Pendragon: The Merchant of Death

Nothing makes for a more compelling read than when you come to the last page and it says… to be continued!  So if you want to know the whole story, I guess you will need to read books two and three of the Pendragon Series by D.J. MacHale.  But the favorite book was book one, The Merchant of Death, which I feel fortunate as it would have been weird reading book two or three without reading the first book.  The story begins when fourteen-year old Bobby Pendragon gets interrupted kissing the “girl (Courtney Chetwynde) he has always liked” by his uncle, Press Tilton (love the name huh?).  Press asks for Bobby’s help in something very important, so important that Bobby will need to miss his high school’s basketball game, where he serves as the top point scorer.  Bobby agrees to help, but has no idea what he is about to face… the journey of a life in another world, second earth! – called Denduron.  The trip there is pretty tough entering through an antiquated subway station in the Bronx which is now closed.  While there, the two face the two clashing clans of people, which Press is there to assist the lower class people.  They find obstacles like the “quigs” – pig-like wild animals that thrash at them throughout the tale.  Press and Bobby meet Osa and her “daughter” Lor as part of the journey who similarly are fighting against the evil clan.  Osa manages to time travel back to Earth and give Bobby’s best friend, nerdy Mark Dimond, a ring that allows him to gain access to journals Bobby was encouraged to write by his uncle.  Mark teams up with Courtney to help their friend and even goes to the police for help but when the police realize that Bobby never existed, his house and family have vanished from the earth!, they don’t believe the two and they are on their own.  The story is a series of close calls and escapes in Denduron while Mark and Courtney feverishly look for ways to help Bobby as new journals keep appearing in Bobby’s room.  Fast-paced story with lots of turns and twists, including the ending which finds Bobby escaping the last battle and returning to Earth to learn he was never really the son of the Pendragons!!  He is actually a traveler sent to help people back on Deduron.  And yes, that’s how book one ends.  I guess I’ll need another RA to list book two or three as their favorite before finding out what happens, so stay tuned for another year or longer.  A good read for kids for sure!