I'm a big fan of Doug TenNapel, so I had to add the Nnewts series to the library. Book 2, Rise of Herk, continues the saga. Herk is in the city of Amphibopolis, staying with Pikk and his mother. He doesn't realize that his long-lost twin, Zerk, was taken in by the same family years ago. The Snake Lord is trying to find the Spell of Spells. He believes it will allow him to have a body made of stars, so that he can defeat Orion. But for now he is stuck in the body of a radish - which makes him look really silly. He has managed to convince many Nnewts to transform into Lizzarks using the Blakk Mudd, and they attack Amphibopolis at his command.
I would have to say that the storyline reminds me of Star Wars. Twin separated at birth to protect them from an evil ruler. Unknown powers coming into play as the bad guys attack, trying to turn everyone to the Dark Side, I mean...with Blakk Mudd. And there is a lot of Harry Potter mixed in there, too. The prophecies. The elderly magician. The bad guy trapped in an inferior form and trying to get his own body back (or an even better one). Lots of pop culture tropes being manipulated here.
For readers who enjoy TenNapel's style, appreciate humor mixed in with their fantasy-adventure, and don't mind that the characters are amphibians - Nnewts is a series you will enjoy. If you haven't tried one of Doug TenNapel's graphic novels yet, you should.
I read an e-book provided by the publisher through edelweiss.
*We just added this title to the library through our fall Scholastic Book Fair.
No comments:
Post a Comment