The Mansion in the Mist

Working as a library assistant in a sleepy town, Anthony Monday is having quite a different summer than he expected. While on vacation with his elderly friends Mrs. and Miss Eells the young man has discovered a passage into another dimension; the three are transported to an underworld by way of a magic chest. When they learn of a plot by the evil inhabitants to absorb humanity into their world, Anthony and his friends get a lot more excitement than they bargained for. Hampered by characters that do little but react predictably to their circumstances, the story must rely on its plot and concept for interest. While the notion of passage into another world is not new, the late Bellairs ( The Trolley to Yesterday ; The Secret of the Underground Room ) provides unique twists, as the characters must discover the keys to entry after their original passage is destroyed. Some readers will be caught up in the idea of inter-dimensional travel but others will feel, as these characters do, that they're just along for the ride and may not involve themselves along the way. Ages 10-up. (May)