From School Library Journal:
Grade 10 Up—Known best for his prowess in illustration, Cannon has written a fun and exciting modern-day pirate tale. Army Shanks, a rugged sailor, is infatuated with locating Far Arden, a mythical haven in the Arctic, complete with lush fruit trees and flowers, waterfalls, and exotic women. His quest to find this elusive paradise is filled with twists and turns, trials and tribulations as he meets an odd assortment of seemingly unrelated characters, including an ex-lover, two college students, undercover "environmental cops," an orphan, a corrupt circus warden with his captive "man beast," and a ruthless professor who will stop at nothing to discover Far Arden. Cleverly weaving together his extraordinary cast of characters through past histories and present events, the author neatly ties everything up in a satisfying ending. The images in each panel skillfully match the tone of the story and beautifully support the characterization of individuals and events as they unfold. Cannon has proved himself to be a riveting storyteller with this fast-paced adventure that features polar-bear fights, kidnapping, conspiracy, misinterpretations, and double-crosses.—Lara McAllister, Halifax Public Libraries, Nova Scotia
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From Publishers Weekly:
In this fanciful tale set in arctic Canada, disparate characters struggle to find a mythic paradise island, Far Arden. Despite far-fetched aspects like the evil, bureaucracy-controlled Royal Canadian Arctic Navy, a half-man/half–polar bear and a conniving university professor of psychology, the story becomes mundane through the intertwining character relations and attention to detail in constructing the world. The protagonist, a stoic, rugged arctic pirate, Army Shanks, searches for the island to reunite with his mentor, Simon Arctavis, but is hindered by old acquaintances and ill-fortune. Slowly, the reader becomes immersed in this alternate arctic world. Commonplace and strange are fused, as rants on the dangers of global warming transition into a battle with a polar bear. The thick crosshatched backgrounds and simple fluid characters further ground the story. As the entwined pasts of Army, his ex, her current husband, a college couple and an orphan bent on revenge for his father's murder are revealed, entwining pasts become clear and the full range of this engrossing story is revealed. (May)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
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