Michael Liddle: Search for the Bastion

Michael Liddle wants to yank the hair right out of his head!

It’s bad enough that he and Alowyn, the Tylani princess, are included in the Ideema prophecy. Now the Procifi are naming him the “Arribahur” — “the one who opens the bridge” to their home world. All Michael and Alowyn really know is that they are expected to find the “Gift of the Ideema,” a device that will save the worlds of the Tylani. It’s a lot of pressure for a seventh-grader.

In the last year alone, Michael has discovered that he’s not human, that in fact he was born more than 20,000 years ago, a child of an alien race called the Uhala, a people who along with his birth parents were annihilated by the Elhadra. This vast and ominous galactic empire has only one purpose: to conquer, destroy and enslave all whom they meet. But perhaps most amazing of all is the ability given to Michael to portal anywhere in the galaxy! It’s a lot to take in.

But there’s more: now the Elhadra are threatening the Tylani worlds — and to Michael's growing consternation, they know about him.

When Michael is told that there’s another Uhala on Earth, he vows to find him or her. With the help of his mentor, Mr. Gooden — and a little bit of alien technology — they start their hunt. But Michael finds himself searching for more than the Uhala: for a strange “Bastion” which will lead him to the Procifi bridge, for a way out of terrifying dangers, and for the Ideema Gift itself. And along the way, Michael encounters enough mysterious creatures — good, bad, ugly, and sometimes downright hideous — to stretch his imagination to its limits.

But it’s possible that the strangest creatures of all are the ones right in front of him: girls. There’s Alowyn, with her hot-then-cold moodiness; there’s Kate Robbins, whose wish to get closer to him is both alluring and alarming; and then there’s Maddy Ellis, whose friendship raises feelings in Michael even he doesn’t understand. Throw in the fact that Michael has to keep his true identity a secret from almost everyone on Earth, and you’ve got the recipe for one very tumultuous school year.