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Overview
The final assault on Longview was going to do more than just destroy the town — it was going to rip open the world. In the blackness surrounding the town he thought he could see Rangda's enormous maw, open and hungry, ready to devour.
Jesse is a boy with a mysterious past. In and out of foster homes his whole life, he believes he was abandoned in Los Angeles as a baby. When he comes under the scrutiny of Homeland Security in an incident involving a mistaken identity, he starts learning some unsettling facts about himself.
Now he is living with the Mindells in a small Midwestern town, and for the first time he feels like he may have a real home — until Honor Clarke shows up. Ever since Honor and her mother moved back to town following the gruesome death of Honor's father, strange things have been happening. Someone is murdering birds and painting odd symbols all over town, and Jesse feels as if he's losing his mind. He starts to see a man no one else can see, he is having violent nightmares, and it all seems to be leading to one conclusion — he is here for only one reason: to fight the evil that is Rangda, the Demon Queen, and her loyal follower, Honor Clarke, no matter the consequences.
Richard Lewis brings Indonesian mythology and legend to the present day in this chilling novel of unimaginable horror.
Editorials
School Library Journal
Gr 7 Up
In a small town in Illinois, Jesse, a 15-year-old orphan with an unknown past, is trying to live a normal, inconspicuous life with his latest foster family, and wants to avoid being in trouble with Homeland Security again. His well-developed instinct for self-preservation is swept away when he meets Honor Clarke, who has just returned from Bali, where her father was murdered. Soon, strange and disturbing occurrences become too all-encompassing to explain away as mere coincidences. Jesse realizes that the resurrection of the Balinese Demon Queen is the cause of the trouble and that he is the only one who can stop it. The main characters remain for the most part quite flat. Headless bodies and one-liners solidly entrench the story in "B-grade Hollywood horror movie" mode, as Jesse quips. But for all the gory events (for example, a young man is found tied to his bed with turkey intestines), the mood is somewhat light. Despite the mystery, there is little suspense. Supernatural elements instill a sense of incredulity and the absurd, with a touch of humor, instead of stomach-wrenching horror and fear. A live mask, a time- and space-traveling Balinese priest, and a mynah bird that transforms into a spirit monster will appeal to fans of Darren Shan and those wanting to move on from R. L. Stine's "Fear Street" series (S & S). Readers will soak up the over-the-top, gloomy atmosphere and blood-smattered, monster-filled action. The open ending will leave them eager for imminent sequels.-Amy J. Chow, The Brearley School, New York City