Through the Looking Glass Children's Book Reviews
Infamous Audio
Fiction
For ages 14 and up
Unabridged audiobook (CD)
Performed/read by: Holter Graham
Macmillan Audio, 2012 ISBN: 978-1427214898
In the last year or so Nick Gautier’s life has been very complicated and more than a little dangerous and confusing. It all began when a so-called friend beat up and shot Nick, almost killing the teenager. Nick was saved by a man called Kyrian, and when he had recovered from his injuries, the boy began to work for Kyrian, running errands and doing odd jobs.
Nick soon found out that Kyrian was not a normal person. He was a Dark Hunter, an immortal being whose job it was to protect humans from demons. When one of Nick’s friends created a zombie problem, Kyrian, Nick, and some of Nick’s friends took on the job of destroying the zombies and the computer game that had created them. Following that undertaking, Nick found himself in the middle of another otherworldly adventure, and as a result he learned that he is a Malachai, a being that is half demon, half human. In addition, Nick found out that he has a bounty on his head. Demons were trying to kill him, and he therefore had to learn how to use the powers he never knew he had to protect himself.
These days Nick is focusing on staying out of trouble, but as per usual trouble seems to be determined to find him. When someone launches a smear campaign that focuses on Nick’s friends and classmates, Nick tries to do what he can to find out who is responsible.
Then Nick discovers that Malachais are very powerful entities, and that his father, another Malachai, wants to kill Nick so that he can absorb Nick’s power. If Nick’s father succeeds, the world as we know it will end. Nick is at the center of a power struggle that he doesn’t fully understand. What he does know is that he cannot let his father get too close, which is easier said than done. There are not many powers in the universe that can stop Nick’s father from doing whatever he wants to do.
In this third Chronicles of Nick title, the author delves further into Nick’s background and into the history of his kind. We find out that much of what happens behind the scenes, the battle for power between the forces of good and the forces of evil, is predictable. Nick’s own story seems to be decided, but then the young man begins to realize that he has the power to choose his own path in life.
Full of interesting unexpected twists and turns, this is a story that will keep listeners engaged from the beginning of the narrative to the end.
