Most of childhood can be summed up in three simple ideas: the yearning to explore anything and everything, an irrational fear of monsters lurking in your closet, and the unquenchable desire to save the world. Thankfully, THE DEAD GENTLEMAN contains all these ideas and even throws in a dastardly villain just to complicate matters. There are also ancient hidden cities, time-travel, and just about anything else you might be looking for in a book that captures the essence of youth.

Nineteenth-century orphan Tommy Learner didn’t realize what he was getting himself into when he stole a mechanical bird from the Dead Gentleman himself. The bird, nicknamed Merlin, led him straight to the Explorer’s Society. More than simply aimless wanderers, the Explorer’s Society has the ability to travel between multiple worlds and increase their vast knowledge. The society, though, is beginning to crumble as the Dead Gentleman is slowly conquering each world one by one. He is headed to Earth next, and no punk street orphan or flimsy mechanical bird can stop him.

Twenty-first-century Jezebel Lemon’s only adventure seems to come in the form of watching her artist father work on the large mural in her room. All that changes, however, once she decides to go exploring her large apartment building’s basement. There she discovers the ghost, or something like it, of a boy named Tommy Learner. The next thing she knows, she’s been transported not only in the past, but also to a strange new world inhabited with dinosaurs. Jezebel isn’t sure what happened, so she looks at Tommy for a lot of answers in between running from dinosaurs and the local inhabitants. Thoughts of getting home are dashed once the Dead Gentleman appears, and he’s taken a strong interest in Jezebel.

Reluctantly, Tommy and Jezebel agree to work together, and thus the three simple ideas of childhood are brought to fruition. Tommy and Jezebel must explore different worlds in order to figure out how to stop the Dead Gentleman from bringing to life all the monsters that lurk in the dark corners of closets. If they don’t, then the world will be forever changed as they know it. Present and past collide in order to save the future.

THE DEAD GENTLEMAN has just about everything you’re looking for in an escapist read. You’ll easily get lost in the nefarious scheming of the Dead Gentleman and his plans for world domination and immortality. You’ll easily fit in with Tommy Learner and his fellow explorers of the Explorer’s Society with their somewhat unconventional methods. You’ll easily relate to Jezebel and her hesitancy to get caught up in the boring and trivial worries of modern life. Sit back, relax and allow yourself to get caught up in the adventures of two youngsters trying to save the world. In fact, the only thing missing is the next book.