EARLY MIDDLE GRADE REVIEW: The Sea of Terror by Stuart Gibbs
REVIEW
With his trademark humor, Gibbs sends readers on another adventure with young knights-in-training, Tim and Belinda (in disguise). With a style reminiscent of Lemony Snicket's Series of Unfortunate Events, Tim narrates his misadventures while introducing readers to appropriate vocabulary words and amusing commentary. Despite the nonsensical nature of the tale, there are still important themes included such as friendship, loyalty, and courage. Tim struggles to do what he feels is right because he's afraid of being made fun of for being weak. The knights he and Belinda travel with are rude and unwise and end up betraying Tim and his allies in the end. After an important artifact is stolen from the kingdom of Merryland, Tim and the other knights must retrieve it by traveling across the Sea of Terror. Luckily, Tim and Belinda meet up with Ferkle, their friend, the town idiot, who, thank goodness, is not an actual idiot. In fact, Ferkle good sense saves them all several times. In the end, enemies must be faced, both old and new, and Tim and friends are left in a quite perilous situation (otherwise known as a cliffhanger). I find myself strangely eager to find out what happens to the unlucky crew. The humor and ridiculous situations make this an amusing book to read for fun. I could have done without the use of the word '$exypants. Curtis's black and white illustrations add a great deal to the fun. But the themes related to friendship and courage and good sense give the book more depth than one might think. An entertaining addition to a fun series.
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