Oracles of Delphi Keep

A hellhound wants the blood of orphans Ian Wigby and Theodosia after they discover a box from a cave at the White Cliffs of Dover. The box contains a three-thousand-year-old prophecy written by the great Oracle, Laodamia. As the mystery unfolds the two end up on quest with the likes of a professor, two teachers, and an orphan as they try to save the world from being taken over by a demogorgon or demon God of the Earth.

The pacing is a little slow in spots but picks up toward the end as the characters of Caphiera and Magus chase after the group of questers. Caphiera is like Medusa except people turn to ice rather than stone. Magus controls the hellhounds and fire. He can burn a person from the inside out. The characters are 8 and 14 years old but sound older and have incredible physical stamina. They seemed older to me than the ages they were given in the book. I wished that the teachers Perry and Thatcher bantered more and could provide some comic relief but they argued with each other through most of the story. I thought Perry in his persistant belief that nothing was real got ridiculous because the author drew it out too long.

The book gets more violent toward the end as the two tribes in Morocco fight in a bloody battle. Most of the story draws from Greek mythology and Druids from Celtic mythology. This is the first book in a series and fantasy lovers should enjoy it although it might be dense for some readers at 552 pages.

Reading Level 7.1

:-) :-) :-) 3 Smileys