In honor of that giveaway, my KBWT this week is the home of The Inquisitor's Apprentice by Chris Moriarty. The book is, as Betsy Bird has proclaimed, "awesome". But the website is awesome, too, with historical notes and background on the characters and the setting.
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| Just one of Mark Edward Geyer's illustrations. |
Sacha lives in the tenements of NYC at the turn of the 20th Century and he can see magic when it is cast. This makes him a perfect candidate as an apprentice to the energetic and enigmatic Inquisitor, NYPD's Number One investigator into Magical Crimes. Sacha's Jewish background, the ethnic potpourri that make up the tenements, the realistic social hierarchy and inequities of that time and place all support a truly suspenseful first book in what, I hope, will be a long-lived series. The ending leaves us all hanging because Sacha's first case has endangered all he loves. I can't wait for the second book.
Moriarty incorporates some very well-known early 20th century historical characters in this book, casting some as villains and others as puppets or heroes. Historical fantasy is a wonderful way to feed readers some facts with their fiction.
Check out the website! Moriarty provides a lot of background on the site. Teachers and parents will appreciate the historical research into the time period AND into the historical figures featured in the book. Young readers can find out about the structure behind the magic workers that populate Sacha's world. The illustrations by Mark Edward Geyer are awesome as well. The work AWESOME should be described like this; "adj. Read The Inquisitor's Apprentice to fully understand what this word means."
The second book, The Watcher in the Shadows comes out in April of 2013. So hard to wait!!!
Want to win an Advanced Reader's Copy of The Inquisitor's Apprentice? Click here for details.
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