Changes to Happenstance Found (The Books of Umber) by P. W. Catanese

Shelfari edited the description of Happenstance Found (The Books of Umber) Saturday, August 1 2009.

Twelve-year-old Happenstance awakens in a cave with no memory of who he is or how he came to be there. Soon a mysterious trio arrives to take him away: the explorer Umber, the shy archer Sophie, and Oates, whose strength and honesty are both brutal. Hap and his new acquaintances narrowly escape the cavernous underworld and make their way to Lord Umber's bustling jewel of a harbor city, Kurahaven. Once there, Hap learns that Lord Umber is an extraordinary man -- he's a merchant, adventurer, inventor, royal adviser, and chronicler of all things monstrous and magical. But Umber's accomplishments can't answer the question closest to the boy's heart: Who is Happenstance? Desperate to uncover clues in his new, baffling surroundings, Hap accompanies Umber on dangerous and unusual missions. But Hap soon learns that there are powerful enemies inside the kingdom, and a ruthless assassin is hot on his trail. Faced with many unknowns, Hap knows one thing is certain: There's a reason Umber has chosen him...if only he could determine it. P. W. Catanese's richly spun fantasy chronicles one boy's quest for answers and hope in a world riddled by knowledge and power corrupted.

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From Publishers Weekly
Starred Review. Catanese (the Further Tales Adventures) dazzles in the first of the planned Books of Umber series by wittily subverting genre tropes. Happenstance, a boy with strange green eyes, wakes up in a cave with no memories of who he is or anything about the fantastic world in which he lives. He soon encounters Lord Umber, an adventurer who seems familiar with our world as well as his own, and his two companions—a brute cursed to be forever truthful and a one-handed artist and archer. En route to Umber's home, they discover that Hap can see in the dark, leap many feet in the air, speak numerous languages and go without sleep. As the group attempts to learn about his origins, they're forced to confront a supernatural assassin and secrets from Umber's own mysterious past. Catanese packs a lot into the book: rich characterizations (Umber, who turns out to be from another dimension, suffers from depression and wishes he had his meds), well-choreographed action sequences and genuinely surprising twists at the end. As auspicious start to the series. Ages 8-12. (Jan.)
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Emily T edited the ridiculously simplified synopsis of Happenstance Found (The Books of Umber) Tuesday, July 28 2009.

Edited: ~~From Publishers Weekly - Starred Review. Catanese (the Further Tales Adventures) dazzles in the first~~Adventures of Happenstance, an unusual boy with remarkable powers but no memory of ~~the planne~~his past.

Emily T edited the ridiculously simplified synopsis of Happenstance Found (The Books of Umber) Tuesday, July 28 2009.

Added: From Publishers Weekly - Starred Review. Catanese (the Further Tales Adventures) dazzles in the first of the planne

Emily T edited the first sentence of Happenstance Found (The Books of Umber) Tuesday, July 28 2009.

The boy felt as if he'd emerged, fully conscious and wholly formed, out of nothing. Not out of darkness, or chaos, or mist or murk. He was sure he'd sprung from nothing, and now he was lying in a strange place with rough stone pressing against the back of his skull.

Shelfari edited the contributors of Happenstance Found (The Books of Umber) Friday, July 24 2009.

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Happenstance Found (The Books of Umber) (edit title)