Summoned

Disclaimer: I received a free eBook from Netgalley in exchange for a review.

Lovecraft's Cthulhu mythos comes alive in this YA tale of magic and mayhem. Our protagonist, Sean Wyndham finds some strange mythos-related books while visiting in Arkham. One thing leads to another and he's invited to become an apprentice to a master magician. He's tasked with summoning a servitor, and when things go awry, it's up to him and those closest to Sean to set things right.

Now I love the Cthulhu Mythos. Lovecraft's works are some of my favorite writings. I even devoted a whole semester to his weird tales in college. So, it was the back copy of this book that caught my attention. I loved how Pillsworth brought the mythos into “our world” in a way that retains some of the magic but also keeps a lot of the skepticism alive. This world felt alive in a way that Lovecraft's monsters could fit into it. Secret societies, magical summonings, and dark secrets are all here. I could see many of the characters reacting to the events just as a normal person would.

That said, my biggest beef was with Sean himself. He's 17 in the book, which almost makes him an adult. However, he's treated almost if he was 13 or so in the book. A lot of his characterization doesn't make him seem like he's a 17 at all. I kept wavering between seeing an adult or seeing a very young 13 year old who makes a lot of weird mistakes. Espeically around how Sean and Eddy dealt with one another. Their relationship seemed very young... as in, “ewww cooties” whenever they got close together. It's fine not to include romance in a book, but the closer you are to a person, sometimes you do develop feelings. Especially at that age.

Bottom Line: If you enjoy a good tale involving mythos characters then you'll enjoy this book. I recommend that young adults read a bit of Lovecraft first before reading this book. It'll make a bit more sense.