the dragon lantern a league of seven novel

June 9 at Malaprop’s Bookstore/Cafe, 55 Haywood St., Asheville. The third and final book in the trilogy, “The Monster War,” debuts in spring 2016.Īlan Gratz presents “The Dragon Lantern” at 7 p.m. It’s that rare adventure book that appeals to both boys and girls: Hachi is a Seminole girl and is every bit as daring as the male leads.īoth books feature illustrations by Brett Helquist, best known for his illustrations in the “Series of Unfortunate Events” series. While the books are ostensibly aimed at middle-grade readers, the first in the trilogy has proved popular with teens and adults, too, especially steampunk fans. “I really love spending time in the world of the League of Seven,” the author adds. George Custer fights alongside the Native Americans, not against them - although, Gratz says, he’s still not the greatest tactician. Marie Laveau (the New Orleans “voodoo queen”) is a secret agent. But will the deep-rooted secrets they uncover destroy the new League before it even comes together?įamous Americans play cameo roles in “The Dragon Lantern,” says Gratz, but the roles “are somewhat different from the ones they played in the real world.” For example, Thomas Edison is a villain. Meanwhile, Hachi and Fergus travel to New Orleans to find the mysterious Madame Blavatsky, who may hold clues to how and why Hachi’s father was murdered.Īlong the way, the three heroes meet more young people with extraordinary powers, who may yet join their young League of Seven. Rivets, ride a 10-story tall steam train west, chasing a shape-shifting girl who has stolen the dragon lantern, an ancient artifact with mysterious powers.

Archie and his faithful Tik Tok servant (a kind of robot), Mr. In “The Dragon Lantern,” Archie and his friends are separated, pursuing different missions. The second book in the trilogy, “The Dragon Lantern,” comes out June 9, celebrated with an event at Malaprop’s. The group of heroes come together to fight the Mangleborn, giant monsters who are out to destroy humanity. Along with his friends Hachi and Fergus, he’s called on to revive the League of Seven, an ancient order of protectors. In the eponymously named first book in the trilogy (released last year), readers meet 11-year-old Archie Dent, whose parents were members of the mysterious Septemberist Society. “It’s history turned on its ear, with a steampunk fantasy twist.”

“It’s an alternate 1870s America with airships and ray guns and clockwork machine men” - the kind of elements he loved in books when he was a kid, Gratz says. But for his “League of Seven” trilogy, aimed at middle-grade readers, he created a whole new world. Alan Gratz has written novels about baseball, murder mysteries and a fictionalized version of the true story of a boy interned in a concentration camp.

The dragon lantern a league of seven novel