Description
Product Description
The dark and thrilling sequel to the book Kirkus called, "Harry Potter, Alice in Wonderland, and Inkheart all rolled into one"
Alice has her first adventure outside Geryon's library after he volunteers her to work with five other apprentice Readers, including Isaac, to capture a rogue apprentice who murdered his master. But none of them realize that the library of the late rival Reader is still a working deadly labyrinth, or that the vicious guardian is still protecting it. As they face the fight of their lives, Alice learns much more about Isaac, Geryon (her own master), and the fate of her father.
"Wexler is an able builder of magical worlds and creatures, with labyrinths, an enchanted library, and a feisty, swashbuckling heroine at the center. A story rich in action and allegory—fantasy fans will want to hang on for what comes next."—
Kirkus Reviews
Review
"Wexler is an able builder of magical worlds and creatures, with labyrinths, an enchanted library, and a feisty, swashbuckling heroine at the center. A story rich in action and allegory—fantasy fans will want to hang on for what comes next."—Kirkus"Full of action and adventure, this tale will enthrall fans of the first novel."—School Library Journal
"With an original concept, a brave and spirited heroine, and tantalizing incipient relationships among the apprentices (including Alice’s hot-and-cold friendship with Isaac, who tricked her in the first volume), Wexler’s series grows stronger by the book."—Horn Book
Praise for The Forbidden Library:"Working in the grand tradition of children's fantasy, Wexler's off to a promising start."—Kirkus"A charming, adventuresome fantasy from a promising new author."—Booklist"Reminiscent of Cornelia Funke's Inkheart (Scholastic, 2003) and Neil Gaiman's Coraline (HarperCollins, 2002)."—School Library Journal
About the Author
Django Wexler (djangowexler.com) is a self-proclaimed computer/fantasy/sci fi geek. He graduated from Carnegie Mellon University with degrees in creative writing and computer science, and worked in artificial intelligence research. He left his job at Microsoft and now writes full-time for Penguin. Django's first book, an epic fantasy novel for adults, was published by Roc.
Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.
CHAPTER ONE
THE SWAMP WAS HOT, moist, and silent. For a long time, nothing moved except groping tendrils of fog, playing over the muck and twisting between the hunchbacked trees. An occasional dragonfly skimmed through the reeds on crystalline wings. Overhead, the sun was fat and orange, motionless as if it had been nailed to the pale blue sky.
Then, in the distance, there was the sound of raised voices, and the rustle of someone moving through the underbrush. The dragonflies scattered. A moment later, one of the fogbanks quivered and disgorged a girl, picking her way with caution along a spit of what passed for solid ground.
She was twelve or thirteen, dressed in practical trousers and a leather vest, with her hair tied up to keep it out of the way. She was sweating freely, her pale, freckled cheeks already reddening in the sun, but her eyes were alert, scanning the trees and hollows around her.
Sitting on her shoulder was a small gray cat. His claws were fastened into her vest with desperate strength, as though he was terrified of falling off. Insofar as a cat can have an expression, this one looked very unhappy.
The girl and the cat were named Alice and Ashes-Drifting-Through-the-Dead-Cities-of-the-World (or Ashes, for short), respectively. When they reached the top of the hummock, Alice stopped and turned in a slow circle, while Ashes lashed his tail in an irritable sort of way. It was the cat who finally broke the awkward silence that had grown up between them.
“What,” he said, “are we doing here?”
“We’re looking for some kind of monster,” Alice said. Her master, Geryon, had told her what it was called, some complicated Latin name, but she hadn’t com
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