Beast Quest 22 – Luna the Moon Wolf

Adam Blade's Luna the Moon Wolf is a Beast Quest adventure for 7 year olds about a ghostly white wolf who can turn wild animals against you.

What happens

Tom's father is home at last, but only as a ghost, trapped by the evil wizard Malvel's magic. To bring him properly back to life, Tom has to find the six pieces of the broken Amulet of Avantia. Each piece is guarded by a Ghost Beast. And every time Taladon grows stronger, Tom loses one of his magic powers.

This time the trail leads into the Forbidden Land. It's grey and dusty and dead, and at the far side of it lies the Dark Wood.

Getting there means climbing straight down a cliff on Elenna's rope (Tom smacks his head on the rock and keeps going). Then comes a night by a spring, a campfire, and a circle of glowing red eyes in the dark.

Luna doesn't need to fight Tom herself. She makes the foxes and wild dogs and rats do it for her. The most shocking moment is when Silver, Elenna's loyal wolf, turns on Tom too.

What would you do if your best friend's pet went for you? Elenna has to catch her own wolf in a net she knots from her rope, and it's one of the tensest scenes in the book.

There's a nice bit of heart here too. Tom can't leap the way he used to, so he has to rely on brains instead. Cue a very big hole and a plan involving Luna's own snappy cubs.

It's creepy even for Beast Quest. A little girl's pet owl is killed in the opening pages. The trees in the Dark Wood drip with what looks like blood. Silver's claws tear at Tom, and the final fight is a bloody one. A child who's upset by animals getting hurt might want to leave this one for later. For a reader who likes a proper chill, the moonlit battles are hard to put down.

What to read next

If they'd like to see how the hunt for the amulet began, go back to Nixa the Death Bringer, where Tom's father first walks into the king's throne room as a ghost.