Tersias - Softcover

GP Taylor lives on the banks of a river in the midst of a dark wood, an arrow's flight from The Prince Regent Hotel. He spends his days writing and collecting firewood. He can be emailed at shadowmancer@btopenworld.com.

Gr. 8-11. This macabre, old-London tale of corruption and redemption revolves around 12-year-old Tersias, a blind oracle. His is a sorry life, locked in a cage, forced to speak the future to earn coins for an abusive owner. Tersias' prophetic powers come from a Wretchkin, a nefarious otherworldly creature who also uses Tersias for his own gain. Other power-hungry sorts seek to use the boy as well, including Lord Malpas, burdened with a dark family curse, and Solomon, an apocalypse-obsessed cult leader. The boy's only friends are a band of young thieves who have robbed Malpas of two magical objects coveted by most of the story's characters, and which bring them all together in a final confrontation. Though some holes in the backstory and weak characterizations may pose obstacles for less-motivated readers, this is still more accessible than Taylor's Shadowmancer and Wormwood (both 2004), and the story's gritty setting, moody tone, and brisk action will appeal to many. Holly Koelling
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