Book Review: The Shimmer by Ridley Pearson (Kingdom Keepers Inheritance #1)

Stars: 4 out of 5

Pros: Action and Disney magic

Cons: Characters, and their connections, could be a little stronger

The Bottom Line:

Magic in future

Facing evil once again

Good start for saga

Danger Shimmering into Disney Parks

When Ridley Pearson announced he was returning to his Kingdom Keepers world with Inheritance, a new series that looks at what happens to the kids of the characters we know so well, I naturally paid attention.  After all, I enjoyed those earlier books.  What Disney fan wouldn’t love spending time in the various Disney parks at night?  The first in this new series is The Shimmer, and we are off to a fun start.

If you haven’t read the original series, it involves young teens who were hired to be holographic hosts.  But they discovered a weird side effect – they would cross over into the Disney parks as they slept.  In reality, they had been unknowingly recruited to fight against Disney villains who were trying to take over the Disney parks.  They are fun and imaginative filled stories that appealed to the Disnerd in me.

In the near future, Eli Whitman lives in the newly built EPCOT.  It is outside the original park and been designed to fulfill Walt Disney’s original dream for a community that live, work, and play together.  His birthday coincides with a solar eclipse, which will be passing right over Walt Disney World.  Naturally, everyone is excited.

However, Eli’s party doesn’t go as planned.  First, his parents are called away for a secret meeting the day before, and they aren’t back in time as promised.  Then, the video game he is playing with his friends comes to life and he is pulled through a shimmer in the air.  Who took him?  And where did he wind up?

I’m going to leave the teaser there since there is so much fun stuff to discover in this book, and it is best to find it on your own.  The book twisted in a couple of places I wasn’t expecting it to, and I enjoyed that.  I’m still a little unclear exactly where the threat is ultimately coming from, but the characters aren’t sure about that either, so it is okay.  The plot has a couple of nods to the original Kingdom Keepers stories but forges its own path.

Part of that is the time.  Since our new heroes are the kids of the original Kingdom Keepers, these books are set a couple of decades into the future.  That allows Ridley Pearson to have some fun imaging how technology will change in that time, and I loved living in those dreams.

I was a little overwhelmed when the book started with all the characters we were meeting.  Fortunately, there are a core cast who step to the front of the action once the story gets going, and I was able to remember who they were easily.  Unfortunately, I couldn’t quite connect them to their parents as easily; it’s been too long since I read the earlier Kingdom Keepers books.  But that doesn’t impact the story that much.  The characters could be a little stronger, but that’s a minor complaint.

Speaking of the original characters, they are minor characters here who have more than just a cameo, which I appreciated.  I get that it isn’t their story any more, but I enjoyed getting to see them in action a little.

And yes, there is plenty of action here.  You’ll be turning pages quickly several times as you read this book.

While the action here is resolved, this book obviously serves to introduce a larger story.  And I will be here for every book in the new saga.  If you fell under the spell of the original Kingdom Keepers books, you’ll be glad you started the Inheritance series with The Shimmer.

Enjoy all the Kingdom Keepers books.

This review is part of this week's Marvelous Middle Grade Mondays.