Otherworld Chronicles #2: The Seven Swords
Young Arthur, rebooted in our era from the DNA of his original parents, takes leaps toward his royal destiny in this second episode of the Otherworld Chronicles. Here, he has 10 days to track down seven legendary swords (with help from an iPad app crafted by the ageless Merlin) and to spring two captives in the magical Otherworld from the overdecorated castle of evil sorceress Morgaine. Readers unfamiliar with the series opener will struggle to make sense of some characters and situations, but unlike many middle volumes, the central story line in this fast-moving, not always earnest epic makes significant advances. Grades 5-8. --John Peters