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quippeThe Blurb On The Back:
If the call came – would you answer?
Twelve-year-old Mack MacAvoy is not cut out to be a hero. But one day a three-thousand-year-old man named Grimluk appears and tells Mack he is one of the Magnificent Twelve – an elite team who must save the world from the greatest evil it has ever faced. Mack must travel the globe and track down the other eleven kids who will fight the coming terror.
But it all sounds a bit dangerous and Mack never planned to be a hero ... Will he answer the call?
12-year-old David “Mack” MacAvoy is not hero material. He’s not big, smart or good looking and he’s got loads of phobias. In fact, the only thing he is good at is standing up to bullies, a bad idea because his school is full of them. The worst of them is Stefan and when Mack crosses his path, he’s expecting a pounding. Instead a mysterious old man called Grimluk intervenes to save Mack and tell him that he is one of the Magnificent Twelve – a group of 12 children who have been prophesied to save the world from the Pale Queen and her plans for domination.
Mack must find the other children before the Pale Queen escapes from the prison where Grimluk and the original twelve entombed her. But Mack is reluctant to do so, especially when the Pale Queen’s forces, led by her evil daughter, Erekigal, make it clear how far they’ll go to stop him ...
Michael Grant’s novel is the first in a MG fantasy series. It tries to put a fresh spin on the well worn story of a child being chosen to battle an ancient evil and is filled with knowing references, e.g. Mack goes to Richard Gere Middle School, there are references to TV shows and films and the story’s got a knowing omnipotent voice that jumps between Mack’s story and Grimluk’s own battle against the Pale Queen.
However for me the tone was too knowing and glib, preventing me from empathising with Mack e.g. his fear of flying is played for laughs, with other characters knocking him out to shut him up. Some of the cultural references, e.g. to The Sopranos seemed too mature for the target readership and Grant plays fast and loose with reality to suit the plot (e.g. one scene sees characters fall over 20,000 feet from a moving plane). Grimluk’s story is perfunctorily told and played for laughs, which again stopped me empathising with the horrific events he goes though.
The one saving grace is the letters sent to Mack by his golem replacement, who doesn’t understand how the world works as they leave the details up to the reader’s imagination and genuinely made me laugh.
All in all it’s an okay read but there’s nothing new here and the tone and story structure never quite rings true enough to make it stand out.
The Verdict:
The first in a new Middle Grade fantasy series treads the familiar old ground of a chosen one having to battle evil. Although the author tries to put a modern spin on it, for me the glib tone and too mature references stopped me from empathising with the main character and his journey. There are some genuine laughs, courtesy of a golem replacement struggling to understand how the world works, but it wasn’t enough to raise this above a so-so read.
Thanks to the Amazon Vine Programme for the free copy of this book.
Twelve-year-old Mack MacAvoy is not cut out to be a hero. But one day a three-thousand-year-old man named Grimluk appears and tells Mack he is one of the Magnificent Twelve – an elite team who must save the world from the greatest evil it has ever faced. Mack must travel the globe and track down the other eleven kids who will fight the coming terror.
But it all sounds a bit dangerous and Mack never planned to be a hero ... Will he answer the call?
12-year-old David “Mack” MacAvoy is not hero material. He’s not big, smart or good looking and he’s got loads of phobias. In fact, the only thing he is good at is standing up to bullies, a bad idea because his school is full of them. The worst of them is Stefan and when Mack crosses his path, he’s expecting a pounding. Instead a mysterious old man called Grimluk intervenes to save Mack and tell him that he is one of the Magnificent Twelve – a group of 12 children who have been prophesied to save the world from the Pale Queen and her plans for domination.
Mack must find the other children before the Pale Queen escapes from the prison where Grimluk and the original twelve entombed her. But Mack is reluctant to do so, especially when the Pale Queen’s forces, led by her evil daughter, Erekigal, make it clear how far they’ll go to stop him ...
Michael Grant’s novel is the first in a MG fantasy series. It tries to put a fresh spin on the well worn story of a child being chosen to battle an ancient evil and is filled with knowing references, e.g. Mack goes to Richard Gere Middle School, there are references to TV shows and films and the story’s got a knowing omnipotent voice that jumps between Mack’s story and Grimluk’s own battle against the Pale Queen.
However for me the tone was too knowing and glib, preventing me from empathising with Mack e.g. his fear of flying is played for laughs, with other characters knocking him out to shut him up. Some of the cultural references, e.g. to The Sopranos seemed too mature for the target readership and Grant plays fast and loose with reality to suit the plot (e.g. one scene sees characters fall over 20,000 feet from a moving plane). Grimluk’s story is perfunctorily told and played for laughs, which again stopped me empathising with the horrific events he goes though.
The one saving grace is the letters sent to Mack by his golem replacement, who doesn’t understand how the world works as they leave the details up to the reader’s imagination and genuinely made me laugh.
All in all it’s an okay read but there’s nothing new here and the tone and story structure never quite rings true enough to make it stand out.
The Verdict:
The first in a new Middle Grade fantasy series treads the familiar old ground of a chosen one having to battle evil. Although the author tries to put a modern spin on it, for me the glib tone and too mature references stopped me from empathising with the main character and his journey. There are some genuine laughs, courtesy of a golem replacement struggling to understand how the world works, but it wasn’t enough to raise this above a so-so read.
Thanks to the Amazon Vine Programme for the free copy of this book.
