Books - The Gimlet Eye (Book Three in Quentaris: Quest of the Lost City) by James Roy

Rate the book: 9/10

Ford Street Publishing, 2009
ISBN: 978-1-87646-77-2
Price: AUD$16.95

The First lot of Quentaris books was a series of shared-world, stand-alone novels for kids, all set in the magical city of Quentaris. They had some recurring characters, but for the most part each book focussed on a new set of main characters. The second series Quentaris: Quest of the Lost City is a little different. The city has been magically uprooted and is now flying through the uncharted rift-maze with the aide of giant sails. And the novels are no longer quite so stand-alone, as they follow the adventures of the same set of characters, most notably — Tab Vidler, the orphan who can enter the minds of animals; her best friends, Philmon and Amelia; Fontagu Wizroth III, actor and scoundrel; Torby, the young boy rescued from the prisons of the rival city, Tolrush; and Captain Verris.

The Gimlet Eye takes things in a new direction, again. The Archon, who has ruled the city since the first set of books, dies. This signals a great change for the city of Quentaris, as the Archon’s spoiled and power-hunger nephew Florian takes charge. He exiles or imprisons many of the people who had previously held key positions in the running of the city, and puts into play is own secret agenda. Under his rule, Quentaris seems set on a course of piracy… unless Tab and her friends can put things right.

James Roy has done exceptionally well at taking characters created by another author and making them his own. This book really hits the mark in terms of characterisation and also delivers an intriguing fast-paced story. My only real reservation is that I found the conclusion a little too speedy and neat. But that certainly didn’t stop me enjoying the book.

The cover, by Les Peterson, is the best so far.

---- reviewed by George Ivanoff (www.georgeivanoff.com.au)

Reviewer Bio

George Ivanoff is a Melbourne based author who has written over 25 books for children and teenagers. Two of his books (Life, Death and Detention and Real Sci-Fi) are on the booklist for the 2008 Victorian Premier's Reading Challenge – this is their fourth year on the list. George used to regularly review books, CDs and DVDs for the now defunct Frontier Magazine. Check out George’s website at: www.georgeivanoff.com.au