Overview
Though he knows about the secret Mayan prophesy that his father and grandfather were a part of, Josh still hasn't solved the mystery surrounding his father's death. But when Josh learns that a special artifact, the Bracelet of Itzamna, is the key to both that and the mystery of the codex, he must return to the hidden city of Ek Naab. Only this time he must do it alone-because as the stakes rise, Josh can no longer trust even his closest allies.
This second installment of the action-packed Joshua Files series brings readers back to the secret world of the Mayan civilization, where the mysterious 2012 prophecy still threatens the world. Does Josh have what it takes to make it out alive once again?
Synopsis
Though he knows about the secret Mayan prophesy that his father and grandfather were a part of, Josh still hasn't solved the mystery surrounding his father's death. But when Josh learns that a special artifact, the Bracelet of Itzamna, is the key to both that and the mystery of the codex, he must return to the hidden city of Ek Naab. Only this time he must do it alone-because as the stakes rise, Josh can no longer trust even his closest allies.
This second installment of the action-packed Joshua Files series brings readers back to the secret world of the Mayan civilization, where the mysterious 2012 prophecy still threatens the world. Does Josh have what it takes to make it out alive once again?
Editorials
Children's Literature -
In the second volume of the five-volume "Joshua Files" series, fourteen-year-old British schoolboy Joshua is consumed with a quest to find out the truth about his father's recent death in Mexico as well as to solve the problem of the galactic superwave poised to hit civilization on December 22, 2012. For Joshua is actually a descendant of the ancient Mayans and bearer of a special genetic factor only passed through boys that protects one against the dangers posed by a technology older than Mayan civilization itself, a technology that can either threaten or save the world. Joshua's dangerous quest leads him to make questionable alliances as he braves the wrath of his enemies in the National Reconnaissance Office who are after secret documents from the Ix Codex, documents that contain clues that have a bearing on the very future of human existence. While Harris offers up a dizzying array of adventures for young Joshua, the story is almost impossible to enter for those who haven't read the opening volume and, concluding with the line, "It isn't over," is unsatisfying without the subsequent volumes as well. The prose is pedestrian, with formulaic chapter-ending hooks like: "To the untrained eye, it might look like gibberish, but somewhere, somehow, there's a message. It's meant for me. And it almost certainly spells danger." Still, fans of the first book are likely to line up for this next installment, and are almost certainly likely to go to bed with a certain amount of anxiety on December 21, 2012. Reviewer: Claudia Mills, Ph.D.School Library Journal
Gr 5–8—This second novel in the series starts off with the theft of a priceless artifact in Kabul by a mysterious ninjalike thief and then quickly switches back to Oxford, England, where 14-year-old Joshua Garcia continues on an adventure involving his father's death in Mexico, a hidden Mayan civilization called Ek Naab in which the citizens are brilliant and highly advanced, a lost codex, and danger at every turn. Josh's friends from Invisible City (Walker, 2010) are in this episode, along with his cousin from the secret city of Ek Naab and some new characters. This time, however, Josh doesn't know whom to trust because there must be a traitor among them. The characters aren't any more fully realized in this book than in the first, and some confusing plot twists are troublesome, but the action is nonstop and the unexplained mystery involving the Mayan calendar, the end of the Earth, and the belief by some that they were visited by aliens in the ancient past will have middle-school boys clamoring for the next installment.—Jake Pettit, Thompson Valley High School, Loveland, COKirkus Reviews
Following on the heels ofInvisible City(2010), Harris returns with the second entry in the Joshua Files.
Fourteen-year-old British-Mexican Joshua Garcia, still determined to discover how his father died, is back to a somewhat normal existence in Oxford, England. The arrival of a series of cryptic postcards from Veracruz, Mexico, and alarming new suspicions surrounding his father's murder soon have Josh seeking out further clues about his nemesis, Simon Madison. Josh, beginning to doubt the motives of even his closest friends, ends up back in the hidden city of Ek Naab. Ixchel, a minor character inInvisible City,becomes a major player, and she proves to be a valuable ally, especially when Josh unearths evidence of a secret death cult. Incredibly, between fulfilling his destiny as the last of a powerful Mayan bloodline and tracking down civilization-saving artifacts all over Mexico, Josh finds the time and the technology to update his secret blog. These blog entries chop up the narrative and distract from an already-complicated story. Nevertheless, with tighter writing and character development than the first, this book is one of the rare sequels that improve upon the original. Touches of science fiction and fantasy add flavor to the adventure and action, as do Borgesian allusions and a charming tale of two long-dead lovers.
A good bet for the thrill-seeking middle-school crowd.(Adventure. 12-15)