Twisted Kingdom

Let’s just say that, after the debacle that was The Black Tattoo, I was mighty happy to have found this first entry in what it looks to be like a great series.

Straight from Amazon:

Oklahoma orphan teen Leven Thumps has a hidden and powerful talent: he can glimpse, and then manipulate, the future. He is also the only person on the planet who can protect the gateway to Foo, a mythical realm whose existence ensures that human beings in this reality retain the ability to dream, hope and imagine. Sabine, the wicked ruler of Foo, wants to extend his tyranny by ruling this world as well-but if that happens, no one on Earth would ever be able to dream again. As Lev hurries to find the gateway between the two worlds before Sabine does, he encounters several friends to help him: Winter, a bright 13-year-old girl who can instantly freeze things and people just by wishing it; Clover, an adorable, foot-high furry creature from Foo who has been assigned as Lev's companion (and, apparently, as comic relief); and Geth, the wise but displaced king of Foo, who alone knows the full secret of the gateway.

There is honestly not much I can say about this book except to tell you I loved it and can’t wait to read the next in the series. The characters were all very likable and real, as real as characters in a fantasy book can get if you will, the action and the pace of the book was never dull, the villain felt as if he was worthy of the title [one of my pet peeves is a villain who never so much as hurts a fly] and I couldn’t get enough of it all.

If the rest of the books are as good as this one then I will say that this series is better than some of the other current YA fantasy favorites such as Artemis Fowl. Unlike the Fowl series [which is one big cliché after another, another pet peeve of mine] there is nothing cartoonish about this one. I especially liked the main characters of Leven and Winter and how they handled learning about the world of Foo. They didn’t just accept it and had to slowly get used to the idea of demons and other such things being real, Even then they had a hard time coming to terms with what they had to do, unlike some stories where the heroes don’t even blink after finding out all sorts of unimaginable creatures exist.

Leven Thumps may remind some of Harry Potter since he is an orphan stuck with the most unpleasant relatives as his caretakers. He may remind others of Tithe as much of the book takes place in Leven’s hometown, which has a certain “poor side of town” flavor, right down to the local trailer park. Whether you do or don’t like these books makes no difference, I say give this a try and I’m pretty sure you will not be disappointed.

A solid 5 out of 5.


I also recommend visiting the official website which is very entertaining, very eye-catching, and has some rather nice music to boot!