The Amulet of Komondor - Hardcover

Adam Osterweil

4.21

14 ratings by Goodreads

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 1886910812 ISBN 13: 9781886910812

Publisher: Front Street imprint of Boyds Mills Press, 2003

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Like most middle-school kids, Joe and Katie are obsessed with their favorite fantasy card game, DragonSteel: The Amulet of Komondor -- a cross between Pokemon and Magic: The Gathering. When they find a computer game version of DragonSteel at a mysterious shop in the local mall, they jump at the chance to play it. But it turns out to be more than your average video game. Joe and Katie become the actual cartoonish characters of the game, journeying through the world of Komondor on a quest to find the five pieces of the DragonSteel amulet, which they need to save Komondor and Earth from three evil emperors. Using their skill with video games and the help of a colorful cast of new friends -- including an English Golem with a penchant for grammar and a doll-collecting baby prophet -- they take an exciting trip through Komondor and even deal with real-world problems concerning anxious parents, romance, and the FBI.

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About the Author:

Adam Osterweil grew up in Plainview, NY. He attended college at Cornell University, where he majored in Classics, studying Greek and Roman literature, history, and language. Adam earned a Master of Arts from Stony Brook University, and is now a Junior High English teacher at Springs School in Springs, New York. His hobbies include treasure hunting, video games, and collecting comic books. This is his first book.
Peter Thorpe began drawing and painting at an early age. He studied commercial art at The California College of Arts & Crafts and from there moved to New York City, where he worked in the fields of editorial and advertising illustration. Upon discovering that he had a penchant for type design and layout, as well as for illustration, he began to specialize in book covers. Most notably, he has created book covers for over 40 editions of Tony Hillerman's mysteries and he created the cover for Garrison Keillor's best-selling Lake Wobegon Days. DragonSteel: The Amulet of Komondor is the first book for which Peter has created both the cover art and the interior illustrations. It is also the first book for children that he has worked on. Peter now lives in Asheville, North Carolina.

Review:

"Written in a lighthearted tone and packed with amusing puns, this fast-paced adventure is filled with action that is over the top and enjoyable." --School Library Journal

"This slapstick novel will find its audience among fans of fantasy, computer gaming, and manga." --Booklist

"[S]tory is similar to the premise of the computer game Myst, but takes it one step beyond and actually transports the kids into the fantasy world of Komondor." --Christian Schools International

"The linguistic fun starts with the title and ripples through this fast-paced adventure for middle- and high-schoolers until their parents start swiping the book for their own enjoyment. Keep a dictionary handy to get the most pleasure from this story. The illustrator, who has designed covers for Tony Hillerman mysteries and Garrison Keillor's Lake Wobegone Days, uses the style of illustrations found in Japanese fantasy games to show how the characters look as they move back and forth across the computer screen like a modern-day Alice. The author brings the high-speed chase of a plot to a literally warm-and-fuzzy conclusion, which reminds readers to pay attention to word meanings, including those in the title." --ForeWord Magazine

"A riveting story of a computer game gone awry." --The Midwest Book Review

"A timely book that fans of Pokemon and Yu-Gi-Oh! will relate to and enjoy ... This well-paced, simply-written, action-filled story, will ring authentic to young readers' ears." --Children's Literature