A Dark Inheritance

April 14, 2014
D’Lacey (the Last Dragon Chronicles) launches the UFiles series with a fast-paced yet convoluted offering. When teenager Michael Malone rescues a stray dog, it sets off a chain of events in which he learns he can alter reality under emotional duress, such as changing history so his sister has always played the flute. He is subsequently recruited by an enigmatic agency known as UNICORNE, which may know what happened to Michael’s missing father. However, UNICORNE’s leader, Amadeus Klimt, doesn’t necessarily have Michael’s best interests at heart, constantly forcing him to expand and explore his powers in new ways. In investigating the ties between the dog, a new classmate, and a girl who died several years earlier, Michael is swept up in a strange adventure that’s part murder mystery, part reality-twisting trial by fire. The premise has plenty of potential, but the storytelling suffers from too many disparate elements and a lack of focus. Some twists are unclear, others ask a lot of readers, and the ending leaves many questions unanswered. Ages 8–12. Agency: Johnson & Alcock Literary Agency.

Starred review from October 27, 2014
This is an adventure story, a mystery, a paranormal tale, and a coming-of-age story, and narrator Corkhill does a terrific job keeping all that straight in his reading of d’Lacey’s enthralling story. Young teen Michael has just discovered he has the ability to alter reality when he is recruited by Unicorne, a group that investigates paranormal activity. The strange leader of the group, a man named Klimt, hints that he may have information about Michael’s father’s disappearance three years earlier. Michael reluctantly joins Unicorne and begins an investigation that brings him closer to a goth girl classmate who may be more than she seems. Corkhill’s reading of the many characters is suitably varied. Michael and the other students in his class are believably young, and the Unicorne mastermind has a delightfully creepy and sinister, high-pitched German accent. Corkhill also convincingly portrays middle-aged women, random working-class cops, and a breathlessly sexy French woman. The book is filled with action, mystery, ghosts, robots, dragons, UFOs, murder, and preternatural powers, which all seem perfectly reasonable when Corkhill is reading. His posh accent anchors the story to reality and lets listeners suspend their disbelief and enjoy the whirlwind adventure. Ages 8–12. A Scholastic hardcover.

March 15, 2014
This admixture of suspicious deaths, ghosts, shifting realities, weird science, teen issues, family issues, secret organizations and unexplained events in a British town will all, no doubt, come clear in future episodes. As the story opens, Michael suddenly develops the ability to read a suicidal dog's intentions and teleport himself a short distance to rescue it. After this remarkable occurrence, he is forcibly inducted into a group called UNexplained Incidents, Cryptic Occurrences, Relative Nontemporal Events by the sinister, inhumanly strong Amadeus Klimt and his hot, surly, butt-kicking assistant Chantelle. Learning that he can alter events by "imagineering" himself into alternate universes, Michael squeaks past multiple murder attempts while stumbling through a nightmarish mystery. This involves moody goth schoolmate Freya and Rafferty, the killed (but not gone, thanks to "cellular memory") former owner of both the dog and Freya's transplanted heart. For comic relief, d'Lacey adds a younger but smarter sister to expedite Michael's relations with the opposite sex. He also chucks in strange revelations about their long-missing father, a luridly icky science lab scene, dragons, unicorns, UFOs (possibly), a melodramatic climax featuring literal cliffhanging and several encounters with dead teens. No genre trope is left in the basket, making the result more a crazy quilt than a free-standing series opener. (Fantasy/science fiction. 11-13)

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March 1, 2014

Gr 6-8-"It was the day Mom took the coast road to school. The day I tried to save a suicidal husky. One day before I would begin to wonder if my father was still alive." So begins Michael Malone's journey and this first installment in the "UNICORNE Files." Michael's father disappeared three years ago without a trace. Lately, Michael's been experiencing lightheadedness and shortness of breath, which the doctors diagnose as asthma. Even more strangely, Michael begins to notice after these episodes is that his reality has changed-his sister, who never played the instrument before, is a violinist, and an au pair is suddenly part of the family but his mother and sister act as if she's always been there. Baffled, Michael soon meets Amadeus Klimt, the leading member of a covert organization called UNICORNE. Klimt tells Michael that his father may still be alive, but in order to find out for sure, Michael must agree to take on an assignment for the secret agency. This book will hook readers from page one and won't let up until the dramatic conclusion. D'Lacey manages to make the implausible seem possible. While many questions are left unanswered, they are likely to be answered in the next installment. Fans of action-packed adventure will devour this new series.-Kathy Kirchoefer, Henderson County Public Library, NC

Copyright 2014 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

May 1, 2014
Grades 5-8 When Michael discovers he can alter reality, he catches the attention of the secret society UNICORNE. Its representative, Mr. Klimt, claims to have information about the disappearance of Michael's father. He offers to share information in exchange for Michael's help, but Michael soon discovers a deadly secret lurking in his own town. From ghosts to mental powers to dragons to androids, best-selling author d'Lacey throws a lot of things into this first volume of the UFiles series. The plethora of ingredients means that no one element, including the characters, is explored in very much detail, but the story moves along quickly and keeps readers guessing. Though Michael spends much of this volume confused as he trips over one bizarre twist after another, and he and his sister occasionally seem too adult for their years, they are likable and readers will have no trouble rooting for them. Fans of d'Lacey's fantasy-heavy Last Dragon Chronicles series may be caught off guard by the sci-fi focus, but with tantalizing adventures yet to come, it's likely they will stick around for future installments. HIGH-DEMAND BACKSTORY: D'Lacey has a built-in audience after his Last Dragon Chronicles series hit the New York Times best-seller list. Don't be surprised if they turn out for this series, too.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2014, American Library Association.)