A Dusk of Demons
Grade 5-8-Ben, 14, lives with Mother Ryan, her daughters, and the Master on one of the sparsely populated Western Isles. Everyone he knows-except for the Master-lives by the laws of the Dark One and fears his Demons, seen often on the mainland but rarely on Old Isle. Forbidden glimpses of times before the Madness-a mysterious result of overpopulation and overmechanization that almost wiped out humanity-hint that life was not always this way. Just when the Master starts to show an interest in Ben, the man suddenly dies. Ben learns that he is in fact the Master's son and the new ruler of Old Isle, but Demons appear and destroy most of his inheritance. He and the Ryans are taken to the mainland, where he and the younger daughter escape and embark on a desperate search for freedom and truth. Christopher depicts a post-holocaust world very similar to that in his "Tripods" trilogy (Macmillan). People have reverted to a simple agrarian life style, but artifacts and rumors remain to remind a few thinkers of past glories. There are oases of freedom in this society, and those who retain full knowledge of the past. Just as The White Mountains (Macmillan, 1967) ends when Will Parker finds and joins the freedom fighters, this book ends when Ben finds his new home and heritage with the Sea People. The prospect of enlightenment is ahead, but also a great task-he must help to bring the Mainlanders out of their dark age. Although this book is not as unique or as captivating as the "Tripods" titles, it will appeal to the same audience, and there is ample room for sequels.Susan L. Rogers, Chestnut Hill Academy, PACopyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc.