OCTOBER 2013 - AudioFile
This sequel to THE PECULIAR continues the tale of the war between the English and the Faeries. Bartholomew Kettle is on a quest to find his sister, Hettie, a changeling who was pulled into the faery world in Book 1. The story is dark and complex, a fantasy of faeries and an army in a war to the death. Peter Altschuler brings the characters to life, giving them each a unique voice, accent, and personality. His pacing and intonation convey emotions of excitement, exuberance, and expectation. N.E.M. © AudioFile 2013, Portland, Maine
From the Publisher
Exhilarating . . . Bachmann writes with a skill that belies his youth . . . and he has a genius for envisioning fairy magic and architecture. . . . Readers will want to start with The Peculiar, and immediately dive into this fine tale.”- — Publishers Weekly (starred review)
“Enthralling . . . The breathtaking beauty of [Bachmann’s] prose is coupled with a plot that also leaves his audience breathless.” — School Library Journal
“[A] breathless read, one that will have readers hoping for a peaceful outcome as fervently as its characters do.” — Kirkus Reviews
OCTOBER 2013 - AudioFile
This sequel to THE PECULIAR continues the tale of the war between the English and the Faeries. Bartholomew Kettle is on a quest to find his sister, Hettie, a changeling who was pulled into the faery world in Book 1. The story is dark and complex, a fantasy of faeries and an army in a war to the death. Peter Altschuler brings the characters to life, giving them each a unique voice, accent, and personality. His pacing and intonation convey emotions of excitement, exuberance, and expectation. N.E.M. © AudioFile 2013, Portland, Maine
Kirkus Reviews
2013-09-15
At the end of The Peculiar (2012), Bachmann's debut, the evil faery Mr. Lickerish had used half-faery Bartholomew's little sister, Hettie, as a Door to open the way between England and the Old Country; here is what happens next. Years have passed in England, and humans are winning the country back from the faeries. One-eyed orphan Pikey (his other was stolen one night, a clouded, useless orb left in its place) ekes out a meager existence in London's underbelly. When a faery returns a favor with an astonishing gem, he tries to pawn it and, predictably, ends up in deep trouble. Meanwhile, Hettie struggles to survive in the Old Country, where just a few days have passed. Captured by the lady Piscaltine and kept as her pet Whatnot, Hettie waits in terror for Bartholomew to rescue her. The story alternates between the Old Country and England, between twig-haired Hettie and Pikey; somehow, he can see her through his clouded eye, which makes him very valuable to Bartholomew, who rescues him from jail for its sake. Bachmann unleashes his boundless imagination in his descriptions of the Old Country, whose rules and landscape are capricious and ever-changing. Hettie's terror is well-justified. Detail upon baroque detail piles up as Bartholomew and Pikey race to find Hettie, the war between humans and faeries inevitably catching them up in it--as does friendship. It's a bleak and breathless read, one that will have readers hoping for a peaceful outcome as fervently as its characters do. (Fantasy. 10-15)
