Lex Trent Versus the Gods

Bell evokes Peter Pan in this merry madcap tale of law student and cat burglar Lex Trent. At age 17, Lex is a talented cheat with Lady Luck on his side... usually. The amoral scammer is forced to join forces with upright lawyer Montgomery Schmidt, and they bicker their way through a world of dour enchanters, Binding Bracelets, a human turned into a ferret, and talking trees until they become caught up in a no-rules game of the gods in which Lex must contend with his twin brother, Lucius. This confrontation prepares Lex's character development as he begins to cooperate with Schmidt, learns to fear, and reflects on his past. Bell evokes classical mythology when a final attempt at knavery sends Lucius to the Lands Beneath. Lex reluctantly but convincingly manifests moral responsibility, sympathy, and respect, and his prankish impulses aid his triumph in this lighthearted inversion of the typical faerie quest. (Oct.)