Three Travelers are hidden in a secret passage that leads into the castle through the kitchens. A heavily-armed Bedoowan knight is certain to discover them. Fortunately, one of the Travelers, young Bobby Pendragon, from Second Earth, has armed himself with a laser pointer. Playing a bright red dot on the surfaces of the kitchen, Bobby is able to turn the dangerous knight's attention elsewhere, and the trio escape that danger to travel further into the knight-filled castle. Keep that laser pointer handy, Bobby Pendragon!

The Merchant of Death is book one in D. J. MacHale's Pendragon series. The story begins with the introduction of several major characters: Bobby Pendragon, the Hero; Courtney Chetwynde, the Love Interest; and Uncle Press, the Guide. The opening chapter, written from Bobby's first-person perspective, also partially introduces Mark Dimond, the Sidekick, to whom Bobby is writing.

The action begins immediately. Courtney has had some sort of premonition that causes her to go to Bobby's house, confess a long-standing crush on the Hero (a happily received confession, since Bobby has also long-standing feelings for the Love Interest), after which they commence the kissing. Ah, fourteen year olds in love. But then comes a case of kissus-interuptus, as Uncle Press arrives, announces, "I'm sorry, Bobby, but I need your help. I want you to come with me," and whisks the Hero away and into adventure.

The following chapter, set in a different type face, is written in the third person and follows the story of Mark, the Sidekick. This tense-changing tactic establishes a tonal device for the series. Bobby, writing in the first person, is actually recording a journal of his adventures which he sends to Mark and, eventually, Courtney, who eagerly read the journals from the vantage point of their small town, Stony Brook, Connecticut. Bobby's story follows his adventures in the "territory" of Denduron, an alternate and feudal universe complete with morally corrupt royalty and peasants on the verge of revolution. Mark and Courtney's story, meanwhile, follows their sleuthing attempts to discover what has happened to Bobby, for whom all traces of an existence have been completely erased, with the exception of the periodic arrivals of his journals, delivered through a ring that connects the various alternate universes, or territories.

The dual narrative device works fairly well. Either storyline alone is not that strong, but combine to make for a fairly entertaining plot. As the story is revealed, Uncle Press informs Bobby they are both "Travelers," capable of moving between territories. Bobby is the Traveler from "Second Earth." The chief duty of a Traveler is to combat ultimate evil, of course, manifested here in the form of Saint Dane, the Villain. Saint Dane has nothing less in mind than the destruction of all the territories, and is capable of changing himself so that neither Bobby nor the reader is aware of who or what Saint Dane is at any given time. This allows MacHale to spring some surprises on the reader. Bobby and the other Travelers have some skills themselves, and face a wimpy Villain (Saint Dane attempts to shoot Bobby in the opening chapters but afterward apparently decides for manipulation over action for the sake of the nine remaining titles in the series), but Bobby, as a neophyte, is largely unaware of his own strengths.

By far, Bobby's ignorance of his skills and goals is the greatest weakness of this book. Uncle Press simply will not reveal what Bobby needs to know, which is necessary for the slow revelations MacHale makes across the series, but is really rather ridiculous, since Bobby's task of defeating the ultimate evil would be eased substantially if he knew what was going on.

The strength of the book is that it is good, fun science fiction for the adolescent reader. MacHale, whose career has centered mostly around television projects, has created a story in which the characters are mostly easily recognizable to television viewers and video gamers. There is not a lot of depth to any of them, but they are time-worn and trusted cliches -- the nerdy brain, the jock, the chosen one, etc. Instead of character development, there is emphasis on plot development with a few surprises. And, in fact, there is even some intellectual depth, as Bobby and the Travelers discuss the usage of powerful weapons equatable to nuclear bombs, face the question of social class inequalities versus anarchy, and even consider the local implications of global trade.

Though sci-fi rather than sorcery, the Pendragon series borrows much from the publishing phenomenon known as Harry Potter. But that is not a weakness. Indeed, the adventures of Bobby, Mark, and Courtney are interesting and entertaining enough to fill some of the time while awaiting the further adventures of Harry, Ron, and Hermione.

My Pendragon Reviews:

Book One:Merchant of Death
Book Two:Lost City of Faar
Book Three:The Never War
Book Four:The Reality Bug
Book Five:Black Water
Guide to the Territories of Halla
Book Six:The Rivers of Zadaa
Book Seven:Quillan Games

Recommended: Yes