Five Kingdoms: Death Weavers by Brandon Mull

Leaving Constance in the safety of Zeropolis’s Unseen, Cole and his friends enter Necronum. At holy or haunted locations within the kingdom, the spirits of the dead (known as echoes) and the souls of the living (bright echoes) can traverse between reality and the afterlife (the echolands). Following clues from an echo named Sando, Cole’s party learns that Honor and Destiny are trapped within the echolands. However, Sando deceives Cole and imprisons Mira, Jace, and Joe’s bright echoes. Sando is a henchman to Nazeem, the evil originator and leader of the shapecrafting movement. With Hunter and Dalton watching over the comatose bodies of their three friends, Cole enters the echolands to rescue the three princesses, Jace, and Joe.

In the fourth book of his Five Kingdom’s series, Mull puts his own twist on death and adds another complex world to his Outskirts foundation. But first a note to parents, teachers, and young readers. Even though “death” is in the title, no mindless, bloodied zombies or rotting corpses are present. In Mull’s interpretation, death is the departure of the soul, or echo, from the body. Once the echo leaves reality, it lives in the echolands until the pull from the Other, or higher paradise, makes them move on. As Cole journeys through the echolands, departed characters from previous books rejoin his mission to save the Pemberton sisters. In his own way, Mull shows that the dead still care for the living and do what they can from the other side. Death Weavers mimics such books as Garth Nix’s Abhorsen Chronicles and Janet Lee Carey’s Stealing Death. As an added treat, fans of Mull’s Beyonders series may see two familiar faces who aid Cole’s mission in the echolands. An unpredictable and hauntingly surreal book worth the read!

Five Kingdoms: Crystal Keepers by Brandon Mull

After a rocky arrival into Zeropolis, Cole, Mira, Dalton, and Jace join the local Unseen resistance. But consistent persecutions force the Unseen to go deep for their safety. Once they meet Mira, their main objective is to find Constance. However, Constance’s star is missing. Unseen leaders convince Cole to travel alone to Junction City and contact Queen Harmony.

The third book in Mull’s Five Kingdom series places our heroes in a science-fiction kingdom where magical energy is used to establish a technologically advanced world. Yes, the group’s mission is to save another princess, but Mull proves that even if his characters go on a quest to do repeated tasks, it doesn’t mean the plot is predictable or formulaic. Mull pulls out all the stops in Crystal Keepers.  A read worth the ride. The fourth book is Death Weavers.

Five Kingdoms: Rogue Knight by Brandon Mull

Cole, Mira, Jace, and Twitch are on a mission to rescue Mira's outcast sisters, the next being Honor. As they follow the star pinpointing Honor's location in Elloweer, their magical weapons lose their power and Honor's star disappears. In desperate need of help, the group contacts the local rebellion, the Unseen, for assistance. While the group searches for Honor, news arrives of another wild, shape-crafted monster, called Morgassa, that is ravaging the land. Traveling undercover the group is ambushed by the mysterious warrior, the Rogue Knight, and Mira is kidnapped. It's up to Cole, his friends, and the Unseen to find Mira and Honor and destroy Morgassa.

Mull's thrilling second book starts off with our heroes' being stripped of their magical or shaping advantages as they enter Elloweer. In each kingdom, a person's or object's shaping abilities are lost once they enter a new kingdom. Cole's group must rely on each other, their past experiences, and several new friends to help them complete their daunting tasks. But one trial Cole faces alone is his struggle to leave Mira in search of his enslaved friends. This issue is heightened when Cole rescues his best friend, Dalton. So not only is Mull's story an original fantasy with heart-stopping adventure, but it is also a detailed description of Cole's inner turmoil. The next book, coming out in March, is called Crystal Keepers.

Five Kingdoms: Sky Raiders by Brandon Mull

A trip to a haunted house turns into a nightmare when Cole and his friends are kidnapped by slave-traders and taken to a world called the Outskirts. Once there, Cole comes across shaping—a magical ability used to create objects, buildings, or “living” beings. Cole is sold to a company of raiders and he makes friends with three other slaves: Mira, Jace, and Twitch. Later, Cole learns that Mira is one of five princesses hiding from their father, the High King, supreme dictator over the Five Kingdoms. Cole must decide whether to aid Mira or search for his missing friends.

Five Kingdoms is an absolutely original piece of fiction. Mull seems to have pulled ideas from people’s wildest dreams to create the world and magic of the Outskirts. But unlike dreams, Mull pulls it all into a cohesive package with a driving plot, likeable characters, and riveting storytelling. Readers will cheer on Cole as he finds the hero within himself when he and his new friends face dangers only found in nightmares. A great read for ages 10 and up.