Gool

Gr 7 Up—Gee begins the action immediately with Hari, the hero of Salt (Orca, 2009), being attacked by a creature from beyond this world. While he and the children with him escape, a part of the thing remains attached to his throat, slowly killing him despite everyone's efforts to remove it. Xantee and Lo, Hari's children, learn that this thing is a "gool" and that only if its mother is killed will the rest of it die. The only clue to annihilating it is an ancient story that told of a red star and a white star that must be destroyed first. Xantee, Lo, and Duro travel to the city that once was Belong in order to search for a book that might give the story in full and thus tell them what they must do. To get there, they rely on the help of "the people with no name" who dwell, unseen, in the jungles and on the Dog King, Hari's father. While Gool is nominally the second book in the trilogy and includes many characters from that story, it stands on its own nicely. Gee has done a terrific job of describing his world, giving life to his heroines and heroes while making their foes truly frightening. This is fine speculative fiction, accessible to readers of horror, fantasy, or science fiction and worth a look by anyone who enjoys adventure that doesn't trod the usual paths.—Eric Norton, McMillan Memorial Library, Wisconsin Rapids, WI