Birthright

On his birthday, Mikey Rhodes disappeared without a trace, leaving his family to blame his father for his mysterious abduction. One year later, Michael has returned, only as a grown man from another world, sworn to hunt down five mages from a parallel universe. But the reader quickly discovers that Michael is not all that he appears to be, leaving us to question his true motives in coming back. Much like his offbeat horror series, Nailbiter, Williamson's latest plays with the archetypes of the genre. Many fantasy novels show a child who must become a hero and fight a terrible evil, but few have shown the ramifications of such a quest on the family. Bressan and Lucas' lushly colored and richly detailed artwork plays on lots of visual tropes, as well. With an interesting and original premise and a story that constantly shifts perspective between Michael as a troubled warrior in our present world to his childhood as a scared little boy, this will definitely keep readers interested till the end of the journey.--Blenski, Peter Copyright 2015 Booklist

It's a familiar tale: Mikey was the Chosen One. Brought from Earth to Terrenos as a boy, he was destined to free the land from the evil God King Lore. But the focus here is on those he left behind: the doting father suspected of murdering his missing son; his grieving, estranged wife; and Mikey's older brother, hoping against hope for Mikey's return. A year later, a wandering, disoriented man tells the police that he is Mikey; that he has fulfilled his destiny in Terrenos but has a new mission on Earth; and that he wants to see his family. Only his dad truly trusts him, but no one suspects the terrible danger that Mikey's return portends. -Williamson convincingly portrays the family's turmoil and ratchets up suspense with surprising revelations about Mikey's character arc. With strong detail, Bressan depicts the Conan-esque adult Mikey in the best heroic fantasy fashion and presents vivid flashbacks to Mikey's early days in -Terrenos. VERDICT A well-worn trope taken in compelling -directions; recommended to teen and adult fantasy fans.-S.R. © Copyright 2015. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.