Starred review from August 8, 2011
Wilson (the 100 Cupboards books) launches the Ashtown Burials series with this wildly imaginative and action-packed thrill ride. Their father dead and their mother in a coma, Cyrus and Antigone Smith are being raised by their older brother, Dan, while running (and living in) a dilapidated motel. Then the enigmatic Billy Skelton shows up: the elderly man barely has time to induct Cyrus and Antigone into the mysterious Order of Brendan and designate them as his heirs before he's killed. After Dan is kidnapped and the motel is destroyed, the siblings have nowhere to go but Ashtown, the clandestine home of the ancient order. There, they learn about their family's shadowy history and must prove their worth to the society of adventurers and explorers whose past members have included the likes of Amelia Earhart. Additionally, Cyrus and Antigone battle traitors and subterranean creatures while struggling to keep an ancient artifact away from an immortal madman. Wilson balances these hyperbolic plot elements with measured prose and smart dialogue, while combining pulp sensibilities, cinematic pacing, and fully developed characters readers will gladly follow down the rabbit hole. Ages 8â12.
April 15, 2011
A wild fantasy romp through a creatively imagined alternative world takes a classic quest format.
Cyrus and Antigone, siblings ages 12 and 13 1/2, respectively, are thrown into adventure when they must leave the ancient motel in Wisconsin that has been their home in ashes and are driven by a lawyer with very strange speech patterns in a limo to Ashtown, where an alternate world awaits. Might their parents, thought dead, actually be alive? By the use of the third person, the author keeps events rolling and the pace swift, with barely a moment to breathe for the characters. While certain of their foes are immortal, others are just plain old incredible creatures, such as whip spiders and feathered vipers, but all require the courage of the trusty duo, who manages to befriend the right sorts just in time to be saved. Naturally, world dominion is at stake, and the evil Dr. Phoenix at the heart of the plot. The somewhat bombastic prose matches the derring-do required of the heroes, who have a certain winsome charm, and the nonstop action doesn't allow for any reflection on the absurdity of the premise. For readers who've reread all of Harry Potter multiple times, this will be just what the doctor ordered.
Blissfully free of any deeper message, the adventures will continue in future volumes. (Fantasy. 10-15)
(COPYRIGHT (2011) KIRKUS REVIEWS/NIELSEN BUSINESS MEDIA, INC. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.)
Starred review from November 1, 2011
Gr 5-8-The Order of Brendan is an underground collective of sages, historians, and explorers who've been guarding the world's secrets for millennia. On an unseasonably warm summer evening, a mysterious tattooed man arrives at the rundown motel that Cyrus and Antigone Smith and their older brother Dan call home. Before perishing in a bizarre shoot-out, he gifts Cyrus with a set of keys and hints at his father's involvement in the Order. Morning finds the motel destroyed, Dan kidnapped, and Cyrus and Antigone are plunged headlong into an exciting and dangerous world and pursued by a deadly advisory who will do anything to possess their strange inheritance. Their only hope is to claim birthright admission into an organization they know nothing of-and that may not entirely welcome their presence. They soon discover that the fate of the Order-and of the entire world-is in their hands. This volume marks the birth of an extraordinary new series. Populated with well-crafted characters, peppered with mythological references, and brought to vivid life through Wilson's masterful storytelling, this book is sure to appeal to the adventurous spirit in all who delve into its pages.-Alissa J. LeMerise, Oxford Public Library, MI
Copyright 2011 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.
Starred review from October 15, 2011
Grades 5-8 *Starred Review* Cyrus and Antigone Smith have been living with their brother, Dan, since the mysterious circumstances that caused their father's death and their mother's coma. Then Billy Bones appears out of nowhere with a ring of keys and a dragon's tooth. Within moments of passing them to Cyrus, Billy is killed and Dan is kidnapped by the elusive Dr. Phoenix. The only possibility of rescuing their brother seems to reside in Ashtown with the Order of Brendan. This fast-paced fantasy quickly draws readers in to its alternate reality, where transmortal creatures cannot be defeated with ordinary weapons, and Dr. Phoenix's experiments on Dan and others are reminiscent of history's worst realities. Yet, on the positive side, there is the love the Smith family holds for one another, love that requires trust and self-sacrifice. Allusions to mythology and complex character developmentnot only of several young protagonists but also of Phoenix and the shifty cook, Sterlingmake Wilson's first in a proposed series a gem. In an embattled world, where evil seems insurmountable, a glimmer of hope arises from a tooth.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2011, American Library Association.)
January 1, 2012
Siblings Cyrus and Antigone Smith abruptly become heirs of a dangerous man with dangerous tools. Bewildered and beleaguered by shadowy villains, they're whisked away to a secretive, barely less-treacherous society for world explorers--which they must survive to save their family. Quirky characters, adventure, murder, and magical artifacts are just a few highlights in this breathlessly paced series opener.
(Copyright 2012 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)