Eight Rivers of Shadow

by Leo Hunt

Overview

In a high-stakes sequel, reluctant necromancer Luke Manchett must call upon the most wicked and eerie ghosts of his dispelled Host to save two innocent souls.

It’s been a few months since Luke Manchett inherited a Host of eight hostile spirits from his dead father and made a deal with the devil to banish them. Luke’s doing his best to blend in to the background of high school, to ignore the haunting dreams spawned by his father’s Book of Eight, and to enjoy the one good thing to come from the whole mess: his girlfriend, Elza. And then it all begins again. Ash, a strange new girl with stark white hair, requests his help—and his Book of Eight—to save her twin sister, who was attacked by a demon. Ash knows a lot more about necromancy than Luke and seems to know what she’s doing, but can she be trusted? As Luke is drawn into a spiral of ever more dangerous favors, he finds himself not only summoning the deadliest members of his father’s Host, but returning to Deadside in a terrifying quest to save what he holds dearest—or die trying.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780763689940
Publisher:	Candlewick Press
Publication date:	08/23/2016
Pages:	368
Sales rank:	909,414
Product dimensions:	5.70(w) x 8.40(h) x 1.40(d)
Age Range:	14 - 17 Years

About the Author

Leo Hunt wrote his first book, Thirteen Days of Midnight, in his first year of college and signed with an agent the following year. He lives in northeast England.

Editorial Reviews

07/01/2016
Gr 9 Up—Luke Manchett assumed that his paranormal problems ended when he banished his father's Host of spirits a few months ago. And aside from some strange dreams and a nagging worry over a deal he made with the devil, Luke is right. That is, until an American girl named Ash shows up in his math class, claiming to be an exchange student, and Luke subsequently passes out at the front of the room. Ash quickly pulls Luke and his girlfriend Elza back into the world of the dead, but Luke won't have Elza's help for long. Without her, he must summon one of the more fearsome members of his previously liberated Host and return to a place he hoped to avoid for years to come: Deadside. As dark and witty as the first work in the series, this sequel is a perfect follow-up to 13 Days of Midnight. Once again, grim and clever Elza is a foil for humorous and rash Luke; newcomer Ash is ambiguous in word and action, and she swiftly creates a rift between the couple. The characterization of the teens, combined with a quick pace and a betrayal- and revenge-driven plot, speeds the work along to a satisfying if somewhat sad conclusion. But a few unresolved loose ends will leave readers sincerely hoping for another installment. VERDICT Those already familiar with Luke, Elza, and the spirits of the banished Host will not be disappointed in this new adventure.—Maggie Mason Smith, Clemson University, SC

School Library Journal

2016-05-04
This sequel to Thirteen Days of Midnight (2015) follows Luke Manchett, who inherited a Host of powerful ghosts from his father and can't seem to get out of the necromancy business.Luke thinks he has rid himself of his father's unwanted baggage, but when a new exchange student, Californian Ashley, shows up in his school in northeast England, he learns that she is also a necromancer. She wants to use his magical and highly dangerous Book of Eight to save her twin sister from certain death in the world of spirits. Luke enlists the reluctant aid of his girlfriend, Elza, but learns soon enough that Ashley hasn't told him the entire truth. He winds up traveling into the spirit world to right the wrongs that Ashley has committed, but he faces challenges. To fight the Widow, conjured by Ashley, he must summon the leader of his Host, the devious Shepherd, and bind him yet again. With his loyal dog, Ham, he and the Shepherd embark on an epic journey to the Shrouded Lake. Along the way Luke is tested over and over, and he fears that he may have another meeting with the Devil himself. Hunt writes nicely effective horror, balancing the normal teen lives of his characters (most presumably white) against their supernatural adventures. As in the previous book, Luke's time spent inhabiting Ham's mind is a highlight.Whopping good suspense in the netherworld. (Horror. 12-18)

Kirkus Reviews

Hunt writes nicely effective horror, balancing the normal teen lives of his characters (most presumably white) against their supernatural adventures. As in the previous book, Luke's time spent inhabiting Ham's mind is a highlight. Whopping good suspense in the netherworld.
—Kirkus Reviews

As dark and witty as the first work in the series, this sequel is a perfect follow-up to 13 Days of Midnight...The characterization of the teens, combined with a quick pace and a betrayal- and revenge-driven plot, speeds the work along to a satisfying if somewhat sad conclusion. But a few unresolved loose ends will leave readers sincerely hoping for another installment. Those already familiar with Luke, Elza, and the spirits of the banished Host will not be disappointed in this new adventure.
—School Library Journal

Steeped in the macabre, 8 Rivers of Shadow pulls from a variety of dark lore and myth to create mystical horror backdrop...demons and spirits, like The Shepherd, The Widow, and The Fury, are easy to visualize and sympathize with despite their various circumstances.
—VOYA

Despite Luke’s previous ordeal, he begins this book with naiveté and even optimism, but his experiences here—coupled with the insights of the dead and the desperate living—show him some harsh truths about life and him- self. Even when Luke is making decisions that are questionable (which he usually admits: “It’s the stupidest plan I’ve ever made, but I don’t see another option”) or downright disastrous, his good-heartedness and self-deprecating humor will keep readers rooting for him.
—Horn Book

From the Publisher