The Mole King’s Lair

The Mole King’s Lair is the much anticipated second installment of Jo Rioux’s “Cat’s Cradle” graphic novel series, the first book being The Golden Twine. This time around, Suri, monster tamer extraordinaire, continues her adventure northbound to find a home for her beloved Byron, a massive dog who often gets mistaken for a monster. Joining them on their journey is Caglio, an imp and Byron’s master.

As their adventure begins, Suri soon finds that they do not have enough to eat, and so she starts to get creative, asking for work in the local village. However, once the villagers catch a glimpse of Byron, they flee, leaving Suri and her friends hungry once more. While roaming through the forest, the group meets Kolya, a Caitsith disguised as a young thief, who tells them of a massive fortune he found in the Mole King’s lair. Hungry, and with nothing to lose, Suri and her friends decide to take a detour and find this fortune.

Unbeknownst to them, Suri and company are being followed by a monster hunting prince who is obsessed with capturing Byron. He teams up with a family of three Caitsiths who also want something from Suri, the golden twine she found in book one of the series. In order to strengthen their chances, the prince and his team recruit villagers from a local town to help them capture Suri and her friends.

Once Suri, Caglio, Byron and Kolya make it to the Mole King’s lair, they find out pretty quickly that the fortune is gone. Once separated, each member of the group decides to find a way out of the cave, but instead they are attacked by mole monsters, creatures that are seemingly tasked with protecting the Mole King’s treasure.

Through a series of wild adventures, Caglio, Byron and Suri are soon reunited and stumble across the missing fortune, only to be captured by the Mole Queen. They are stunned to learn that the Queen is really a miner named Glassa who has been trapped in the cave for the past three years. She explains that the gold in the cave is cursed and anyone who comes in direct contact with it will turn into a mole creature. The gold is controlled by a magical crystal bell, and once it rings it showers the cave with gold. Whoever can destroy the bell will break the curse. Caglio, unable to control himself, jumps into the pile of gold and immediately turns into a mole monster.

After Suri and her friends, accompanied by Glassa, are reunited with Kolya, they try to destroy the bell and reverse the curse. However, they get interrupted by the prince and his hunting party who go wild with greed as they see the Mole King’s treasure as they storm the lair. In the ensuing chaos, Kolya, Glassa, and Byron are also turned into mole creatures, as are many in the hunting party. Luckily for everyone, Suri is able to use her magical powers to destroy the bell and break the curse.

The story ends with Kolya joining Suri, Byron and Caglio on their journey north to the Monster’s Cradle, his secret identity still intact. As they embark on the next leg of their adventure, they are followed once again by the Caitsiths who are still searching for the golden twine.

A great addition to the “Cat’s Cradle” series, The Mole King’s Lair is a fun, fast-paced graphic novel that is perfect for middle grade readers. Fans of action-adventure storylines will be particularly enthralled by this book as Suri and her friends encounter one adventure after the next. The story is also packed with witty, age-appropriate dialogue that is peppered with many great one-liners. If you love comedy and adventure, then this is the book for you.

And let us not forget Jo Rioux’s vibrant artwork here. Her panels are jam-packed with action and movement which perfectly highlight the spirit of the storyline. However, it is her choice of colour palette that adds maximum impact here. Her choice of bright, airy pastels to denote the outside world, juxtaposed with the darker indigo and plum hues of the underground lair, add much appreciated depth and colour to an already outstanding graphic novel.

Overall, a fun, fast-paced read with colourful illustrations, The Mole King’s Lair is recommended for middle grade readers.