The Dead Gentleman, by Matthew Cody, is a fun new adventure that suggests other possibilities of what we might not see happening right in front of us in our world, especially in our closets.
Tommy Learner is an eleven-year-old orphan who makes his living as a street thief in New York. When he goes for what should be a big money opportunity, he ends up with a seemingly useless metal bird and is thrust into a secret multi-world exploring society of portals, submarines, evil-doers, danger and eventually betrayal. Over one hundred years later, his ghost appears in front of twelve-year-old Jezebel Lemmon warning her of danger. After Jezebel evades the type of danger only found in fantasy books, and is convinced she is going crazy, she ends up zapped into another world and time. Together, she and Tommy race across time and space to try and prevent the ultimate evil-doer, the Dead Gentleman, from invading their world and killing everything and everyone in it.
The prologue throws the reader right into the action; however, you might not follow the events very easily until Chapter One really sets the stage. From then on, the reading and ease of following the storyline and events is very easy. The style of alternating chapters between characters really adds to the suspense and depth of the story. It is easy to pick up and easy to put down, but not for long. Some readers might not have enough time to read a lot in one sitting, but The Dead Gentlemanis interesting and suspenseful enough to keep the reader coming back for more. The main characters, Tommy and Jezebel, are very likeable and get the reader on their side rooting for them.
The Dead Gentleman is a unique adventure because it collides four worlds together: new, old, real and fantasy. It could be a standalone volume or the beginning of an adventure series. Either way, it is written and thought out very well. I highly recommend this book as a new addition to any library.
- Posted by Kristin
Read the first two chapters by copying and pasting the following link:
http://dl.dropbox.com/u/7607612/The%20Dead%20Gentleman%20Sample%20copy.pdf