Some book series are universally known in the children’s book-reading community while others almost seem like a very well-kept secret – one that a few readers know about but really should be wider read – and one such series is the Emba Oak one by Jenny Moore. Exciting, packed full of adventure, magic and danger with a hefty dollop of humour added into the mix, they do not seem to have had the attention due to them and I think that a very great shame.
Here, in her third – and penultimate – outing, we again join her in her quest to prevent her evil father, the wonderfully named Necromalcolm, carrying out his evil plan to obtain all the power, world domination and longevity that you would expect to be the goals of a wicked, megalomaniac sorcerer while desperately searching for guardian Fred and best friend Odolf, from whom she was separated in Book 2, and encountering a host of ghosts, pirates and the most terrifying of sea monsters along her way.
Now alone with wasp snake Whip, Emba blinks back tears and steels herself to set out to search for Odolf, who has been snatched by Necromalcolm. Consulting the Tome of Terrible Tomorrows, Emba reflects on its cryptic advice and the knowledge that both her dragon and magic sides are growing stronger as she heads towards her twelfth birthday before setting out on her mission. After a day’s travelling, a weary Emba spots a ramshackle goatherd’s hut in which she could shelter for the night and enters only to encounter the pair of thieves who stole Odolf’s belt buckle in Book 2 – the buckle that gave him the strength and courage to help Emba.
With the thieves’ help, Emba travels to the home of the Grand Thief Master who now has the buckle, intent on getting it back, and after accidentally showing her her dragon’s blaze not only retrieves the buckle but also persuades the Thief Master to help her continue her journey across the Screaming Sea and towards the Eyeless Isles.
Stealing a ship from the local pirates, Emba, Whip and the Thief Master head out in pursuit of Necromalcolm and Odolf but before long it is clear that rescuing Odolf is not going to be straightforward. With the most terrifying of sea monsters in their way, can Emba resist using the bad magic she has inherited from her father in her attempts to be reunited with her best friend, and if she can what will happen when she catches up with Necromalcolm’s ship?
After being betrayed in Book 2 and losing the security of travelling with her beloved Fred and Odolf, Emba is now a changed character. Far more reluctant to trust anyone else and forced to be more self-reliant, she is terrified of the prospect of following in her father’s footsteps and using the magic she has inherited from him for evil or selfish reasons and finds herself increasingly wishing for advice and help from her absent dragon mother. Trying her best to stay rational and calm under the mounting pressure she is put under, she asks herself what Fred would do in the situations in which she finds herself as she recognises not just the love and security that her guardian brought her but also her wisdom. As she heads towards the milestone of her twelfth birthday, not totally sure what that will bring in her battle against Necromalcolm, I cannot wait to see how her adventure concludes.
For those who haven’t as yet read books 1 and 2 (You can read my reviews here: Emba Oak and the Terrible Tomorrows and here: Emba Oak and the Beckoning Bones), I would suggest that although you could read this as a standalone, you really would be better off starting at the beginning of the series – not just to familiarise yourself with Emba but also the other characters and the plot so far. With this title publishing 28th January, you have plenty of time in which to do so.
As always, I am hugely indebted to Maverick Publishing for my gifted review copy.
Mrs Sydney's Famous World's Smallest Library 