As with Wharton's novels for grownups, this Introduction to the Wonder of Books for Young People type story (a group in which I include Haroun And The Sea Of Stories and The Neverending Story among others) is strongest in the characterization of the protagonist and his partner. Will Lightfoot, while on a quest to escape the world of stories into which he has been drawn by a bizarre trap, matures - subtly and believably - from an angry little boy to a boy on the cusp of understanding adult caring; his friend Rowen, a wonderfully headstrong girl, also undergoes a transformation from childish ambition to the beginnings of adult responsibility.

Some features of the story are quite inventive, such as the opening sequence, which is stunning; the trap that catches Will (and a certain detail about the purpose of the trap, not revealed until the end); the magical nature of a certain glacier; the deliciously weird library catalog system in the city of Fable; and the adaptation of several Irish mythological elements, here blessedly free from the in-your-face myth-retelling tone that was fun the first few times (Wicked : The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West for example) but started seeming clever for its own sake about a decade ago.

Wharton has also contrived tidily to incorporate many landmarks of the known literary world into the story in such a way as to provide young readers with flashes of recognition during later literary journeys; imagine the kid's future surprise on discovering that "Kantar" is another spelling for a real word for a cyclic poem/song, that "Shee" can also be spelled "sidhe," and that golems exist outside this book as famous mythological creatures that really do have animating symbols on their heads.

On the other hand, this isn't Ende's Neverending Story, nor even Funke's Reckless (which, besides serving as a map of Story and a wonderful journey through it, also explains the history of the first World War on levels adults will appreciate). Ende brilliantly combined adult fictional elements into his child's quest, spending a chapter here describing the relationship between writer, reader, and story, and a chapter there implying that wisdom and despair are to one side and the other of the same road. Rushdie let his adult character, the protagonist's father, have adult problems more complex than just grief for his absent wife (and yes, Wharton's story has a missing mother as well; don't they all). Gaarder's The Solitaire Mystery goes much farther from known archetypes but creates a wonderfully fresh internal archetype system with some pleasantly mature lack of loose-ends-tying; it allows for the journey to have shaped its hero boy in ways that the reader will just have to imagine, rather than have parceled and delivered.

There were also some elements that could have used a little more world-building. In this magic realm, there is a Bad Character who wants to destroy all the stories, but the character lacks motivation other than power, which doesn't give enough dimension to evil. There is also, pleasantly, a counter-force to destruction (often lacking in magical-realm-of-story stories) that Wharton describes as "wanting" to become parts of stories. This substance, called werefire (a wonderful etymology there, but not likely to be understood correctly by kids in the unfortunate climate of paranormal romance around us presently), almost becomes fascinating insofar as it is the nebula opposite the Bad Character's black hole. Sadly, the nature of the stuff doesn't come into the story enough, and it somewhat boringly turns into Scary Ogres when left unattended. A really clever thing that could have fit neatly into Wharton's existing world structure would have been to explain the attraction of werefire for evil creatures as having directly to do with the werefire's ability to become the stuff of stories: of course evil would love to have the power to transform raw story stuff into stories of its own success.

On the whole: I would give this book to a child. Of course I would. It's quite good, and I would be pleased to have introduced a child to Will and Rowen. Would I read it aloud to a child? Perhaps not. While this would be a delightful journey to take for a clever nine-year-old, I have traveled this road, and I did not find fresh insight on this particular trip. The other books I have mentioned, I would gladly revisit because their complexity gives an adult reader more to observe, more to learn, more to consider each time. I would also gladly revisit Wharton's breathtaking debut novel, Icefields, as well as others in his adult fiction range. Hopefully, Mr. Wharton will let a little of the magic in books like Salamander sneak into future installments in this series. ( )

This book is hard to review. The writing is very good. Characters not so good. The plot is interesting but not really developed. Maybe that is why it is the first of three. ( )

The Shadow of Malabron is Wharton's first novel for children. In some ways it seems somewhat tentative, but still enjoyable. The characters need to be fleshed out a little more. They are very interesting and I would like to get to know more about them. I like them and would like to see what they are really like.

I like the plot and the setting. A story world where the evil Malabron is trying to take control of all the stories is and make it all about him. I like the allusions to actually works of literature. Once again the plot, too, needs more substance. There is just enough to want to explore this world and its story. There is a lot of action and it certainly keeps the reader moving right along, wanting to find out what is going to happen next.

At first it was a bit slow, but I did find that I wanted to know more about this world and its inhabitants. I also wanted to find out if Will would find a way home. I loved the the talking wolf, Shade.

If you are a fantasy reader, I think this is one you might enjoy. I am looking forward to the next adventure. ( )

A pretty good book, perhaps at forty years olds, it is not meant for people like me. I thought the characters could use more depth, but the writing is good and the action and scenery is aptly portrayed, maybe the next books in the series will expand the characters more. ( )

Library Media Connection 1/1/2010
School Library Journal 11/1/2009
Publisher's Weekly 10/19/2009