Publisher: Scholastic/Graphix
Release Date: January 6, 2015
Price: $19.99 (HC); $10.99 (TP)
Creator: Doug TenNapel
Format: 136 pgs., Full-Color, 6"x9", Hardcover & Trade Paperback
ISBN: 978-0-5456-7647-2 (HC); 978-0-5456-7646-5 (TP)
Age Rating: 8-12
ICv2 Rating: 3.5 Stars out of 5
Herk, who is a Nnewt, lives in a village of other Nnewts. Their hereditary enemies are the Lizzarks, and they fear those and the semi-mythical Weretoad. Both Nnewts and Lizzarks are intelligent, have tools and weapons and limited forms of magic. A raid by the Lizzarks sends Herk on a quest to escape, to mend his crippled legs and… well, here's where the story gets complicated. As a first volume, new plot threads are introduced non-stop, so that by the end it's really complicated.
The only plot element which I found really distracting was why these amphibians worshipped the very humanoid constellation of Orion as their hunter god. There's no explanation, they just do, and he's not just a passive symbol in the sky.
The artwork is excellent, bringing the world to life, but the characters are mostly so alien and/or repulsive that it may be hard for kids to identify with them. The main character is fairly cute, for an amphibian. The Nnewts reminded me of the design of the faces from old Sea Monkey ads, attached to newt bodies. The Lizzarks bear so little resemblance to lizards that some kids may find the character designs confusing. They're cool monsters, just with little to connect them to lizards. They look more like orcs wearing witch doctor masks.
"All ages," but violence and complexity suggest upper elementary readers.
--Nick Smith: Library Technician, Community Services, for the Pasadena Public Library in California.