Peter and the Secret of Rundoon (Starcatchers Series #3) by Dave Barry, Ridley Pearson, Greg Call (Illustrator)

From Barnes & Noble

The reader-acclaimed Starcatchers series roars to an exciting conclusion in this exciting number. In Peter and the Secret of Rundoon, Peter and Molly find themselves stranded in a harrowing kingdom ruled by a sadist who feeds his enemies to his hungry pet snake. Aside from survival, our brave young heroes have other concerns, not least which of which is the demonic shadow creature Lord Ombra, whose malevolence is on a grander scale. A Peter Pan trilogy with wings of its own.

From the Publisher

In this action-packed finale to the Starcatchers series, Peter and Molly find themselves in the dangerous land of Rundoon, ruled by an evil king who enjoys watching his pet snake consume those who displease him. But that's just the beginning of problems facing our heroes, who once again find themselves pitted against the evil shadow-creature Lord Ombra in a struggle to save themselves, not to mention the planet. It's a wild desert adventure, with rockets, carpets, and camels all flying through the air, zooming toward an unforgettable climax...

Children's Literature

In this final volume of the "Starcatcher" trilogy, Molly and her father join with George Darling, Peter Pan, various lost boys, and even Captain Hook to foil evil King Zarboff the Third, evil scientist Viktor Glotz, and supremely evil shadow Ombra in their plot to use starstuff to destroy not only the entire world, but the entire universe. Barry and Pearson are experienced storytellers, deftly interweaving several suspenseful storylines chockablock with action-packed adventures, converging on a series of just-in-the-nick-of-time climaxes. It is not surprising that young readers flock to their book signings dressed up as pirates. But those who know and love the original Peter Pan will find much of this incarnation of J. M. Barrie's characters unforgivable. How can the elegant and class-obsessed Captain Hook, educated at a famous British public school, who in Barrie's book cries, "Proud and insolent youth, prepare to meet thy doom!" now utter sentences like "there ain't nothing up here to hit" and "Looks like them red-painted savages is heading to the local savage village"? How can cocky Peter Pan obey every order of Molly's father with a meek and dutiful "Yes, sir"? Most of all, how can Peter, "gay and innocent and heartless," who does not even know the difference between a kiss and a thimble, blush while he kisses Molly on the lips? If authors are going to appropriate well-loved classics for their own commercial purposes, they should at least read the original book first. Reviewer: Claudia Mills, Ph.D.

VOYA

The fate of all existence rests in the hands of Peter Pan and his allies in this gripping final installment of the Starcatcher series. After their previous adventures battling pirates and the shadowy malevolent beings known as "the Others," Peter, the orphaned "lost" boys, and Tinkerbell are trying to content themselves with a quiet life on Mollusk Island. When attacked by the savage Scorpion warriors, Peter and his friends escape only to be captured by the evil King Zarboff and brought to the exotic land of Rundoon. While imprisoned, Peter learns the dreadful Lord Ombra, the Others' leader, is still alive and implementing a diabolically dangerous plan to obtain more of the mysterious and powerful "starstuff." Peter also discovers shocking information about his parents and his true identity, and is forced to use his special abilities to help the Others. Meanwhile back in London, Molly, an aspiring member of the noble Starcatchers and Peter's would-be love interest, learns of the Others' threat. Molly and her friend George Darling head to Rundoon to help Peter and rescue Molly's father. Captain Hook and his band of pirates even play an unexpectedly heroic role as they get caught up in the action. This thoroughly satisfying and fast-paced adventure blends humor and drama in a compelling and moving story about friendship and growing up. Although billed as the last book in the series, Barry and Pearson pose enough unresolved questions to create the possibility of further Peter Pan adventures. Reviewer: Amy Luedtke

Kirkus Reviews

In this double-stranded, nearly nonstop close to the Starcatchers trilogy (at least its direct line; the authors are also producing spin-offs), peaceful Mollusk Island is overrun by savage invaders, while Peter, acerbic Tinkerbell and the Starcatchers are away in the North African land of Rundoon battling the darkness-loving Others. For one long pause, the reconstituted shadow-eater Lord Ombra stops to explain in great detail the Others's scheme to rewind the entire universe back to its pre-Big Bang state, and to reveal that the fabulously valuable "starstuff" that falls to Earth occasionally is effluent from "a leak in the plumbing of the universe." Otherwise, it's all one grand and glorious string of captures, escapes and cliffhangers, with a large supporting cast featuring a flying camel, a giant snake, a mad Russian rocket scientist and lots of monkeys. In the end, all's been set right and the main characters are, more or less, in place for the opening of Peter Pan, to which this has all been a prelude. Kudos to Barry and Pearson for a funny, clever, melodramatic romp. (Fantasy. 11-13)

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