appeal to fans of Brian Jacques Redwall series (Penguin).
–Christine McGinty, Newark Public Library, NY Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
From Booklist
Gr. 6-9. War between the bats and the squirrels has been raging for years, and in this atmospheric sequel to
The Alchemist's Cat (2004), the first book in the Deptford Histories, war escalates and treachery abounds. The story follows the exploits of the young bat Vesper and the squirrel maiden Ysabelle, who rescues the magical Silver Acorn after the Starwife is murdered in a vicious power play that opens the way for the bats to decimate the squirrels. Ysabelle is joined by Vesper in her nightmarish quest to return the Silver Acorn to the squirrels of Greenwich, and the two come to realize that their lands' only salvation lies in rallying the bats and squirrels to end their war and take on the real foe--the dreaded minions of Lord Hobb, a hideous demon in rat shape. This novel is even darker in tone than the previous book, with full of terrifying and gory scenes, but it is also filled with inspiring heroics, and its sentient characters are true to their animal natures.
Sally EstesCopyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved
