The Shape of Time (Rymworld Arcana, Book 1)
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- $9.99
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- $9.99
Publisher Description
First in the middle-grade mind-bending Rymworld Arcana adventure series from award-winning author Ryan Calejo, The Shape of Time is destined to be an instant classic.
Fourteen-year-old Antares De La Vega is a natural born adventurer. He dreams of journeying across burning deserts, trekking through wild and uncharted jungles, sailing the farthest reaches of the seas—and yet, he’s never even stepped foot outside of South Florida. But that all changes when strange creatures come leaping out of lightning bolts to kidnap him.
Locked away in a secret prison in the middle of the Bermuda Triangle, Antares meets fourteen-year-old Magdavellía, a mysterious and iron-willed girl who opens his eyes to a shocking truth: that this world is a far different place than he’s been led to believe. He learns of the existence of the Flat Earth Society, an ancient secret order, whose main function is to keep the world beyond the great Ice Wall a mystery—a land known as Rymworld. But Rymworld is in trouble. Led by a nameless evil, a sinister group of mystics seek to seize control over its only true resource: time itself.
Antares and Magdavellía must set out beyond the edges of any map to discover the undiscoverable: a lost and forgotten island where there is rumored to exist a legendary artifact—a mythical compass that just might hold the key to foiling the mystics’ plans. Following a series of intricately concealed clues left behind by Magdavellía’s parents (clues Antares seems to be the key to unlocking), they must wield both geometry and alchemy, outsmart molemen and mermaids, and outrun fiendish outer space aliens––all while attempting to solve a riddle as old and mystifying as the sun.
Includes Black-and-White Illustrations
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Fourteen-year-old Antares de la Vega, who experiences panic attacks and whose cartographer parents vanished when he was very young, chafes at life's mundanity and has a burning desire to explore the unknown. The arrival of intergalactic strangers named Mr. Now, Mr. Minutes, and Mr. Hoursback kicks off a series of events in which Antares is chased by crocodile men and imprisoned in a secret Bermuda Triangle facility. There he meets fellow detainee Magdavellía, a prickly teenage girl who "could've been from anywhere in the world"; her robot companion; and Zamangar, an idiosyncratic elderly man with an escape plan. As the group work toward their freedom, Antares learns that the world is flat and far weirder than he ever dreamed, and that he's a pawn in an age-old quest to uncover a legendary artifact that promises immense power. In this freewheeling series opener, Calejo (the Charlie Hernández series) presents a frenetic adventure that combines classic conspiracy theories with metaphysics and a touch of mayhem. Playful linguistic looseness ("This is wondificent!") and memorably rendered characters round out this exciting offbeat tale. Antares is multiethnic ("My dad was born in Mexico City and had Cuban heritage. My mom was part Indian, part Irish, and was born in Switzerland"). Ages 8–12.