The Society of Unrelenting Vigilance

The Society of Unrelenting Vigilance
Candle Man: Book One
by Glenn Dakin
300 pages
juvenile fantasy
New York : Egmont USA, 2009

Theo lives an extremely secluded life. His guardian, the butler and the maid are the only three people Theo has ever known. He is kept within three rooms in the mansion. His only outside excursions are to the neighboring cemetery on his birthday. His guardian says he has a very rare and mysterious disease so keeping him isolated from the outside world is necessary for his own safety. As Theo grows older he begins to question this because he feels fine except for when he has his treatments in the Mercy Tube, then he feels horrible. One particular birthday he discovers a mysterious package with his name on it at the cemetery. This is only the beginning of a chain of strange events that change his life forever. As the mystery of his illness unfolds, Theo's world is turned upside-down and he has no idea who to trust.
An engaging new fantasy hero has arrived. Theo is an appealing, innocent young man who has been dealt a bad hand in life. I absolutely loved the beginning of this book, then things got a little iffy for me. The bad guys are rather a silly lot. They didn't quite mesh with me at first, but only for a short while. The characters never got less silly, but it worked into the story. In a way, the silliness kind of distracted the reader away from the violence that was going on as the story climaxed. Yes, there is violence, but it is not overly abundant or descriptive. Overall, an exciting story that will grab you. As usual, I am now annoyed I have to wait another year to read book two.

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