The creator of the Fablehaven series gets his newest venture off to a literal flying start. A night of trick-or-treating turns genuinely terrifying when sixth-grader Cole and a band of Arizona classmates are transported to the Outskirts, a land between universes. There, he's seized by slavers and sold to a gang of aerial pirates who plunder the often well-defended floating castles that stream over a bottomless chasm. Intent on saving his friends, he escapes with fellow slave Mirawho turns out to be more than she seems. She leads him through danger-filled adventures in a land of giant desserts and similarly strange locales to a face-off with a monster made of stolen magic. Mull gives his protagonist opportunities aplenty to demonstrate courage, quick wit and a talent for teasing. He also lays inventive twists on magical gear and workings and crafts such oddball monsters and settings that even a native-born character complains at one point, "I keep waiting for this to get less weird, and it keeps not happening." From the evidence, readers may consider that a promise from the author. Sequels are certain, and they should be welcomed by all who like plenty of "odd" in their odysseys. (Fantasy. 10-13)]] Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.

Sixth-grader Cole Randolph and his friends (including his crush, Jenna) are whisked away from their ho-hum lives in Arizona to the magical world of the Outskirts, a place that lies between wakefulness and dreaming, reality and imagination, life and death. Upon their arrival in the Outskirts, Cole's friends are quickly captured by slavers, but he escapes and sets out on an epic quest to rescue them. As a stranger in a strange land, however, Cole can't manage on his own, and soon he has met a bevy of unlikely friends many of whom have magical abilities as well as enemies who are bent on exploiting Cole and his new friends for their own gain. Everyman Cole doesn't know much about the fantastical, flying-castle-filled Outskirts, but he's ready for adventure and eager to learn. Mull's ample world building only adds even more dimension to Cole's noble quest. Mull has a built-in audience for this new fantasy adventure series, and fans of the Fablehaven and Beyonders series will not be disappointed. HIGH-DEMAND BACKSTORY: One million dollars for marketing? New York Times best-selling Mull's publisher thinks he's worth it, and fans of his wildly popular series will likely agree.--Comfort, Stacey Copyright 2010 Booklist

Gr 3-7-When a Halloween haunted house trip goes bad, Cole Randolph watches his friends get kidnapped by unknown creatures. In an attempt to save his friends, he jumps down a manhole and lands in another dimension, where he is captured and sold off to the Sky Raiders. His new life as a scout is dangerous, but not as much as when his friend Mira reveals that she holds a deadly secret about the High King, but doesn't tell Cole the whole story. When the High King's soldiers show up at the Sky Raiders' skyport demanding the surrender of Mira, Cole's only chance to save her and his friends is to escape. Will he be able to save his friends and get back home? Who is the High King and what are his plans? Narrator Keith Nobbs's dynamic narrative style easily draws listeners into Cole's world. With a well-developed plot and the masterful action and mystery scenes, this engaging series launch will be hard for fantasy fans to put down, particularly if they've enjoyed Mull's "Beyonders" and "Fablehaven" series (both S. & S.).-Kira Moody, Whitmore Public Library, Salt Lake City, UT (c) Copyright 2014. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

When Cole's friends are kidnapped by mysterious strangers, the sixth grader follows them through a magical portal and lands in a world dominated by Shapers, people who bend reality to their will. Action and adventure rule the day as Cole teams up with new friends on a hero's quest. The setup is hardly new, but Mull's intriguing invented world keeps things interesting. (c) Copyright 2014. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

The first in Mull's Five Kingdom series begins on Halloween, as sixth-grader Cody and his friends venture into a haunted house and unexpectedly embark on a journey into a world called the Outskirts. This in-between world proves hard to escape. Cody's friends are captured by slavers, and he must find a way to rescue them and return to Earth. Narrator Nobbs projects a youthful voice appropriate to the characters in the novel. The strong narration of the more descriptive elements of the book provides a nice balance with the emotional states of the characters. However, occasionally the characters voices are indistinguishable from one and another, making it difficult to keep track of who said what. Ages 8-12. An Aladdin hardcover. (Mar.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.