mike gleason

Book of Doom by John Peel © 2006 Llewellyn Worldwide ISBN
0-7387-0842-9 161 pages Paperback $4.99 (U.S.) $$5.95 (Canada) Novel
for ages 12 and up

The adventures of Score, Helaine, Pixel and Jenna continue. Nantor (one of
the Three Who Rule) has broken loose of the magic confinement and has taken
control of Pixel's mind. This is leading to the imbalance, and potential
breakdown, of the magic which imbues the worlds of Diadem. Under the
guidance of Score, Helaine and Pixel Diadem had seen a birth of freedom and
ease of existence; under the tyranny of the Three Who Rule it had seen,
well, tyranny. Now the Three Who Rule are trying to turn the youngsters
into vessels of their own ambition.

Shanara and Oracle, best friends and confidants of the youngsters, have
prepared a deadly trap in the event that any of the youngsters fall under
the influence of the Three Who Rule. The trap is designed to deposit them
on a world whose plant life is inimical to any form of animal life, thus
guaranteeing their destruction. The purpose of the trap is simply to
deprive the Three Who Rule of their chosen vessels.

Pixel is sharing his mind, unwillingly, with Nantor and he is working to
bring Eremin through to take possession of Helaine's mind. This is in the
furtherance of their plan to retake control of the Diadem (of course Eremin
is not aware that Nantor plans to remove her so the can rule alone).

Over the course of this series we have witnessed the evolution of the trio
of Score, Helaine, and Pixel from youngsters who didn't know each other;
didn't trust each other; and didn't particularly believe in magic into a
cohesive group who only occasionally exhibit that type of behavior. They
have, however, learned how to work together and to use their individual
strengthens for the benefit of the group, and for the benefit of humanity.

Is this the end of this series? Quite possibly. It ends without a teaser
for a forth-coming book, so that may be a clue. If this is the end of the
series it has neatly tied up a lot of loose ends. If it ISN'T the end,
there are still a couple of possible lines to explore. There is the
question of Score's mother open. And, even though the flow of magic as been
restores to balance, there is still the question of restoring Pixel's world
to some form of normalcy after the total destruction of the virtual reality
which had been the norm for generations.