At just 17, Thaniel is a wych-hunter. Together, he and Cathaline, his friend and mentor, track down the fearful creatures that lurk in the Old Quarter of London. It is on one of these hunts that he first encounters Alaizabel Cray, who is half-crazed, lovely, and possessed. Distributed by Syndetic Solutions, Inc.

"The city of London has a secret heart. It is a clotted thing of crumbling stone and dripping gutters." Wooding (Kerosene) stages his sensuous horror tale on darkened cobblestone streets where horses still pull hansom cabs and gaslights break the darkness. The author sets a riveting pace from the get-go, as 17-year-old Thaniel Fox, a wych-hunter, prowls the Old Quarter in search of a Cradlejack-a "wych-kin" known for taking babies. It is but one of a litany of slithery apparitions purportedly unleashed when the first Prussian airships bombed the city. On this same night, he encounters a half-crazed teenage girl, whom he takes into his care. Alaizabel Cray, he learns, has survived a ritual staged by the Fraternity, an occult fellowship comprised of "the highest strata of society," and an evil spirit is trapped inside her. The cult is also behind a series of London murders, the locations of which map out the shape of a chackh'morg, a kind of tentacled beast. Once the group completes the drawing, they will finish the first stage of their apocalyptic plan. The tactile quality of the prose will make readers feel as if they can touch and smell the dank sewers of the city. Although Wooding leaves some threads dangling (e.g., the unsolved murders of Thaniel's parents; the motivations of a serial killer who takes issue with the fact that the Fraternity's murders resemble his own), readers will only hope for a sequel to tie them up. An imaginative tour de force. Ages 12-up. (Aug.) Copyright 2004 Reed Business Information. From: Reed Elsevier Inc. Copyright Reed Business Information

Gr 7 Up-Jack the Ripper meets the supernatural in this Bosch-like horror tale set in an alternate Victorian London where supernatural "wych-kin" lurk around every corner waiting to prey on humans. Hot on the trail of a vampirelike "Cradlejack," 17-year-old wych-hunter Thaniel stumbles upon beautiful Alaizabel Cray, who unknowingly has been possessed by an "old wych" named Thatch. Determined to rescue Alaizabel from Thatch and the sinister cult responsible for depositing the evil spirit in Alaizabel's body, the innately chivalrous Thaniel slashes and burns his way through a nightmarish city crawling with enough ghastly human and supernatural villains to stock a wax museum. Eerie and exhilarating, this book marks a thematic and stylistic departure from Wooding's earlier, more contemporary teen novels of partying, drug addiction, and pyromania. Instead, he fuses together his best storytelling skills-plotting, atmosphere, shock value-to create a fabulously horrific and ultimately timeless underworld where heroes battle menacing foes to save the world from demonic overthrow.-Hillias J. Martin, New York Public Library Copyright 2004 Reed Business Information. From: Reed Elsevier Inc. Copyright Reed Business Information

Gr. 9-12. In Wooding's alternative, Victorian London, a new plague is underway: an infestation of demonic creatures known as wych-kin. Thaniel Fox, a 17-year-old wych-hunter who calls forth both Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Indiana Jones, spends his time reducing wych-kin populations with methods that combine magic, superstition, and good old-fashioned gunslinging. After stumbling upon an obviously traumatized young woman on one of his expeditions, he swiftly discovers that she has escaped from the clutches of a powerful cult called the Fraternity. The connections between Alaizabel's plight, rising numbers of wych-kin, and the Fraternity's plans are revealed by tantalizing degrees, as Thaniel; Alaizabel; Thaniel's guardian, Cathaline; and several colorful allies join forces to combat evil on a terrifying scale. This is dark fare, often graphically violent (a Jack-the-Ripper-type serial killer plays a role), but not gratuitously so. Wooding delivers characters to care about, including strong-willed and capable young women, deliciously scary bogeys drawn from world legend and lore, and philosophical underpinnings suggesting an imagination heavily steeped in Tolkien and Pullman. Though the action bogs down a bit in the middle as Wooding assembles his cast of good guys, the atmospheric scene setting and attention to chilling detail ensure his hold on fantasy enthusiasts. --Jennifer Mattson Copyright 2004 Booklist From: Syndetics Solutions, Inc. Distributed by Syndetic Solutions, Inc.