The first book in the new Secrets of the Library of Doom chapter-book series for kids is a very short, sort of prologue to the series that opens with a band of marauders, decked out in armor, who infiltrate the Library of Doom to coerce a young boy working there - a Silent One, as he's taken a vow to never speak - to lead them through the library's maze-like chambers to the Lost Archives they seek to raid. Sworn to silence, the young boy cannot even call out to summon the Librarian - a superhero-like figure with magic powers, whose destiny is to guard the Library of Doom and all it contains - for help; will the Librarian learn of the invasion and arrive in time to evict the raiders and save the boy? Patricio Clarey's illustrations here are darkly beautiful, with great detail, worthy of reading the book alone - but in truth, even at 40 pages the book goes incredibly fast due to a tremendous amount of white space and very little story on the pages; befitting of a chapter-book, surely, but overall disappointing when you're reading and the story suddenly cuts off with very little to it, trying for a cliffhanger to get you to the next book instead. Not a bad story at all, very interesting, but it just feels a bit of a "cheat" as you don't get much bang for your buck when you suddenly find yourself on the last page, turning it anyway and expecting more. (Available August 1) 3/5 stars
NOTE: I received a free ARC of this title from NetGalley and the publisher, in exchange for an honest review.
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