• Booklist Reviews : Booklist Reviews 2009 December #2
  Although marketing muscle might make this book a hit, it's hard to believe too many readers will be satisfied with the confusing blend of sorcery and political dystopia. Fifteen-year-old Wisty and her 18-year-old brother Whit are awoken one night by troops from the newly elected N.O. (New Order) regime. The siblings are chained, tossed into a prison, and accused of being a witch and wizard—a charge that seems preposterous until Wisty envelops her body in flames and is no worse for wear. With the help of Whit's dead girlfriend (who exists in a limbo known as the Shadowland), the teens escape to a bombed-out department store where a teen resistance movement fights the dastardly N.O. Wisty and Whit are standard-issue teen smart alecks, the baddies are stock villains who use phrases like "dangerous fiends," and the meandering plot seems to make up the rules as it goes along. It's got an enticing prologue, though, and Patterson's trademark bite-size chapters at least keep things zippy. Copyright 2009 Booklist Reviews.

James Patterson has had more New York Times bestsellers than any other writer, ever, according to Guinness World Records. Since his first novel won the Edgar Award in 1977 James Patterson's books have sold more than 300 million copies. He is the author of the Alex Cross novels, the most popular detective series of the past twenty-five years, including Kiss the Girls and Along Came a Spider. He writes full-time and lives in Florida with his family.