The Fire Seekers

Gr 9 Up—Daniel Calder lives an exceptional life. With an architect father and a computer genius mother, he travels the world in search of new Phaistos disc (round pieces of fired clay from ancient Greece) clues and adventures. But when his mother dies in a strange climbing accident, people across the globe disappear in the name of a new religion, and his father goes missing after a Phaistos disc translation is discovered to be too similar to the new religion's tenets, Daniel and his friends must determine just what has happened and rescue not only his father but all of humanity as well. This mystery novel places readers in a grounded realistic fiction at the beginning, and then takes an unexpected turn into the science fiction genre in the latter half, with the former portion being the more cohesive. Well-developed characters lead readers on a journey through the past toward a confusing and drawn out conclusion, which will leave them questioning the trip. Thorough integration of historical information into the narrative allows teens to learn about Phaistos discs and past civilizations, while keeping them intrigued. Strong religious overtones and an unforeseen ending may offend some ChristianJudeo readers. The first of a trilogy, The Fire Seekers has an unsteady start.—Elizabeth Speer, Cisco College, TX