The Nethergrim

The secrets of the past return to haunt the present when an ancient evil awakens, 30 years after being defeated by a group of heroes. In this entertaining coming-of-age fantasy, which opens in a quasi-European medieval village, several teens must pick up where the previous generation left off. Fourteen-year-old would-be wizard Edmund, chafing at his parents’ plans for him to inherit their inn, wants to rescue his younger brother, who has been kidnapped by the shadowy minions of the Nethergrim. Added by his best friends—tomboy Katherine, whose father is one of the few survivors of the first Nethergrim campaign, and Tom, enslaved by a cruel taskmaster—Edmund sets forth to prove himself and save the children intended as sacrifices for the Nethergrim’s power. First in a planned trilogy, this is a solid debut for anthropologist Jobin, who steers clear of genre clichés while offering up a refreshingly metaphysical take on magic, a believably dark setting filled with unusual threats, and a seductive and manipulative villain in the nebulous Nethergrim itself. Ages 10–up. Agent: Eleanor Jackson, Dunow, Carlson & Lerner. (Apr.)