Through the Looking Glass Children's Book Reviews
Peter and the Sword of Mercy
Illustrator: Greg Call
Fiction Series
For ages 10 and up
Hyperion, 2009 ISBN: 978-1423121343
Twenty-three years have passed since Peter helped the Starcatchers to defeat their enemies in Rundoon. Since that adventure all those years ago, Peter has lived happily on Mollusk Island with the Lost Boys and the members of the Mollusk tribe. Peter and the Lost Boys have stayed the same, but their friends in London have all grown up. Molly Aster married George Darling, and she is now the mother of three children. Her oldest child is called Wendy, and Wendy not only looks like Molly, but she is also a lot like her mother personality wise.
Molly is very happy with her life, and her childhood adventures hardly seem real at all. For years, all has been peaceful, and the Starcatchers have become complacent, believing that they no longer have to worry about the Others and their evil plans to use Stardust to take over the world.
One night an old friend turns up on Molly’s doorstep. His name is James Smith and he is one of the Lost Boys, one of the few who decided to leave Mollusk Island. James is now an inspector from Scotland Yard and he has stumbled on a situation that has him very worried. Apparently, he has discovered that the new king of England, King Edward, is under the influence of a very dangerous person who calls himself Von Schatten. James explains that he thinks that Von Schatten’s body is inhabited by Ombra, their old enemy who stole shadows and who sought to take over the world. James is convinced that Ombra is back and up to his old tricks. He asks Molly for her help, but she is not convinced that there is anything to worry about. Furthermore, she is now a wife and a mother. She is not the Molly of old who fought alongside Peter and the Lost Boys.
Molly agrees to meet James the next day to give him her final answer. She is determined that she will say no, until James disappears. Then Molly begins to investigate, and before she has a chance to do anything, she too disappears. Suddenly Molly’s daughter Wendy finds herself in the middle of an adventure that is terrifying and deadly. It would seem that the Starcatchers must rise again to protect the world from evil forces.
In this fourth Starcatchers book, Dave Barry and Ridley Pearson take their readers on yet another extraordinary adventure that is packed with colorful characters and dastardly plots hatched by scheming villains. Readers who have been following the adventures of Peter and his friends will be delighted to share in this thrilling bookish escapade.
