Ridley Pearson has long been considered one of the best thriller writers working today. But a few years ago after his successful venture in writing young adult fiction with his good friend Dave Barry (Peter and the Starcatchers) he wrote a novel about five kids who had to work together to save Walt Disney World from being overrun by villainous forces. The result was the wildly successful Kingdom Keepers: Disney After Dark. Naturally, there were questions from fans whether there would be another book. The result is Kingom Keepers II: Disney at Dawn which in some ways is even better than the first installment in the series.
As with the first novel, Kingom Keepers II revolves around five teenagers who have been selected to be Disney Host Interactives, or DHIs for short, which are holographic images that act as tour guides throughout the park. At the end of the first novel, the DHI system had to be taken down because of flaws that were exploited by the evil group referred to as the Overtakers who are plotting to take over the park. As this book opens, the DHI system is back on line and a huge celebration is being held in the park that includes the DHIs human models. But things go terribly wrong and the race is on again to find out what the Overtakers are up to and to stop it before it's too late.
The kids are also assisted by Wayne, an older Cast Member (the title used for all Disney employees) who guides them and provides valuable assistance along the way. Ironically, the character is based on an actual cast member that Mr. Pearson met during an early research trip to the Magic Kingdom.
Like the first book, Mr. Pearson takes us behind the scenes of the Disney magic. In the first book, he went behind the scenes of the Magic Kingdom, while this time the story takes place principally inside the Animal Kingdom. Mr. Pearson has again paid great attention to detail, and as you read his descriptions of the various scenes, you can easily visualize yourself inside the parks.
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