The Shadowhand Covenant (Vengekeep Prophecies Series #2)

by Brian Farrey

Overview

With more twists and turns than a palace vault and one unforgettable family of thieves, this second book in Brian Farrey's epic and critically acclaimed Vengekeep Prophecies trilogy will leave you breathless.

Trouble is brewing in the Five Provinces. Mysterious magical artifacts have gone missing from the royal vaults. Master thieves from a secret society known as the Shadowhands are disappearing. And without explanation, the High Laird has begun imprisoning the peaceful Sarosans.

Jaxter Grimjinx suspects all these things are connected, but after the tapestry fiasco that nearly destroyed Vengekeep, he knows better than to get involved. Then he and his parents receive a summons from the Shadowhands—a summons that they would be foolish to ignore—and Jaxter is thrust into the heart of the conspiracy. With the help of a few new friends and an old friend he would rather forget, Jaxter will have to delve deep into some long-buried and dangerous secrets.

A "rich fantasy" (Publishers Weekly, starred review) with a family of thieves that "couldn't be more likable" (Kirkus Reviews), the Vengekeep Prophecies trilogy takes everything you thought you knew about prophecies and spins it into pure magic. Don't miss the thrilling conclusion to the series, The Grimjinx Rebellion.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780062049339
Publisher:	HarperCollins
Publication date:	03/19/2024
Series:	Vengekeep Prophecies Series , #2
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	389
Lexile:	710L (what's this?)
File size:	1 MB
Age Range:	1 - 12 Years

About the Author

Brian Farrey acquires young adult fiction for Flux. He and he alone has the power to make you an honorary Grimjinx. (You know you want it.) He lives in St. Paul, Minnesota.

Brett Helquist's celebrated art has graced books from the charming Bedtime for Bear, which he also wrote, to the New York Times–bestselling A Series of Unfortunate Events by Lemony Snicket to the glorious picture book adaptation of Charles Dickens's A Christmas Carol. He lives with his family in Brooklyn, New York.

What People are Saying About This

Anne Ursu

“Enticing, lively, and wholly engrossing, this book takes us on a journey as twisty and treacherous as an old castle staircase—where danger lurks behind every bend, nothing is ever as it seems, and things can always, always get worse.”

Joseph Delaney

“Humorous and inventive. I’m eager to read the second in the trilogy!”

Editorial Reviews

In an excellent, self-contained adventure, 12-year-old Jaxter Grimjinx is anxious to prove himself at the family business: thievery. Farrey’s rich fantasy hits the ground running and never lets up.” — Publishers Weekly (starred review)

“There couldn’t be a more likeable family of thieves. This funny and serious series opener features action, twists and pleasingly original vocabulary, such as the swear ‘zoc’ (as in ‘Zoc that’) and the expression ‘bangers,’ which means, roughly, ‘awesome.’ Bangers!” — Kirkus Reviews

“Enticing, lively, and wholly engrossing, this book takes us on a journey as twisty and treacherous as an old castle staircase—where danger lurks behind every bend, nothing is ever as it seems, and things can always, always get worse.” — Anne Ursu, Award-winning author of Breadcrumbs

“Humorous and inventive. I’m eager to read the second in the trilogy!” — Joseph Delaney, Bestselling author of The Last Apprentice series

From the Publisher

Humorous and inventive. I’m eager to read the second in the trilogy!

Joseph Delaney

Enticing, lively, and wholly engrossing, this book takes us on a journey as twisty and treacherous as an old castle staircase—where danger lurks behind every bend, nothing is ever as it seems, and things can always, always get worse.

Anne Ursu

01/01/2014
Gr 5–8—Back in the Five Provinces after his appreticeship with the Dowager, Jaxter Grimjinx, along with Ma and Da, is summoned by the Shadowhands to a secret meeting. They soon discover that master thieves have gone missing, including the father of Maloch Oxter, Jaxter's nemesis. Much to Maloch's dismay, Jaxter's parents leave the boys behind to go searching for the remaining Shadowhands. Jaxter and Maloch resolve to solve the mystery on their own, but before they can get started, the boys are kidnapped by the normally peaceful Sarosans. What follows is an adventure filled with twists, turns, and unexpected connections. Vengekeep politics and slang are quickly integrated as the action takes off at breakneck speed. Readers need not have read the first book to follow along; Farrey gives just enough backstory to establish characters and setting. Attentive readers will appreciate the quotations from Grimjinx history, goblin philosophy, and the Lymmaris Creed that open each chapter.—Stacy Dillon, LREI, New York City

School Library Journal

2013-08-15
Through mayhem and twists, Jaxter's cheeky attitude keeps this second volume flowing (The Vengekeep Prophecies, 2012). It opens with classic Grimjinx shenanigans: a craftily narrated sham funeral, arranged to empty the mourners' houses for easy thieving. Jaxter returns from his apprenticeship (studying plants for the purpose of "negating magic through nonmagical means") to join the mischief. But soon after not-actually-dead Nanni reappears for supper, Jaxter, Ma and Da are summoned by the Shadowhands, "elite thieves-for-hire" who operate in total anonymity. Jaxter's stunned to learn that Ma used to be one. Chaos is afoot. Shadowhands are vanishing; five magical relics have been stolen from the High Laird, who's ordered an entire ethnic group, the Sarosans, arrested and imprisoned. Before Jaxter knows it, he and his nemesis from the first book, Maloch (whose Shadowhand father has disappeared), are kidnapped by Sarosans, led by--startlingly--a famous botanist whom Jaxter always idolized. Making enemies-but-friends with two Sarosan kids, Jaxter and Maloch tumble their way through escapes, traps and fights with creepy monsters, while trying to untangle which adults committed which bad deed. Always "flippant when faced with danger," Jaxter narrates in humorous first-person: " ‘Good news, guys. I found more bugs!' I said cheerfully….Holm made a rude gesture that I was pretty sure he was too young to know." Well-meaning but worrisome romanticization of simple, dark-skinned nomads somewhat undermines Farrey's explicit anti-racism. High-spirited fun, with complexity and surprises. (Fantasy. 8-12)

Kirkus Reviews