The Silver Sphere (The Kin Chronicles) by Michael Dadich is exciting YA fantasy. Shelby, Zach and four other youngsters are unexpectedly called to help the planet Azimuth and are transported to Meridia, one of its countries. They discover that each of them is Kin to a member of Azimuth’s Aulic Assembly all of whom have been captured by the wicked Malefic of the Nightlanders, who personifies the ancient evil Biskara. The humans – the Kin who are linked to the assembly by psychic links – inherit the special abilities of the assembly member they replace and have to lead the battle to keep Azimuth, and ultimately also Earth, out of the hands of the enemy. They need the help of the Silver Sphere to do this, an armillary sphere, an old astronomical device, that gives the co-ordinates of where to find Biskara, so it’s crucial to them. But only the Assembly members can operate it.
This is a very interesting and entertaining story. The Kin, none of them particularly special or promising to begin with, rise to the challenge they are suddenly faced with quickly and develop strengths and qualities they never knew they had. They prove to have been good choices. Azimuth is a fascinating new world for us to discover, with much that is good as well as true evil in the form of the Nightlanders. We meet witches and demons too. The story is gripping and has depth to it. Fantasy and science fiction intermingle to create a complex plot that moves at a sharp pace and grabs your attention from the very beginning. There’s more to come in this series which is already a very impressive addition to this genre.