stop me if you've heard this one: After a terrible act of violence, three siblings are sent by their parents off into the country to live in the mysterious house of a quirky scholar. A house with a magical, fantastical secret that changes their lives forever!
These children go on a journey through time and space, where philosophical and moral questions are discussed by exotic, bizarre people and beings.
Both sound very familiar, right?
Well, author Dale Peck freely admits to being a big fan of C.S. Lewis and Madeline L'Engle.
While Drift House: The First Voyage may seem upon first glimpse to be yet another rehash of the same old props and tropes of earlier all-ages fantasies...it's not. It comes off as fresh and wonderful even at its most familar.
Susan, Charles, and Murray come off as acting and talking like real (albeit gifted) kids. And their adventures are made relevant by some potentially controversial choices Peck has made in the plot. Easy answers aren't given, and even the "villains" of the piece have fully understandable, even valid reasons for the things they do.
The Drift House itself is a wonderful creation, and opens up plenty of possibilities for what will hopefully be a series of books just as strong as this one.
Amoral mermaids, friendly pirates, smart dumbwaiters, little brothers with horrifying secrets, an ocean composed of Time itself...there's lots of cool stuff here.