The Cydonian Pyramid

Gr 7 Up—This title covers the same time period as The Obsidian Blade (Candlewick, 2012), but from Lah Lia's point of view. She explains her origins as a Pure Girl, raised and groomed for eventual sacrifice to atone for the sins of society's past. At her sacrificial ceremony, an interruption occurs with the sudden appearance of Tucker, introduced in the first book, who has been time-traveling between historical events of the future and distant past through portals called diskos. Tucker's presence creates a one-in-a-million chance for Lah Lia to escape her pending doom by jumping through one of the diskos. When she lands in the new world, she sustains multiple life-threathening injuries, but is healed by an advance core of medical specialists termed Medicants. Throughout the story, references are made as to how the technology of the past caused an apocalyptic end to humanity via the Digital Plague. In Lah Lia's world, the use of any type of digital technology is against the law. It is even illegal to refer to or verbally mention numbers. Interspersed with short chapters from Tucker's viewpoint, the story creates a kind of twilight zone surreal atmosphere. The author gives readers a chance to review events from the previous book, eventually allowing the two separate story lines of Lah Lia and Tucker to merge. Tinged with elements of ancient Mayan sacrifices and political intrigue, the book will have fans of historical fiction and science fiction thinking through the motives and concepts of this smoothly layered adventure.—Sabrina Carnesi, Crittenden Middle School, Newport News, VA