Gregor and Code of Claw
by Suzanne Collins
Published by Scholastic Inc.
Click on book
cover to order
at Amazon.com
Reviewed by C. L. Rossman
For the last four books in this series, the reader has been following young Gregor's adventures in the underground world of Regalia, where a ferocious war is raging between the rats and the other dwellers--humans, roaches, mice and spiders. In this concluding book, the author ties off the previous stories and brings the war to its climax.
Gregor, the young warrior, manages to slip into the room where the Prophecy of Time is kept and reads a deadly foretelling: "When the monster's blood is spilled, when the warrior has been killed." He is horrified to realize it means his own death. Yet more of his family members than ever are trapped down here with him, and he and his bond mate, the black bat Ares, are still learning to fight on the wing. His sister Boots seems to be too young to unravel the rats' secret Code of Claw, and the war with the giant rat The Bane is not going well.
Now Gregor must come to grips with the prophecy that he will die and somehow plan to save his family and all of Regalia, if he can. The book is fast-paced, easy to read and contains plenty of battle scene and gore for young readers. But it also deals with a boy suddenly forced to make major decisions and face the true and terrible realism of war. The so-called "traitor rat," Ripred reappears and we learn the story behind his decision to join the forces opposed to The Bane.
I find Ripred to be one of the most fascinating characters in the book.
Armchair Interviews says: Fans of the earlier four books will find plenty of enjoy with this one.