Chronicles of the Red King: The Secret Kingdom (review)

Nimmo, author of the Charlie Bone series (Charlie Bone and the Invisible Boy, BCCB 9/04, etc.), returns here to provide the backstory to the legend that will shape most of Charlie Bone's future. Long ago, the idyllic peace of a faraway secret kingdom was shattered when the evil Lord Degal invaded with his army of the monstrous viridees. Knowing that her children would be protected by the gifts bestowed upon them by a forest-jinni at birth, the queen forced her son Timoken, the future Red King, and his sister Zobayda to flee the palace, telling them both of their supernatural powers. Kept in a state of perpetual childhood by a magical elixir, the siblings spend the next two hundred years narrowly escaping the viridees as they are hunted across much of Africa. Zobayda is caught, but Timoken continues in his travels, coming into his powers as a magician and meeting people who will eventually set the stage for the battle between his descendants that will change Charlie Bone's life. Knowledge of the other series isn't necessary but would be helpful, as events in this book often have significance that is not always made entirely clear, although some hints are offered in the prologue narrated by Charlie Bone himself. As a stand-alone, however, this can be viewed as a series of linked fables, a structure that is matched by Nimmo's folkloric tone and direct language. The world is richly developed, and the magical creatures therein are both fascinating and frightening. Timoken is a noble, likable hero, and readers who are unfamiliar with his successor's adventures will most likely be compelled to check out Charlie Bone until the Red King returns in the next installment of this series.