Currently reading
Flight of the Griffin
by C.M. Gray
This is a YA story and reads like one, yet it has a dark and magical plotline that intrigued me and kept me interested. A young thief makes a special haul on a dare that includes a magical knife. The previous owner of the knife seems to be unaware of its significance or the connection to a small grey cat that has been living with him for several weeks.
The thief and his friends live on a boat, but don't want to sail away too suddenly as the city watch would notice and they would come under suspicion for the significant burglary. In the course of deciding how to stash some of the loot and minimize evidence, they discover some of the unusual properties of the knife.
Their adventures soon begin to look like a gaming campaign or the old Dungeons and Dragons cartoon series, but a lot of imagination goes into the plot and there are some original ideas I found interesting. It's the typical Order vs Chaos scenario with heroes and demons and would be gold for a middle grade reader.
A few too convenient solutions and the innocent nobility of the warrior among the heroes being reluctant to kill an unarmed enemy makes it most appropriate for young readers, but still it had some wonderfully fantastical ideas and the writing itself was flawless.
