Seekers of the Fox | CM: Canadian Review of Materials

Volume XXIX / Issue 27 - March 17 / 2023

Seekers of the Fox

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Seekers of the Fox

Author:

Kevin Sands

Series:

Thieves of Shadow: Book 2

Toronto, ON: Puffin, 2022

391 pp., hardcover & epub, $23.99 (hc.)

ISBN:

9780735270442 (hc.)

9780735270459 (epub)

Grades:

Grades 5-9

Ages:

Ages 10-14

Review by:

Review by Aileen Wortley

Excerpt:

Despair.

I’d failed. I was supposed to keep Lachlan safe. Keep them all safe. Everything we’d done had been my plan .Always mine.
And I’d failed.

Bragan’s whirlwind had blown most of the ash from his property. Meriel laid Lachlan on the grass. She kneeled beside him, her hands gentle on his chest. Gareth looked pale, stricken. Foxtail stood at a distance, staring off at the smoking volcano, not even willing to look at the body.

I’d have liked to say Lachlan looked peaceful, but he didn’t. His clothes were filthy and charred. His eyes looked empty, like he’d never been that friendly, kind-hearted child.

Guilt gnawed at my gut. Guilt and grief. I’d seen plenty of dead before, but never anyone I’d cared about. Never a friend.

After the rage I’d felt when the Eye had seen Bragan I was scared to lift my patch and unleash those emotions again. But I had to. I had to see the truth.

I peeked under it, just to look at Lachlan and nothing else. My heart sank even further when I did.

His light was all but gone. The cheerful red that had suffused his body had faded, dimmer now than the light from the grass. And even that remnant of his soul had started to vanish.

In Seekers of the Fox, the second book of the “Thieves of Shadow” series, readers pick up where the first story, Children of the Fox, finishes, with our five resourceful young heroes, led by con-artist Callan, about to embark upon another hair-raising adventure.

Loveable young Lachlan is at death’s door as a result of their previous adventures. Despite wishing to avoid further encounters with magic, the children make a bargain with the Dragon’s Eye, the enchanted object of their former trials. In return for saving Lachlan’s life, they agree to undertake the near impossible task of retrieving the Dragon’s Teeth, two powerful magical swords hidden thousands of years ago.

Though Lachlan seems to get better, the Eye shows Callan that, in fact, his soul contains a purple stain that will eventually destroy him, making the search for the swords a race against time. Uncertain as to who exactly is friend or foe, the group must use their wits and distinct nefarious skills in a world where supernatural beings, both good and evil, are the norm and every action is replete with danger

The story is effectively narrated by Callan, the accepted leader of the group, who was raised as a con man by ‘the Old Man’, an ever-present but never seen character. Written in a direct style, the plot is totally compelling with its tension, drama and myriad of tense situations and evil personalities out to thwart the children at every turn.

The child heroes, who, for each other, are family, are a great strength of the book. Though each comes from some sort of criminal and/or mysterious background which they use for the good of the group, there is certainly honour amongst thieves, with each child having appealing qualities including loyalty, altruism and integrity. New details about each of their unique personalities are continually being revealed, making them grow before our eyes.

Seekers of the Fox could be read as a standalone but is definitely enriched if you have read Children of the Fox. That there is no pat ending is hopefully an indication of a further book to come.

Highly Recommended

Reviewer:

Aileen Wortley is a retired Children’s librarian from Toronto, Ontario.