The Tower of Shadows (The Elsewhere Chronicles)

By: Nykko
Publisher: Graphic Universe
Publication Date: August 2013
ISBN: 978-1467712330
Reviewed by: Deb Fowler
Review Date: December 2013

It was time to lay siege to the Master of the Shadows in the Other World. He was an evil force and even Noah thought an attack would be little more than a “suicide mission.” Grandpa Gabe, who was a weird character at best, declared that it could be done because they were “Four Davids against one Goliath.” He’d just crawled out from beneath some brush with a leather bag filed with a rope and weapons, a formidable stash. Max wondered just how many stashes the man had hidden around. The old man claimed that he’d “have to kill him with [his] own hands” because he was the only one who could do it. After all, the Master of Shadows was a creature of his own creation.

The story of how Grandpa Gabe had come to the Other World was filled with intrigue, but had he really created the Master? He simply said, “I was creating the birth of a Shadow. A negative of myself.” The only thing they could do was “destroy the source of his power,” a formidable task. The Master of the Shadows was expecting them to go to the tower, a place where shadows of humans who no longer had souls dwelled. The verek, bat-like creatures, swarmed overhead. They had to capture one and ride it to the tower in the sky. The kids and Grandpa Gabe strung a wire where the verek would fly. “PROING!” One of them fell into their trap and they quickly immobilized him.

Theo refused to ride the hideous beast, but Max would help him travel to the tower. Grandpa Gabe and Rebecca had entered the city by crossing an ancient, decrepit bridge. “His power is eroding. His works are consuming themselves.” The bridge began to crumble around them and then ... capture! Max and Theo had ridden the verek and were slithering and sliding through their guano trying to find the Source, the thread that the Master of the Shadows clung to for protection. The Master of Shadows was preparing to steal Rebecca’s very soul. Would he destroy Grandpa Gabe and steal that soul or would Max and Theo somehow manage to escape the tunnels filled with guano and destroy the Source?

Grandpa Gabe is in a race against time to rescue Rebecca’s soul form the evil Master of the Shadows. This is the sixth in the series, “The ElseWhere Chronicles,” an exciting new dramatic graphic novel series. It is exciting, riveting, fast-paced, but one thing it is not is a stand alone novel. Those who are into the series will be wowed by this action packed book as Grandpa Gabe, Max, and Theo try to save Rebecca and destroy the evil surrounding her. The artwork is bold and eerily stunning as it shifts from dark to light and back again in their race to defeat evil. If you want to walk through a door to a land you may not return from, you might want to take a look at the amazing “Elsewhere Chronicles!”

Quill says: This amazing graphic novel series is one that young fantasy lovers will hang on to their seats waiting for the next installment!