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The Pyramid of Souls

by Eric Eustace Williams
181p. 978-1-40221-502-5.
COPY ISBN
Gr 5—7—Thirteen-year-old Nick continues to adjust to his new life after he is kidnapped by a cousin and finds that he is a member of a family of magicians with ties to Romanoff Russia. As a blind for their magic abilities, they put on a magic show at the opulent Winter Palace Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas where they live. The action begins with a convention of other magician families from throughout the world. The festivities are interrupted when the Shadowkeepers, the villains from Magickeepers: The Eternal Hourglass (Sourcebooks, 2009), steal the Pyramid of Souls. With his developing ability in sword fighting and his gift of Gazing into crystal balls, Nick is instrumental in defeating the enemy. The book is awash in details from Russian history and culture, and Nick's gradual adjustment to his new family and his role in their world is well executed. However, the vignettes Kirov drops in, about Edgar Allan Poe and a raven and Sir Isaac Newton and his magical Fourth Law, are not fully realized. Children who enjoy reading about kids confronting supernatural situations will find this quick read appealing.—Kathleen Meulen Ellison, Sakai Intermediate School, Bainbridge Island, WA
Cousins Nick and Isabella are busy honing their craft as Magickeepers when another crisis arises that only they can solve. Incorporation of Russian culture and lore, historical figures, and mini history lessons makes for an educational read. However, the frequency of such components, minus a strong interconnecting narrative, slows the story down.
Reviewed by Kathleen Meulen Ellison , Aug 01, 2010

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