I can't really seem to get a summary out of my head for this, so here's a quick excerpt from what the publisher says..."When the Griffins enroll at Iron Bridge Academy, a school to train young recruits in the fight against the forces of evil, they find themselves at the center of a whole new adventure."
Last year, it seems like I had a 10-year-old boy in just about every other day asking when the next Grey Griffins book was coming out. I spent quite a bit of time with some of the more insistent ones looking at the website for hints of a new book. However, by the time I heard about this title, it seems like the interest had died down and I haven't had anyone ask for the books for quite a while, although they do check out fairly regularly. When I first saw this title, I thought it was a new series, unconnected to Grey Griffins and groaned and shoved it off my order list.
When I received an ARC and realized it was a new story arc of the Grey Griffins I popped it back on and ordered a copy for us - although interest has died down, I'm sure those kids are still out there and will be excited to see it. As for me...well, I frankly wasn't excited about it. I tried to get into it and just couldn't. It helps to have read the previous books, I'm sure, since you need to know who the Grey Griffins are, why they're friends, and what's been happening to them. I haven't read the previous books. Also, I dislike anything Arthurian or Templar-related, and these stories are tightly tied up with Templar legends. The steampunk bits were kind of fun, but felt more like bad horror than really good steampunk, whatever that is. I just...the writing just didn't work for me.
But. I'm pretty darned sure it's going to work for kids. Even those who weren't Grey Griffins fans will like this. Plenty of action, lots of mysterious stuff going on, funny bits, serious bits, steampunk, magic, werewolves, you name it, it's in here. So, it wasn't for me - but I'm glad I ordered it for the library.
Verdict: Not a fantasy I enjoyed, but one that will be popular in most libraries. Go ahead and buy it.
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