The Wolf Tree

July 15, 2010

Bemis continues to mine rich elements of folklore and tall tales in the second installment of the Clockwork Dark series. Ray and those he joined to fight the evil Gog have established a haven in the Great Smokey Mountains. However, there is little time for domestic tranquility and still much to do to keep the evil unleashed at bay. Ray has come into his own as a Rambler, a heroic role shared by his father. This means he will have to journey to investigate the darkness emanating from Gog's still-threatening machine. His sister is convinced their father is still alive and assumes a more integral part of the story. Their friend Conker, the son of John Henry, feared lost, may have survived and could still retrieve what they need from the legendary Wolf Tree. Multiple threads of plot keep the action moving, and the large cast of characters, both realistic and mythic, sometimes challenges readers but is ultimately successfully managed. Aspects of various cultures are woven together, giving the narrative a unique yet grounded flavor. (Steampunk. 9-12)

(COPYRIGHT (2010) KIRKUS REVIEWS/NIELSEN BUSINESS MEDIA, INC. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.)

December 1, 2010

Gr 6-9- The Wolf Tree is a busy book with multiple characters, frenetic action, and a hodgepodge of plot points. It's part steampunk, part American tall tale, and part pseudo-Native American legend. The story begins with readers learning that Conker, John Henry's son who was thought to have died in The Nine Pound Hammer (Random, 2009) is alive, having been saved by Redfeather's magical copper necklace. The siren, Jolie (who also disappeared at the end of book one), takes him to a secret spring to nurse him back to health. Meanwhile, Nat, Si, Buck, Marisol, Ray, and the children they rescued from the Pitch Dark Train are living an idyllic life in the Smoky Mountains. Ray finishes his training and becomes a full-fledged Rambler. Life is reasonably comfortable until a dying stranger with pasty gray skin and motor oil in place of his blood comes to Shuckstack speaking of a terrible Darkness that is consuming the towns of the prairies. Ray and Marisol leave to investigate the Darkness, and Sally, Ray's sister, leaves to try and find her father. Meanwhile Conker and Jolie are trying to find the Nine Pound Hammer in order to repair it with wood from the fabled Wolf Tree that is a path into the spirit world. It is the only weapon that can destroy the Gog's evil Machine, which is causing the Darkness. Ultimately there is too much happening, and it is difficult to invest in either the characters or the story line. Recommended only where the first book is popular.-Heather M. Campbell, formerly at Philip S. Miller Library, Castle Rock, CO

Copyright 2010 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

October 1, 2010
Grades 7-10 Picking up a year or so after The Nine Pound Hammer (2009), the second book in the Clockwork Dark series is every bit as peculiar and inventive. Ray and the remnants of the Ramblers are living in the Smoky Mountains when a visitor arrives, dripping oil like blood and speaking about the Darkness: a black cloud that has wiped out most of the daylight in Kansas and is spreading like smoke. The very thing that will challenge some readersthe quirky plot that jerks along like an old jalopywill be the thing that endears it to others. One things for sure: Bemis pastiche of steampunk and Americana is a refreshing change of pace from the paranormal stuff crowding the shelves.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2010, American Library Association.)