Five Kingdoms: Crystal Keepers by Brandon Mull

479 pages

"Cole Randolph still can't believe the ways his life has turned inside out. Stuck in a strange land far from home, he has found his friend Dalton and has survived the first two kingdoms of the Outskirts, but none of that has prepared him for the magnetic highways and robotic bounty hunters of Zeropolis.

Ruled by Abram Trench, the one Grand Shaper who stayed loyal to the evil High King, the government of Zeropolis uses advanced technologies to keep tight control. Luckily, the resistance in Zeropolis is anchored by the Crystal Keepers--a group of young rebels with unique weapons.

On the run from the High King's secret police, Cole and Dalton hope to find more of their lost friends and help Mira locate her sister Constance. But as their enemies ruthlessly dismantle the resistance, time is running out for Cole to uncover the secrets behind the Zeropolitan government and unravel the mystery of who helped the High King steal his daughters' powers." -Dust Jacket

This is the third book in the Five Kingdoms series. Zeropolis is the most modern of all the kingdoms so far and it's fun to read the differences. This more modern kingdom allowed Mull to think of fun ways to use technology for good and evil. The city is powered by crystals. Everything is based on technology that's tightly controlled by the government because the supercomputer Aeronomotron once infiltrated all the computer systems and killed thousands attempting to take over the city. Cole and company are headed to Zeropolis to find Mira's sister, Constance. They meet some members of the resistance and get to use things like warboards and battle suits.

In the author's note to the reader in the back, Brandon Mull says that he's referenced Lyrian in this book, which is the land The Beyonders takes place in. I didn't catch that reference but I'm definitely going to watch for it in the next books. These first three books came out six months apart but the next two will be a year apart as he's focusing on the Fablehaven sequel. I'm excited for that, but I was really liking this two books a year. Brandon Mull's books may not be the most perfectly written books but they're definitely some of the most fun. I've never been disappointed by a Brandon Mull book. I'm looking forward to seeing if Cole is able to make it home and if he'll want to if/when that time comes. Everyone he meets tells him that it's impossible. I'm also curious to see how he gets his power back.

{Some spoilers ahead}

This book starts with the group being chased by the Enforcers and running to Trillian's kingdom where Skye has decided to stay and learn from the torivor. They have to use their animal masks to get away and Trillian agrees to help them in exchange for the masks staying with him. They are powerful and Cole feels that pull to stay a mountain lion as he has a hard time taking off his mask. They use their animals to get them to the border where they take a monorail into the city. You have to use an ID to go places and buy things in Zeropolis so the government can track you. Joe's fake ID is flagged and he's captured but not before he's told the group to go to Axis, an arcade where they will find help. They split up and make their way there where they meet Roulette, a Crystal Keeper. She takes them to meet Googol who's part of the resistance. He has created some robots, which is illegal, that help Cole. Sidekick, a robot that's been made to look like a cleaning bot, provides some much-needed comic relief and quickly becomes a favorite in this book. He helps Cole out of some tough situations. Joe reveals his sad past trying to get back to his fiancee Gwen and her not remembering him.

The government has been able to infiltrate the resistance and capture some of their agents more frequently than before and they can't figure out why. The government destroys Googol's safe house and they all have to flee. Eventually they end up with Nova, the leader of the Unseen. She has the power to supercharge things.

Cole also finds Blake in Zeropolis. He's from back home but wasn't well liked. He has a very unique power. He can sense the harmonic crystals and basically rewire them or copy them just by being near them. That is how the government has been able to find the resistance so easily. He's been a slave to Datapoint, a woman who serves her own interests and has no allegiance but who won't work for the government. She offers Cole and Sidekick refuge. Blake helps them get into her Situation Room where they learn that Datapoint has been in contact with Aero. They destroy their connection and escape. Blake reluctantly goes with them. He knows Datapoint will punish him for helping them get in the room but he doesn't relish the idea of constantly being in danger. He'd gotten used to the perks of slavery.

Nova gives Cole a secret mission to make contact with Queen Harmony to see if she can put a star in the sky over where Constance is so they can find her. He enters the castle as a messenger boy to help him blend in. He takes Nova's message to Harmony and Harmony tells him that she knows where Constance has been all this time. She then asks Cole to go to a secret meeting of the Overseer that she's seen in a vision. The Overseer is trying to usurp the High King's power. Cole agrees to go but before he makes it there the High King requests to see him since he's new to the castle and has had important messages to deliver. The High King is sickly but asks Cole to report everything back to him. Cole attends the meeting and learns that Owandell (the Overseer) reports to Nazeem, a shape crafter who plans on taking over all the kingdoms once he's free. He speaks to them through the Founding Stone. He senses that there's a spy among them and Cole grabs the Founding Stone which allows him to talk to Nazeem and also access some of his powers that are still blocked. One of the Founding Stone's creators helps him transport himself back to the Queen and he escapes capture. The Queen is worried because she senses that something is wrong with her other two daughters who are together in Necronum. She tells Cole that Jenna Hunt is in a temple in Necronum, implying that only people with special abilities go there. She helps him escape the castle and he doesn't see the King again.

Cole is pursued in this book by The Hunter who works for the High King and, who it turns out, is actually his brother, Hunter Randolph, who was pulled into this other world a few years back. Cole has no memory of him because once you cross over anyone who knew you back on Earth forgets you ever existed. Cole convinces Hunter to switch sides and help the resistance by letting him investigate the truth of what Cole's told him. Hunter has mastered the shaping abilities of all five kingdoms and is a valuable asset to the High King. I'm still not sure whether or not his new loyalties to the resistance can be trusted or not.

Constance has been kept prisoner/safe in Abram Trench's secret hideout where she's created a computer named Roxie to keep her company. Roxie has other plans however. It's built itself a dragon body and tries to take over the city. Cole, Hunter and Blake go to Abram's penthouse where Roxie has locked him and Constance up to break Constance out. Blake is supposed to rewire her crystals and hopefully slow her down. He's unable to do it fast enough and so Cole has the idea to use a crystal to allow Aero to try to take over Roxie. Roxie goes off to fight Aero. Sidekick has been designed by Googol and Nova to be a big bomb and he valiantly drops himself on Roxie and Aero saving the city. Blake stays in Zeropolis to help Googol and the others try to rebuild the city. Mira invites Hunter to join them on their journey to Necronum.