Andrew Jacobson

3.5 This was and enjoyable read. It's an adventure novel about animals, something I wish I'd read when I was younger because I was crazy about these types of novels. The animal-human relationships were a highlight of the novel. I see it in many Junior/Middle Grade reads, but it's not usually handled in this fashion. It was new and fresh. I could also see areas where the authors drew in ideas form myths and legends as well as some other novels, but the were very suttle and mixed in ery well with their original ideas.… (meer)

First, I love how book two picks up right where book one leaves off leaving no unexplainable time gaps to try and figure out. If you decided to start with book two though, you wouldn’t be completely lost. There is enough information shared to bring you up to speed in order to follow along in the opening chapters, however the journey will feel more complete if one started at the beginning.



The familiars have secured their loyals once again…but Pakashara will have none of this chummy business. She wants to rule them all and put the lowly humans back in their place with the help of an army of animals….dead animals (as in zombie like). Yes….she plans on raising an army of those animals that have passed in order to claim what she feels is rightfully her future. To stop her, they must find the Shifting Fortress, for it is only within its walls that the spells to save (or ruin) all of Vastia can be cast. But how does one pin down a shifting object when by definition alone it is constantly on the move? They’re about the find or…meet the new undead minions of Pakashara paw to paw.




Filled with danger, adventure, magic, friendship and family these are wonderful stores for Middle Grade fans through adults. You have the old “diamond in the rough” message illustrated thanks to Aldwyn, as well as the “things aren’t always as they seem” adage courtesy of…well, all three of them and several others they meet along the way. We uncover the pasts of all three of our unlikely heroes and learn that family can be flesh and blood….but it is also those that we hold nearest to our hearts that make us whole.



Aldwyn’s character is coming to terms with a past that keeps changing. Skylar shares a part of herself that was no intended for her friends to see. Gilbert reveals the underlying reasons for his shaky sense of his magical abilities. Suffice it to day that there are twists and turns some of which are easy to spot while others take a moment to wrap your mind around (especially the River of Time…) but it all adds up to a whole lot of fun. Book three is forth coming and word to the wise....there’s ALSO going to be a movie based on the series!… (meer)