About This Book:
Goffren (Goff in modern times) is the “ghost of Slaathwick,” an orphaned teenage Verlokken boy with a complex and treacherous relationship with the magical realm. It causes him to end up in the thick of the worst of it, and he drags anyone foolish enough to be friends with him along for the ride. People stay clear of him, and he stays clear of them, living alone in a small broom closet in the Royal Kitchen with his pet rat, Felix. He’d found a family once, a brief stint of feeling loved and happy, but a Verlokken doesn’t get to be happy. It ended in a horrible tragedy, thanks to him. Now, he keeps to himself, determined to never let that happen again.
When he reluctantly forms a friendship with a boisterous girl who performs at Royal Festivals and a stoic boy who is an apprentice Royal Magician, he pulls them along on a perilous effort to solve the mystery of strange murders at shimmering Castle Charmont and children being abducted from Slaathwick village and the outer Wicks.
On their fast-paced and treacherous adventure, they are almost eaten by a giant sea creature, barely escape a dark wizard’s castle, are nearly killed by winged lizards, flee from a wizard-hating mob, travel through magical portals, and are marked for execution. Ultimately, in his darkest hour, when all hope seems lost, Goffren must cast his fate to the wind and embrace the full, immense, terrifying extent of his Verlokken nature as his only hope of avoiding horrible tragedy. Again.
*Review Contributed by Mark Buxton, Staff Reviewer*
What worked:
Bones, a character made of bones, fiddles with a magical object and sends Goff and his friends disappearing into a new story. Bones and Maxim can observe what happens to Goff, and the author occasionally inserts their observations. Putting characters into unfamiliar situations probably makes it easier for readers who haven’t read the previous two books in the series. The new characters bear strong resemblances to earlier books with similar names and personalities. Goff becomes Goffren, but he can still communicate with nature. Halstrom is now Halstrohm, and he’s still a know-it-all who takes everything literally. Halstrohm and Lydianna have constant, humorous banter over his misunderstandings of her figures of speech and her confusion when he uses big words.
Goffren is a Verlokken, so he’s afraid to become close to anyone else. The lines in a minstrel song from the book’s opening warn that if a Verlokken stays with a person too long, “Forever your life… Will treacherous… And complicated be.” His self-image as a Verlokken creates a large mental hurdle when it comes to accepting assistance. He helps Lydianna with two bullies, but he’s surprised when she calls him “Friend”. Halstrohm rescues Goffren from captivity, but he’s still reluctant to acknowledge Halstrohm’s friendship. Goffren is eventually forced to recognize he has two new companions, whether he likes it or not. The author periodically has Goff/Goffren keep a mental journal where he reflects on events, thoughts, and feelings. Readers may develop deeper connections with characters when Goffren has them share their innermost fears and worries.
Goffren suspects someone is using dark, illegal magic. Goffren is accused of murdering a baron after the man is turned to stone, and that must be a sign of dark magic. Goffren witnesses a wizard using illegal magic to open a hidden door, and he later learns a sorceress is using it to create horrible creatures. Halstrohm is apprenticing as a wizard, and he’s reluctant to believe Goffren’s observations. Children are also disappearing around the realm, and readers will wonder how everything fits together. Do the murders and missing kids have anything to do with what Goffren and his friends find on a frightening island? The king and queen seem incompetent, and the head of the guards wants to have Goffren executed, so it’s unclear whom the characters can trust.
What didn’t work as well:
There are many characters to remember, especially those living in the castle. Goffren moves back and forth through the kingdom, and it might have helped to include a map somewhere in the book.
The final verdict:
With the cast of characters transported to a setting in the past, readers new to the series can jump in without missing a beat. Previous relationships are reintroduced, and backstories are recreated. This series is highly entertaining, and I recommend giving all the books a try.
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