Archibald Finch and the Lost Witches (Archibald Finch, #1)

by Michel Guyon

[annieb123]

Originally posted on my blog: Nonstop Reader.

Archibald Finch and the Lost Witches is a wonderfully witty, engaging, and beautifully written crossworlds fantasy novel for middle grade readers by Michel Guyon. Due out 28th Sept 2021 from Andrews McMeel, it's 352 pages and will be available in ebook and audio formats (other editions available in other print formats).

This is such an impressively fun and creative book. Given the precociousness of Archibald, the protagonist ("I know everything, I just do"), it would've been so easy to make him obnoxious and truly unpleasant. He comes across as a bit exasperating sometimes (especially to his older sister Hailee), but otherwise he's really sweetly vulnerable, mostly honest, full of curiosity, and naturally inclined to kindness.

His accidental trip into a parallel world where monsters are real, language is not always clear, almost everyone is female (boys are called "accidents"), and there are very very few adults, leaves him grasping to put everything in context and make sense of what's happening around him. The author does a superlative job of character development - they really live and breathe and the world building is unparalleled. I was impressed by how much real history and knowledge was included - much of the plot turns on Leonardo da Vinci's life, sketchbooks, and wonderful inventions.

The narration in the audiobook by Steve Hendrickson is virtuosic. He manages numerous accents with inspiration from the UK, Eastern Europe, Italy, and several other places with characters of both sexes, and all ages. I spent most of my time listening with my mouth hanging open in awe of his voice work. Mr. Hendrickson has shot to the top of my shortlist of favourite narrators. The audiobook has a run time of just over 9 hours and the audio quality and production were quite good throughout.

I've seen other reviewers comparing this one to books by Rick Riordan and J.K. Rowling, and while I can understand the comparison, in a lot of ways, this book is better. To my mind, a more apt comparison would be Roald Dahl and Madeleine L'Engle. The only thing I really disliked about the book, and it's something which I loathe universally is the *absolute* cliff hanger of an ending. NONE of the plot threads are resolved and it was distressing. On the other hand, the book is quite long and would've been a monster if it'd been in one volume. I'm looking forward to finding out what's next for Archibald, Hailee, and their compatriots.

Five stars despite the cliffhanger ending. Five stars for the audiobook version.

Disclosure: I received an ARC at no cost from the author/publisher for review purposes.