10/18/2021
After the death of her brother and inventor mother, orphaned gadgeteer Ellie Lancaster, 12 and cued as white, is left responsible for maintaining many of the intricate mechanisms that help “catch whales, gather oysters, filter seawater, and more” for the inhabitants of the City, a last bastion of humankind that juts out of the flooded world’s sea. When a dead whale washes up onto one of the island’s rooftops, Ellie frees an amnesiac boy, blue-eyed and light brown–skinned, from its stomach, calling him Seth. The City’s Holy Inquisition swiftly declares the newcomer a Vessel of the Enemy—a rogue god who periodically manifests and terrorizes society—and sentences the boy to death. To prove Seth’s innocence, Ellie sets out to find the true Vessel with assistance from charming but capricious Finn and adventurous best friend Anna. Alternating an intriguing third-person narrative with first-person accounts from the previous Vessel, Murray weaves an ambitious tale of paranoia, religious zealotry, and adventure. A strong sense of unexplored history combined with the dynamic characters and atmosphere offers potential for further exploration, and readers will enjoy Ellie’s struggle to protect her friends and home. Ages 8–12. Agent: Stephanie Thwaites, Curtis Brown. (Dec.)
"Vivid characters, a breathtaking story, and the promise of a sequel all come together in this alluring middle-grade fantasy." — Booklist
"Murray expertly parses out pieces of world building alongside foreshadowing for his multiple story-shattering plot twists, making this one hard to put down." — Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books
"Murray weaves an ambitious tale of paranoia, religious zealotry, and adventure. A strong sense of unexplored history combined with the dynamic characters and atmosphere offers potential for further exploration, and readers will enjoy Ellie’s struggle to protect her friends and home." — Publishers Weekly
"A psychologically intricate, steampunk-infused tale that will please adventure-lovers as well." — Horn Book Magazine
"The pace never slacks in this page-turning adventure, with well-crafted twists and secrets. Murray’s prose is descriptive and vivid; kids will think they are in Ellie’s workshop, piled high with crab catchers, broken machines, books, notes, and unidentified items." — School Library Journal
"A psychologically intricate, steampunk-infused tale that will please adventure-lovers as well."
"Murray expertly parses out pieces of world building alongside foreshadowing for his multiple story-shattering plot twists, making this one hard to put down."
Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books
"Vivid characters, a breathtaking story, and the promise of a sequel all come together in this alluring middle-grade fantasy."
"Vivid characters, a breathtaking story, and the promise of a sequel all come together in this alluring middle-grade fantasy."
01/01/2022
Gr 4–6— The City is the only land in existence—or really only part of it, since the majority of it sank underground in the tragic Great Drowning. Ellie, a bedraggled, pale-skinned girl rescues a boy from the belly of whale. Unfortunately, as soon as the light brown–skinned, muscular Seth emerges from the whale, the City guards believe he is the new Vessel who contains the Enemy, the evil god that destroyed The City, and decide the only way to save them all is to kill him. Ellie makes it her mission to save Seth and along with redheaded orphan Anna and her mysterious blond, pale friend Finn, she attempts to figure out who Seth is and where he's from. Ellie, however, has her own dangerous secret. The pace never slacks in this page-turning adventure, with well-crafted twists and secrets. Pages of a journal written by a former Vessel are interspersed throughout in a different format, making readers feel even more intertwined in the story. Murray's prose is descriptive and vivid; kids will think they are in Ellie's workshop, piled high with crab catchers, broken machines, books, notes, and unidentified items. The only bump in the plot is the attempted description of the gods of the world, their roles, and not-quite demise. Because this mythology is underdeveloped, it detracts from the story instead of adding to the worldbuilding. VERDICT An action-packed tale in a unique fantasy world that features a girl finding great power with the help of friends.—Clare A. Dombrowski
Narrators Georgina Campbell and Lucian Msamati enhance the extraordinary descriptions of the City in this gothic fantasy/steampunk saga. Listeners will be awestruck when a whale lands on a church steeple. When 13-year-old Ellie Lancaster lances its side, a bloody boy named Seth emerges. The City is the only inhabitable place left after legendary gods drowned the world. Now brutally rendered Inquisitors seek the Enemy who are attempting to complete the destruction. Campbell’s wise Ellie knows Seth is not the Enemy and risks her life to protect him. Her friend Anna’s jaunty asides add much needed levity. This incredible story will have listeners of all ages breathless. S.G.B. © AudioFile 2022, Portland, Maine
FEBRUARY 2022 - AudioFile
Narrators Georgina Campbell and Lucian Msamati enhance the extraordinary descriptions of the City in this gothic fantasy/steampunk saga. Listeners will be awestruck when a whale lands on a church steeple. When 13-year-old Ellie Lancaster lances its side, a bloody boy named Seth emerges. The City is the only inhabitable place left after legendary gods drowned the world. Now brutally rendered Inquisitors seek the Enemy who are attempting to complete the destruction. Campbell’s wise Ellie knows Seth is not the Enemy and risks her life to protect him. Her friend Anna’s jaunty asides add much needed levity. This incredible story will have listeners of all ages breathless. S.G.B. © AudioFile 2022, Portland, Maine
FEBRUARY 2022 - AudioFile
2021-09-29
Decades ago, the Great Drowning destroyed most of civilization; only a small island called the City remains. Periodically, the God Who Drowned the Gods, known as the Enemy, possesses a citizen of the City as its human Vessel, through which it gains power and sows destruction before the City’s power-hungry Inquisitors find and execute the Vessel by burning them alive. When a boy with light-brown skin and blue eyes is discovered inside the belly of a whale beached on top of a church, everyone in the City is convinced the new Vessel has arrived—everyone except Ellie, that is. The orphaned daughter of Hannah Lancaster, the City’s inventor, Ellie makes it her mission to protect the boy, figure out his secret (and why he can manipulate the ocean with his emotions), and keep her own tragic backstory and deepest secret safe. She’s aided by her best friend from the orphanage and Lord Castion, a town leader who was friends with her mother. Excerpts from the diary of the last Vessel are interspersed between third-person chapters that follow Ellie. The pacing is compelling, but superfluous details detract from the narrative, and several worldbuilding questions remain unanswered, presumably leaving space for the sequel. Blond Ellie reads as White; Castion has dark-brown skin and uses a prosthetic limb.
A promising series opener, although the quality ebbs and flows. (map) (Fantasy. 9-12)
