Review
From the book jacket:
In Venice, magic is not unusual. Merle
is apprenticed to a magic mirror maker, and
Serafin -- a boy who was once a master thief
-- works for a weaver of magic cloth. Merle
and Serafin are used to the mermaids who
live in the canals of the city -- beautiful
creatures with hideous mouths that split
their faces from ear to ear -- and to the
guards who patrol the streets on living
stone lions. Merle herself possesses
something magical: a mirror whose surface is
water. She can reach her whole arm into it
and never get wet.
But Venice is under siege by the Egyptian
Empire; its terrifying mummy warriors and
flying sunbarks are waiting to strike. All
that protects...
Beyond the Book
Kai Meyer has
published many books in Germany
(I believe his total is in the
region of 45 titles, some for
adults, some for children), but
his most successful have been
the three volumes about the
orphan girl, Merle, which have
been translated into 16
languages, most recently
English. In Germany, all three
volumes have been on sale for a
number of years and there are
even plans to make a 26-part TV
series based on the books; but
an English translation of the
first volume was not available
until last year (UK title:
The Flowing...
