Pirates of the Silver Coast

July 1, 2014
In their fifth outing, former circus acrobat Dessa and her nonhuman companions take ship for the "dark island" of Astaroth-first with a smuggler and then with a pirate king (who isn't exactly a king).Having holed up until Dessa's broken leg heals, the trio continue their quest aboard the not-so-good ship Cutlass with proceeds from the sale of a horse stolen from their armored pursuer Capt. Drake in the previous episode (The King's Dragon, 2014).That voyage quickly becomes a chase. After various misadventures, the Cutlass is overtaken by the fearsome and mysterious pirate king. He not only scoops up the fugitives and their prized map on the way to discovering just why the elusive island has always been so hard to find (hint: It's not quite fixed in place), but turns out to have something in common with Dessa. Periodically the action cuts over to a city market where Capt. Drake buys a new horse, gets a tantalizing tarot forecast and learns something shocking about Dessa's missing twin brother, Jared. Along with continuing to tell his adventuresome tale in clearly drawn, easy-to-follow panels, Chantler spices up the plot with banter and major twists aplenty.This rollicking serial adventure continues to please. (Graphic fantasy. 10-12)

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October 15, 2014
Grades 4-7 There's an action sequence central to this fifth installment of Chantler's Three Thieves series that perfectly crystallizes the tale's great strengths. Having hired a ship to make for the mysterious, dark island of Astaroth to find her missing brother, the intrepid Dessa and her companions, hulking Fisk and clever Topper, are betrayed by the ship's captain and marooned. Working as a team, Dessa and her friends manage to reboard the boat and claim control of it. Just as they master the situation through sheer acrobatic grace, skill, and intelligence, Chantler attains visual virtuosity and narrative power through his lyricism, deceptive simplicity, and the eloquence of his art style. There's nothing forceful or bludgeoning here; it's all expertise and imagination. The action itself serves merely as a delightful climax, while the story hangs on suspense, emotional investment, and mood (the thieves' ocean escapade alternates with an ominous subplot involving their pursuer, Captain Drake). Chantler continues to add complexity to his thrilling epic and leaves off on a cliff-hanger that segues into the penultimate volume.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2014, American Library Association.)