Grimpow: The Invisible Road
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Barbara Wysocki, Cora J. Belden Library, Rocky Hill, CT -- School Library Journal, 4/18/2008
Grimpow: The Invisible Road (unabr.) 11 CDs. 13:20 hrs. Prod. by Listening Library. Dist. by Listening Library/Books on Tape. 2007. ISBN 978-0-7393-6124-5. $75.
Gr 7 Up–Spanish author Rafael Ábalos’s first book (Random, 2007) for young adults combines alchemy, a philosopher’s stone, the Knights Templar, and a secret code to create a multilayered magical, medieval quest. Guided and spurred on by the stone he finds on a vanishing corpse, Grimpow is a boy who copes with diverse challenges such as his vagabond friend’s death and conflicts involving the French king. Nothing stops him from searching across France for the Secret of the Wise. An Italian knight and a young woman help him with the cryptic clues. Marked for death by the Inquisitor, the three also survive pitched battles and booby trapped rooms to reach Chartres Cathedral where the philosopher’s stone illuminates the labyrinth. Narrator Richard McGonagle does a fine job voicing the characters. Detailed dialogues on the logic needed to solve the often subtle signs are occasionally complicated, but they heighten the story’s tension. With broad appeal that should attract adult as well as teen listeners, and a conclusion that demands a sequel, this is a solid choice for high-school and public libraries.
