From School Library Journal
Grade 5-8Π²ΠβIn this eighth volume in the series, 14-year-old wizards Kit Rodriguez and Nita Callahan have just returned from an extraterrestrial vacation and are getting ready to go back to school. Meanwhile, Nita's wizardly younger sister, Dairine, and their father have been hosting three alien wizards in their basement. Everything changes when the magical group learns that the universe is rapidly filling with a mysterious dark matter that threatens to swallow all of the stars and worlds into oblivion within a few weeks. It is already causing the adult wizards to lose their powers, and even to forget that magic exists. Kit, Nita, Dairine, and their alien guests, along with Kit's magical dog, Ponch, and Dairine's enchanted laptop, Spot, zip off to scour the galaxy for a prophesied secret weaponΠ²Πβa person or thing that can overcome the impending catastrophe. Although Duane has tried to allow each book in the series to stand on its own, most readers will be lost without having read at least some of the predecessors. Those who are familiar with the series will thoroughly enjoy this story, especially its grand and wistful conclusion.Π²ΠβWalter Minkel, New York Public Library
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From Booklist
Gr. 5-8. The youthful wizards Kit and Nita preceded the trainees of Hogwarts by more than a decade, and they are still clobbering the forces of Death in the name of the Powers That Be. In this eighth volume of Duane's Young Wizards adventures, the Lone One has corrupted the basic structure of reality, causing the universe to expand and all wizards past "latency"--in other words, grown-ups--to lose their abilities, leaving it to the kids to prevent cataclysm. The novel is overlong and densely crammed with bewildering jargon, but the basic plot strands are compelling, particularly one set among a hive society reminiscent of Orson Scott Card's buggers. Even early series fans who have since outgrown Duane's particular brand of pseudoscientific mysticism may be attracted by the cameo appearances of previous books' characters and references to past story lines. The full-cast-reunion aspect prevents this from standing alone, but keep the overall series in mind for Harry Potter buffs whose interests are broad enough to allow them to easily move between Rowling's genteel, mock-Eton fantasy and traditional sf. Jennifer Mattson
Copyright ΠΒ© American Library Association. All rights reserved