03/01/2019
Gr 4 Up—"Cursed" Jane Doe exists to take care of her nonresponsive father and avoid the slurs of the "good people" of Bluehaven who view her infant arrival from the world portal known as the Manor as apocalyptic. Calamity strikes again when Jane is 14 and the Manor reopens. Intrepid adventurer Winifred Robin insists Jane must reenter the Manor to save the world and rescue her father. Once there, Jane finds a violent world ruled by Roth, who wishes to conquer all the Manor and all the gateway worlds by collecting three keys, one of which Jane possesses. Jane teams up with an ancient Manor resident Hickory to seek more keys in the Manor's hostile realms. Jane and her companions, Violet and Hickory, are distinct, likeable characters. Jane has a wry humor paired with intense vulnerability over her near-orphan status. Hickory is an unknown quantity—he acts in his own interest, and perhaps sequels will reveal his true motivation. Violet's preference for fire and explosions as diversions is highly amusing. Their quirky personalities will help readers persist with a complicated backstory referencing gods and the creation of the Manor. Fast-paced adventure and numerous escapes move forward an abundance of episodes and shifting narratives. Mild swearing and a brief discussion of Jane's romantic interest point toward a middle school audience, along with other complex story elements. VERDICT Relatable characters balance the dense setting and plotting. Purchase where adventure is in strong demand.—Caitlin Augusta, Stratford Library Association, CT
2019-02-13
A tormented, snarky girl quests through a magical house full of traps in this series opener.
Ever since Jane Doe appeared in Bluehaven on the Night of All Catastrophes 14 years ago, a babe in the arms of her nonresponsive father, the villagers have called her the Cursed One. Jane, they are sure, brought the earthquakes that plague them and somehow closed off the Manor that once offered gateways to the Otherworlds. On the annual holiday during which Jane and her father are burned in effigy by the townsfolk, Jane is rescued from a near murder only to be thrust through a secret Manor entrance on a quest to save all the worlds. The Manor's filled with corpses, gas mask-bedecked soldiers, and B-movie traps. With the help of a few potential allies—or are they enemies?—Jane (who, along with every other character, has no obvious racial identity) hopes to find her newly vanished father. Lachlan's worldbuilding is utterly incoherent, with a blend of technology levels, idioms, and foods that make no sense together, and he makes liberal, casual use of ethnic and disability tropes. Still, for those readers who want a video game-style race against time (if Jane doesn't press the right glyph on the floor tiles, or duck the giant swinging axe, or escape baddies on top of a rushing train, she will die gruesomely), there's plenty of bloody, fast-paced adventuring. A romance between Jane and a female friend seems likely to spark in Volume 2.
Poorly constructed but also a breathless, fun crawl through a maze of twisty passages. (Fantasy. 13-15)
