There, he witnesses fellow inmate Tippy Tinkletrousers (aka Professor Poopypants) escape in a giant Robo-Suit (later reduced to time-traveling trousers). To start, in an alternate ending to the previous episode, Principal Krupp ends up in prison (“…a lot like being a student at Jerome Horwitz Elementary School, except that the prison had better funding”). Not that there aren’t pranks and envelope-pushing quips aplenty. Sure signs that the creative wells are running dry at last, the Captain’s ninth, overstuffed outing both recycles a villain (see Book 4) and offers trendy anti-bullying wish fulfillment. Should satisfy readers hungry for a new fantasy series.
A companion website promising a multimedia experience invites readers to be paired with their own spirit animals. Unfortunately, flat characters and a predictable plot are evidence that this first installment lacks Mull’s usual creativity and humor. Constructed in the tradition of The 39 Clues, this fast-paced new series will be penned by various well-known authors. Their mission is to retrieve the talismans from the other Great Beasts before the Devourer can regain power and destroy the world. With the assistance of the Greencloaks, a powerful but secretive order, the four must learn to bond with their spirit animals, drawing strength and wisdom from their gifts. Rollan, a poor street urchin, calls Essix the falcon. Jhi the panda comes to Meilin, the daughter of a Zhongese general. Uraza the leopard answers the call of the young warrior, Abeke.
Conor, an indentured servant, calls Briggan the wolf. In the tradition of Erdas, four 11-year-olds are given Nectar, a substance designed to help them call their spirit animals. The appearance of the Four Fallen Great Beasts in Erdas signals the re-emergence of an evil power long forgotten.
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