World upon world upon parallel world exist out there in the wide vasteness of the multiverse. Protecting those worlds, thousands upon thousands, are the Agents. These men and women, based out of the Aerie set in Space City (which sits in the center of the Multiverse of alternate worlds) are charged with the protection of a vast amount of worlds from threats such as the evil Queen Misery and her Commissars, who (from Iron City) thrive to overthrow the peace of many a world in an attempt to expand her vicious little empire.
But these threats are no pushovers, and agents die in the service of the multiverse. It is when these brave agents pass away that their companions, sentient “animal” companions who (as the years pass and they survive past Agents) are charged with picking the next generation of Agents (of whom they are charged with their training and then work with them as their Agent Companions.
It is thus on this day, as three openings in the Agents are available and the three now Agent-less companions are set forth to pick the next generation of Agents, that the fate of of one time scarred exhausted and frustrated companion and a 4th grade girl are about to collide.
Pumpkin had lost his last Agent companion, that is to be understood if what is about to happen is to make sense, and as he is asked to pick the next Agent he is to train he finds himself frustrated and exhausted by the task asked of him. He wants nothing to do with this, but when pressed he seemingly “randomly” picks 4th grader Boo out of the crowd and proclaims that she is the one he choses as the next Agent. Whether this is a random choice made from the spiteful rogue Agent Companion against a system he has grown weary of, or a choice that may reflect his past (and perhaps his last Agent companion) is unknown (at present). All that is known is that he picked her, and Boo is about to find herself thrust into a world she didn’t think she was ready to enter… the world of the Agents.
She isn’t so certain of her worthiness, but her new companion is as he works to inspire her to greatness (even if she isn’t so certain of her own ability to be great). And with the help of her two fellow recruits (who are not as bad as they might have seemed) she might make a good impression as the youngest Agent ever recruited. But it’s not all breathtaking missions of death defying derring do as she must first learn the ropes of being an Agent, and undertake her first true trial of fire as she is left behind on the first mission against Queen Misery only to find out that Misery lured everyone away to attack the Aerie with herself and Pumpkin as the station’s only defense. Before it’s done she’ll learn courage, and become the ultimate keeper of a device most Agents cannot use… the mysterious Egg-Timer of Improbability. Not a blow device to be certain, it’s only flaw is that it cannot be used by most people because of one particular “requirement” which requires a more freeminded person willing to think outside of the box (which Boo happens to fill requirement wise nicely).
This is a young reader book, more prose than manga, but if you think that is a reason to chase you away from this title then you are wrong. More solid than you may think, this young reader may be abit short for $5 but as far as light pocket reads go it’s recommendable. It’s not total manga, yes, and if you are not the biggest prose fan then you might not appreciate this title and it’s smatherings of manga influence, but if you are looking for a good read and don’t mind it’s geared to younger readers then this might be a short read that might intrigue you.
It’s written well, though again for the young. It’s got abit of spunk, but is again geared to a younger audience. But if all of that doesn’t scare you off easily you’ll find a nice pocket book to pass a lunch hour or two with a nice quick read. 4 Egg Timers of Improbability out of 5 (aka a Silver Recommendation Star).
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