Petra made a powerful enemy when she outsmarted Prince Rodolfo in The Kronos Chronicles Book 1: The Cabinet of Wonders. Now she’s in hiding with her Dad and her trusted best friend Astrophil, who happens to be a small mechanical spider; a smart, witty and brave mechanical spider.
Astrophil reminds me of Lyra’s daemon Pantalaimon in The Golden Compass. Astriphil hides in Petra’s clothes or in her hair. He’s like a permanent mentor, always there whispering good advice. He was built by Petra’s Dad, who is a magical inventor. Petra’s Dad uses invisible tools and is able to shape metal animals and give them life.
What makes Astrophil special is that he learns from his experiences. He can read super fast and remembers everything he sees and reads. The longer he is alive, the smarter he gets. Who wouldn’t like a little mechanical computer like that riding around on their shoulder? What a great gift for a Dad to give his daughter!
In this second book, Petra is being pursued by Prince Rodolfo (and those creepy skeleton looking guys on the cover) and is forced into an alliance with John Dee, a magician she doesn’t trust. In the mean time, Petra’s friends Tomik and Neel are despreately trying to find her, while Petra is desprately trying to find her father who has been snatched by Prince Rodolfo. And all of them…Prince Rodolfo, Petra, Tomik, Neel, John Dee…they all want the Celestial Globe – but why? What can it do? A heart racing adventure with sword fighting, wolves, gypsy pirates, an evil Prince, mechanical animals and good friends that will fight for each other until the bitter end. Author: Marie Rutkoski
- Google Preview The Celestial Globe
- Sign of the Spider: Official Website of Marie Rutkoski
| Here are some more books that have a similar setting as Petra’s story. Mysterious, magical worlds where kids take on evil with their friends, all of whom are not entirely human, yet reliable, steadfast and true friends all the same. Cabinet of Wonders is Book 1, so don’t miss that. | |||
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