THE LEGEND THIEF

After moving to Exile and watching his Uncle Phineas get attacked then disappear (Return to Exile, 2011), Sky learned that monsters are real. A year later, he is monster-hunting with his friends when a greater threat comes to light.

Morton, Phineas’ foe and father of the imprisoned Hunter of Legend Solomon Rose, intends to free his son and bring to fruition Solomon’s nefarious plan to claim the powers that the monster Legend had held over “all other forces and nature itself.” The only threat to the agenda is Legend’s son, Bedlam, who is physically incapacitated but able to Edgewalk and thus possess another’s body. Sky’s oddities make him the most likely host; therefore, Morton wants Sky dead. Fans of the first book will continue to root for snarky, wily Sky; new readers will thrill at the monster clashes—especially the one that occurs in the middle of the homecoming game (Sky’s bossy, cheerleader sister leads players and hunters forward in team formation: “Hike!”). All will continue to be perplexed by the complex back story and the confusing cast of characters and monsters who change loyalties, identities and shapes. Some threads are left dangling, no doubt to be tied up in future installments, and another plot twist is revealed in the epilogue to hook readers.

Alas, many will be unwilling to return to Exile.