A to Z April Challenge 2013 ~ N~ Nikolas & Company: A Creature Most Foul by Kevin McGill

Nikolas & Company : A Creature Most Foul

By: Kevin McGill

Amazon Summery:

“The Rones lie about their true intent. They enter the city of Huron at the peril of us all. Save me steward.” – The Voice of Huron Nick hears a woman’s cry for help. He soon discovers that every city has a voice, and this one calls him steward. Nick and company are transported from sometime in the near future to a mythic past when Earth is tethered to the fantastic world of Mon, or as we have come to call her, the Moon. He arrives at the city of Huron, where he encounters fire-breathing winged lions, volcano-born nymphs, automaton-legged mermaids, and so much magic you can smell it. As steward of Huron, Nick Lyons suddenly finds himself responsible over the cradle of all magical civilization. There’s only one problem. Nick Lyons. When Nick gets involved, things tend to go awry—burning down the neighbor’s greenhouse kind of awry. And so no one believes him when he claims that the Rones brought an evil to Huron, which now lurks under the cobblestone streets. To make matters worse, while aboard the Mottle Craw his best friend, Xanthus is infected by a mysterious creature. Pretty soon, Nick realizes that Xanthus' mysterious creature and the evil lurking through the streets of Huron are one and the same. Never one for responsibility, Nick is tasked with finding a cure for an infected Xanthus while protecting the city of Huron from the mysterious creature most foul.

My Review:

I really liked Nikolas & Company.  It was a good solid start to what looks to be a promising series.

I enjoyed the alternate earth/moon world that McGill has created.  There are the different monsters that he’s brought to life, as well as the history that he has given to his world.   I even was drawn into the future earth and moon colony that he has created as well. 

I also liked the characters.  I was drawn into seeing how the kids reacted to their new world and their new chance on life. I didn’t always like their choices, but they were the characters choices and they stuck by them.  For example I didn’t like the way that the kids seemed to ignore that one of their own was dying.  But it made sense in a way since they were from a world where people died all the time and no one cared.  So it would make sense if it had desensitized them just a little.

The story was also interesting.  There was just enough mystery to keep the reader interested without the mystery becoming annoying.   The story is also filled with lots of action, adventure and comedy.  Overall I think it is a fun read that can be enjoyed by adults as well as kids.

A lot of my readers lately have been asking for age ranges on books. This one I think is good for midgrade on up.  There are some heavier spots to the story, for example the Geneva virus and the devastation it has caused, but nothing overly dark or to heavy materiel wise.  However I always recommend that a parent read through a book before just blithely handing it over to a child.   You never know when there is going to be something that you might not be comfortable with them reading.

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This post is part of the Blogging From A to Z April Challenge 2013.