Zeke Zooter and the Eye of Balor: An Irish Fantasy for Young Readers

The Eye of Balor is pure, evil power.

She can’t wait to use it.

With this magic weapon, Ireland’s Phantom Queen—the Morrigan—will overthrow the Emerald Isle and claim it for her legion of evil fairies. But first, she has a grudge to settle and a prophecy to thwart.

Zeke Zooter is the fourth-great grandson of the Morrigan’s nemesis, the Irish cobbler Riley Brogan. Through Riley’s line, Zeke has inherited a talisman that grants the rightful bearer thirteen wishes. But Zeke’s first few wishes backfire, and using the magic lands the Morrigan on his trail.

With the Phantom Queen’s forces closing in, Zeke and two gifted friends follow a cranky leprechaun to the land of his forefathers. There, they meet others who join the cause, and together they set out to pass the Three Tasks that will lead Zeke to Balor’s prison lair and a showdown with the Morrigan.

If he is to triumph, Zeke must make the right choice with his final wish and learn which friends to trust by unraveling the prophetic riddle spoken to him in the Hall of Whispers:

One guards a secret that governs your life,

Painful and sharp like the cut of a knife.

Two of your number are not who they seem.

Two steal away as the dawn robs a dream.

One will abandon the cause near the end.

One has judged right between villain and friend.

Five will be gone ere the struggle is done,

’Til one friend remains, to stand with The One.

© 2023 Bruce Jacobs (Hljóðbók): 9798868793158

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Hljóðbók: 1 december 2023