Eoin McNamee was born in County Down, Northern Ireland. He is the author of the Navigator trilogy for children, and he is critically acclaimed as a writer of novels for adults, the best known being "Resurrection Man," which was made into a film. He was awarded the Macaulay Fellowship for Irish Literature, and has also written two adult thrillers under the name John Creed.
Gr 5-9-Danny Caulfield is a smallish boy with pixielike features. He is harassed and bullied at school and is generally ignored by his workaholic parents. He is given a chance to start over at a distant boarding school (a chance he does not want). A mysterious and surly cab driver delivers him not to the school chosen by his mother but to Wilson's Academy of the Devious Arts-a school for spies. It sits between two parallel worlds and is the only thing protecting the Upper World (ours) from the evil that has taken over the Lower World. The still-incomplete Ring of Five rules the Lower World with the help of the vicious Cherbs, to whom Danny bears a striking resemblance. With the academy's defenses weakening, Danny may be the Upper World's only hope. While The Ring of Five has tense, exciting moments and possesses the elements of good fantasy adventure, character development is spotty and the plot is uneven. On the whole, the story does not elicit the suspension of disbelief necessary for a good fantasy adventure. D. J. MacHale's "Pendragon" series (S & S) is a much better choice in this genre.-Anthony C. Doyle, Livingston High School, CA Copyright 2010 Reed Business Information.
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