PIRATE CURSE

Meyer decants a frothy draught of piratical adventure to open this series. Orphaned apprentice freebooter Jolly thought she was the last “polliwog,” the Caribbean nickname for teens that can magically walk on water. Escaping the slaughter of the pirate crew that raised her, Jolly discovers Munk, another polliwog, hiding with his parents on a tiny isle. As the seas start to spit forth murderous abominations, Jolly and Munk are destined to play pivotal roles in forestalling the eruption of the Mare Tenebrosum. Can they and their motley companions prevail against the dreadful powers of the Maelstrom? The standard tropes and stock characters of epic quest fantasy—feisty heroine, naïve hero, mysterious mentor and assorted rogues arrayed against an apocalyptic villain—appear in amusement-park pirate costumes. Anyone looking for authentic historical detail will be disappointed; but those seeking nautical atmosphere and nonstop action will find rich booty, as sea battles, tavern fights, ghosts, monsters, shipwrecks and shark attacks spill out from the very first page, racing along to not one but two cliffhangers to entice (or frustrate) breathless readers. Neither original nor thought-provoking, but awash in swashbuckling fun. (Fantasy. 10-14)