2021-08-31
In this middle-grade adventure, a half-alien twin ends up surrounded by bloodthirsty creatures while searching for a powerful artifact.
Electra and Isis Firma are half-human and half-Squrlon, an alien race that has secretly lived on Earth for 10,000 years. The 12-year-old twin sisters play special roles in the battle against the Vympyrym, an alien race of giant, blood-drinking rats. Isis is the Wielder of the Purple Staff of Death, and Electra is the Recorder, who wears the Cliosape talisman to help focus while shape-shifting. Electra also happens to be an excellent ice skater and hopes to begin training for the Olympics in a few years. But her father explains that displaying her skills to the world would betray her alien origin, upsetting their secret lives in Arlington, Virginia. Before their parents head to Charlottesville for a weekend wedding, the twins see an alarming news segment. A reporter is interviewing a Vympyrym that looks like their vanquished foe, Dr. Dearth. Yet this Dearth doppelgänger is simply from RatCon, a nearby convention dedicated to Vympyrym culture. Granddad, a former Wielder, shows the twins a secret passage between their home and the Ballston Metro station. On their way to investigate the Ratropolis Suites, the twins encounter three Native Americans performing music on the subway. One man with a flute says, “Remember the tune.” When Electra shape-shifts into a Vympyrym, she descends into the unnerving realm of the giant rats. She searches for the potent Flute of Enchantment, which can defeat the Vympyrym, and learns something shocking about the two alien races on Earth. Timpko’s sequel treats middle-grade audiences to a veritable cascade of rodent puns and worldbuilding wackiness. The author’s love of mock-Dickensian names is evident with creations like Scabfellow Crumblord and Pricklethorn Ratbait. The latter is a Vympyrym who teaches Electra, who’s disguised as Matricidea Groundling, the ropes—no matter how suspicious the tween’s lack of rat knowledge may be. Adults who have attended SF conventions will recognize the broad parody presented by the plot, as Timpko details author readings and dealers’ rooms. The more audiences know about Bram Stoker’s Dracula, the better they’ll appreciate notions like the “phleb,” the part of a blood-offering familiar played by Electra’s best friend, Kelly Horton. Younger readers will also learn about mnemonic devices, as a diary by the twins’ Uncle Marcus details elaborate shape-shifting methods featuring “SHOKIDDE” (Sight, Hearing, Observation, Knowledge, Imagination, Dexterity, Decisiveness, and Empathy). While the hunt for the flute is always simmering, the author’s free-wheeling inventiveness remains at the forefront. Sometimes this delivers low-hanging fruit, like the idea that Adolph Ratler was the true villain of World War II; other jokes are more inspired, such as “What do you get when you mix a human with a Vympyrym?” (“A mouthful!”) When Electra learns that the Squrlon and the Vympyrym are fundamentally connected, Timpko points to the skills that help the girl shape-shift. Understanding someone who’s considered the enemy does indeed require imagination and empathy. Though this volume stars Electra, and the prior book Isis, the next installment should give them equal billing.
This endearingly strange tale with entertaining SF elements highlights the value of different viewpoints.
