Quasar and the Eye of the Serpent

T.K. Reed
iUniverse (2009)
ISBN 9781440127519
Reviewed by Ben Hartman (age 11) for Reader Views (8/09)


“Quasar and the Eye of the Serpent” is a short fantasy book that would be a good, quick read for kids age 9 and up.  Meet Matthew and Sue, brother and sister, who live with their father.  Matthew, fourteen, is the older and the leader of the two.  Sue, thirteen, is the reluctant and stubborn one.  The excitement began when Matthew and Sue got lost deep in the woods playing tag.  They looked around in all directions, and in one direction there was a light.  After some discussion, Matthew convinced Sue to walk with him toward the light.  The light turned out to be a lantern held by a stranger.  He introduced himself as Sir Wilfred and he took their hands. With a wave of his stick, they disappeared.

Matthew and Sue reappeared in a new place, and the first thing they saw was a wolf that was half dead. His name was Quasar and he had been cursed by a witch, so one side of him was normal and the other side was just bones.  He knew their names and requested their help because an ancient text had told of two sibling teenagers that would remove the curse from Quasar.  Matthew and Sue had sixteen hours to go on a quest to retrieve six magical items from around the supernatural land. With each item there was a clue or riddle to help them find the next, and once all the items were collected, Quasar would be saved.  They experience many exciting adventures and meet mythical creatures such as dragons, unicorns and elves during their quest.  Who can they trust and will they succeed in time?

In addition to creating an interesting fantasy world, T.K. Reed, has a great style of writing.  She uses a wide variety of interesting words and descriptions that make the world come alive for the reader.  For example, on page 53, “The maple leaves were a stunning golden color that shined like the hot sun, and the scarlet red oaks were as bright and brilliant as rubies.”  I really felt like I was there and could picture the tree.

Overall, I would recommend “Quasar and the Eye of the Serpent” by T.K. Reed.  It combines a good fantasy adventure with an exciting writing style.  Since it is shorter than most fantasy books, it would appropriate for kids age 9-12 that like fantasy or want to try a fantasy book for the first time.

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