PIRATE EMPEROR: The Wave Walkers #2
by Kai Meyer
Margaret K. McElderry Books/Simon & Schuster
ISBN-10: 1416924744
ISBN-13: 9781416924746
Ages 10-14
304 pages

In the midst of the sparkling sunlight, warm waters and persevering pirates of the Caribbean, an evil force called the Maelstrom grows stronger in preparation for taking over the world. The only people who can stop it are 14-year-olds Jolly and Munk. Two young men battling against an inevitable evil force does not appear like fair odds, but Jolly and Munk are not an average pair of teens --- they are polliwogs. Touched by a ribbon of magic, Jolly and Munk possess amazing talents, one of which is the ability to walk on water.

The first book, PIRATE CURSE, explains how Jolly is raised and trained by Captain Bannon, who loves her life on the sea and being a pirate. However, in one horrific skirmish, a horde of venomous spiders attacks her entire adopted family. Jolly fears they lost their lives but knows that someday she must find out what actually happened. Will she discover that the worst did happen but that it didn’t involve death?

Munk’s story starts out describing how he has grown up on a lonely plantation island with only his parents and a handful of ghost laborers for company. He thinks he is the only polliwog in existence; his parents have tried to keep it a secret for safety reasons. But the secret doesn’t keep. Jolly washes ashore after escaping the spider attack, and they quickly learn of each other’s abilities. And then, one of the Maelstrom’s monstrous soldiers follows Jolly to Munk’s island and murders his parents. Both Jolly and Munk are now alone in the world.

But that quickly changes when they meet up with an odd assortment of cronies, including a princess, a dog-faced man, Ghost Trader, a young fellow named Griffin, and a poetic worm, among others. Together, they join forces in the fight to protect the world from the evil Maelstrom. They travel to the floating coral island called Aelenium, the city that once oversaw the jail cell of the Maelstrom before he escaped. While on Aelenium, Jolly and Munk begin learning more about their special abilities from a wise old man named Forefather, who happens to be an expert on the history and nature of polliwogs. With hard work and determination, they discover new skills, including magic and breathing underwater. These further talents will help them in their inevitable fight against the Maelstrom.

However, just as their small army seems to be organizing and gaining ground, it begins to fall apart. The princess decides she needs to leave and avenge her father’s death. Following her example, Jolly feels that it’s finally time to discover what happened to her own adopted father, Captain Bannon, and sneaks off on a ship in the middle of the night. Griffin thinks this is a really bad idea and tries to stop her by following on one of the 12-foot-tall seahorses. Unfortunately, he encounters a strange fluke of a problem that swallows him out of commission for a while. And back on Aelenium, Munk feels hurt and left out by the growing attractions between Jolly and Griffin. Meanwhile, the Maelstrom grows stronger and is expected to attack at any time. How can this small band of misfit soldiers expect to have any hope of success if they don’t stick together?

Kai Meyer has delivered another exciting adventure with PIRATE EMPEROR. He cleverly weaves into the fast-moving plot the debate of good versus evil depending on a person’s point of view, bestowing his character Jolly with some soul searching. His brilliant imagination, dramatic descriptions and quirky sense of humor will lead readers eagerly through the pages and impatiently waiting for the third book in the series.

   --- Reviewed by Chris Shanley-Dillman, author of FINDING MY LIGHT and THE BLACK POND

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