THE AURELIA CURSE

This Dragon Rider novel, written in English rather than translated from German like previous entries, pits the Greenblooms and fabulous creatures against an evil acquaintance from Barnabas’ schooldays.

An ancient myth states if waterfowl form swirling, flowerlike images on four different bodies of water, the mythical Aurelia, bearing healing pods, will appear where the lines connecting these locations intersect. It seems this is now happening, and the Greenblooms are preparing by calling the magical earth, air, fire, and water creatures who will carry the four pods to their appropriate realms. However, if the Aurelia or her pods are met with violence, she will cause all the fabulous creatures on Earth to disappear. While the Greenblooms and their magical friends are preparing to welcome the Aurelia, evil Cadoc Eelstrom is preparing to steal one of the pods to make himself immortal. The execution of this basic good-versus-evil plot is incohesive and disjointed. While the narrative voice changes with each chapter, the progression of the plot, alas, does not. Readers, reminded for the umpteenth time that the Aurelia will make all fabulous creatures disappear if she is angered, may begin to feel frustrated. Plunked on top of the thin plot are snippets describing the properties of the many magical creatures the author introduces, but these many, undeniably imaginative embellishments cannot resurrect a story that doesn’t have depth and characters that lack nuance. Black-and-white illustrations add a whimsical touch. Most human characters read as White.

Best for existing series fans.