The Wave Runners

Kai Meyer (author)

Egmont Press, UK: 2007; 375pp

ISBN: 9781405216357

Genres: adventure, fantasy

Issues: duty, friendship, gifted/talented, identity, power (use and misuse of)

A swashbuckling adventure with pirates and Polliwiggles.

The first in a trilogy, ‘The Wave Runners’ introduces the readers to Munk, the son of island farmers, and Jolly, a pirate. Raised very differently, the youngsters nevertheless share a unique gift – they can walk on water.

Polliwiggles, as such wave-runners are called, are extremely rare. Many people, both in and outside the law, can see the value of controlling such individuals. Terrifying portents begin to appear and it soon becomes clear that the teenagers’ world is on the verge of chaos.

The mysterious Ghost Trader, who knows far more than he is prepared to share, claims that the polliwiggles can save the world and its people – if they will do as he says. But Jolly wants to find her lost captain and shipmates and Munk is no longer prepared to trust anyone – especially the Ghost Trader.

Caught up in events that threaten to overwhelm them, Munk and Jolly find themselves associating with some very strange characters of uncertain morals and questionable motivation. Pursued by many who are determined to use them against their will and knowing they may have to face the deadly power of the Maelstrom, Munk and Jolly must trust their own gifts and find hidden strengths if they are to be independent players and not merely pawns in the great game around them.

A vivid, swashbuckling story packed with page-turning adventures and a cast of colourful characters, ‘The Wave Runners’ is a strong beginning to this trilogy. Readers should be aware that is only a beginning and this novel leaves many story threads hanging and questions unanswered.
 
That said, it is a well-crafted novel, very readable and guaranteed to maintain reader interest. Plot, rather than character development, is the focus at this point but there is plenty of potential in the central antagonists. While there are a number of fights and sea battles, they are dramatic rather than bloody, with none of the casual cruelty of real pirates that would distress sensitive readers.