YA/adult book. Fast-moving, humorous, some quirky characters. Good intro book for younger readers who are getting into the supernatural. For adult readers there are references to some Bible passages that sneak into the narrative. Very clever! ( )

This book has been compared to Percy Jackson, and I can see why. It's pretty fast paced, has a snarky twelve-year-old boy for it's main character, and involves religion. In some ways, the fact that Catholicism is treated in a similar way as ancient-Greek-paganism fills me with nervousness. If you're writing a book pretending that the Greek gods exist then it's not hard to create all sorts of magical items and such that fit into that world. I am Catholic, and I understand things that this book referred to such as describing relics as 'keys to faith,' but it makes me nervous that the relic glows bright white and is used rather like a magic talisman to drive a demon back. Or things like the device introduced in the last chapter, the sarcopha-bus. Sarcophagi were used in Egyptian burial rites--by people who worshiped Ra and Horace and Isis, and are not something I expected to be used for travel in a Catholic world (there was also some obvious influence from floo powder from Harry Potter, with all of the warnings to keep you hands tucked in because it would be a rough ride, like a tornado, etc.) Raymond Arroyo is Catholic (or that is what I assume since he works for EWTN) so I know his intent is good in writing this book, I think will have to tread very, very carefully in the following books.

Because this is a middle grade book there were times when I could see flaws in the writing, just because sometimes things moved a little too quickly and you could tell the author was trying not to let young readers get bored, but it felt rushed and simplistic. I almost think that this book could have worked better in the YA section because there would have been more room for detail and depth, but then Will would have had to be at least fourteen, and even then it probably wouldn't have caught the attention of the teen readers...I wish I'd been able to read this when I was around twelve.

The ending of the book was frustrating (why a cliffhanger? why?) but I will probably keep reading this series. ( )

There are many books similar to this one; clueless youngster accidentally releases something that had previously been locked away to protect mankind, but it was still an enjoyable read even if it didn't stand out for any reason.
Will has always seen shadows, but he has an aunt who is knowledgeable about such things so it made no sense to me that she hadn't given him some schooling in such matters, but apparently she didn't which explains why he had no clue what the shadows really were. When he rides a donkey in answer to a challenge from his friends, and subsequently borrows a "healing" relic to help fix the injury he caused to his younger brother, he unleashes an ancient prophecy which has disastrous consequences. The rest of the book is predictably him trying to cope with the evil power he has unleashed. Fast moving and kids in grade 5 - 7 will enjoy it. ( )

I got this book for my 13-year old son – who is a big Rick Riordan fan and who usually loves these type of adventure series. Despite the quote from Dean Koontz on the cover of my copy that there is “Great fun and great frights”, both my son and I found this to be dull.
He stopped reading it after 3 chapters – saying it was boring. I, trying to prove him wrong (and desperately hoping for another series that would keep him reading) picked it up. I made it to page 100 – but even by then had found little that was either fun or frightful. Will Wilder is kind of a dull kid, and the “impulsive act that unlocks an ancient prophecy” is just silly. There is no sense of either wonder or mystery here – and no humor either – despite some of the goofy character names that the author uses. (Simon Blabbingdale, Captain Nep Balor, Perilous Falls).
In the chapters I did read, I also picked up on the religious elements in this book. Not just Indiana Jones type of religious artifacts and references, but a definite tone of faith. That’s fine – but it is not for me. (To be fair, the author bio on the back does mention that Raymond Arroyo is a managing editor of EWTN News – but I had to look that up to find out that it is the Global Catholic Network.)
I hope this book series finds other fans. ( )