Mermin Volume 5

KIRKUS -- Humans and sea people teeter on the brink of war over diminishing resources. For years, the human inhabitants of Atlantis have lived peacefully alongside Mer, their green, gilled sea-people neighbors. They shared in the bounty of the precious energeodes, which powered their cities. However, as energeode supplies dwindle, tensions between the once-harmonious peoples become strained. With the escalating stresses, both the Atlanteans and the people of Mer start to suspect one another of even more wrongdoings. Mermin, the small, wide-eyed, and eternally cheery heir to the Mer throne and friend of Pete, a human kid with light-brown skin, finds himself in the middle of the conflict and must learn to summon the power of the sea to save his friend and his kingdom. Weiser has assembled a wholly enjoyable cast of characters and crafted a zippy tale perfectly suited to graphic storytelling. His rounded, bubbly, and altogether eye-catchingly cute marine inhabitants are awash in a pleasing blend of cool oceanic hues. Although this is the fifth and final volume in the series, it's a fine jumping-in point for new readers, as it encapsulates a complete-feeling arc-explaining the Mer/Atlantean conflict from its beginnings and progressing through its battles to its resolution-and offers enough back story about characters to satisfy those unfamiliar with previous escapades. A buoyant undersea adventure. (Graphic fantasy/adventure. 6-11)