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Shark Wars #4
Kingdom of the Deep
Shark Wars grows more epic--and addictive--with every book, publishing each season!
Peace has finally come to the Big Blue and with it a revelation: Gray is not the last megalodon in the ocean after all. Gray swims deeper into the mystery of his family heritage, uncovering the myth of the megalodons and a legend that goes back to prehistoric times. But when the scheming mako Velenka breaks free from her underwater prison, the peace Gray and Barkley have fought so hard to win is threatened.
Shark Wars is Star Wars set underwater--it's a modern-day Warriors for today's hungry readers!
Peace has finally come to the Big Blue and with it a revelation: Gray is not the last megalodon in the ocean after all. Gray swims deeper into the mystery of his family heritage, uncovering the myth of the megalodons and a legend that goes back to prehistoric times. But when the scheming mako Velenka breaks free from her underwater prison, the peace Gray and Barkley have fought so hard to win is threatened.
Shark Wars is Star Wars set underwater--it's a modern-day Warriors for today's hungry readers!
240 pages, Hardcover
First published July 1, 2012
17 people are currently reading
198 people want to read
About the author
E.J. Altbacker
8 books52 followersEJ Altbacker is an Emmy nominated screenwriter whose credits include such television shows as Spooksville, Green Lantern: The Animated Series, Ben 10, Spider-Man, Jay Jay the Jet Plane, Mucha Lucha and others. He holds an MFA in screenwriting from the American Film Institute and an undergraduate degree from the University of Notre Dame.
Handy Andy Saves the World is his first book since the six book Shark Wars series. He is currently working on his next book as well as writing on the Lego Nexo Knights and the upcoming Justice League Action shows (and another couple secret projects he can't talk about yet, which is killing him). EJ lives in Hermosa Beach, California, and enjoys biking and plodding (his word for jogging as he's pretty slow) by the shore.
Handy Andy Saves the World is his first book since the six book Shark Wars series. He is currently working on his next book as well as writing on the Lego Nexo Knights and the upcoming Justice League Action shows (and another couple secret projects he can't talk about yet, which is killing him). EJ lives in Hermosa Beach, California, and enjoys biking and plodding (his word for jogging as he's pretty slow) by the shore.
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Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews
November 27, 2016
This review was written by Tommy,age 8.
This book is so awesome! It has my favorite character in it (Snork)! Snork is not afraid as he used to be. I also like the ghostfins a lot in this book. I like the ghostfins because they do a lot of spying. I also like the new villain too, because he is much much much more evil than the others. I also found out a new character (the Seazarin).
This book is so awesome! It has my favorite character in it (Snork)! Snork is not afraid as he used to be. I also like the ghostfins a lot in this book. I like the ghostfins because they do a lot of spying. I also like the new villain too, because he is much much much more evil than the others. I also found out a new character (the Seazarin).
May 1, 2017
One of my favorite things about reading a lengthy children's book series is when the story slowly starts to get darker and the stakes gradually get higher. Compare the writing of The Sorcerer's Stone with The Deathly Hallows, for instance. The more subtle this transformation is, the better.
And boy, does Shark Wars start to get grim in Book 4. Unlike the previous books where, even with the crazy shark armada led by the cannibalistic Finnivus who just killed other sharks on a whim, there was at least some glimmer of hope and a level of silliness to it. This novel opens with a small child watching his father get torn apart and stays in that state of mind for the rest of the novel.
For a better illustration of this phenomenon taking place, just compare the different adversaries in the Shark Wars books:
Book 1: Goblin Shiver and some bull sharks. They're bullies.
Book 2: The crazed emperor Finnivus and the Indi Shiver. He wants world domination.
Book 3: Still Finnivus and the Indi Shiver, but now there's child casualties and other shivers forced into war.
Book 4: A massive prehistoric frilled shark (think sea serpent) attempting to unleash even more sea monsters onto the world. He doesn't want world domination; he wants a complete genocide of all non-prehistoric sharks. Oh, and he can cast magic. Lethal magic including "dead zones" that suck out all life from an area.
Finnivus was only a warm up. The leader of the fearsome armored shark armada was just the mid-boss in this video game.
In Kingdom of the Deep, Gray is now Aquasidor for the Seazarein megalodon Kaleth and her elite finja - pause to take in those magnificent puns - and now he has the prestigious job of making sure there is peace kept amongst all the different Shivers of the ocean. Which means lots of traveling across the seven seas in order to make sure that there isn't anymore shark wars and arguing with different shiver leaders to make sure they don't kill each other over something stupid. This includes several trips to the Arctic Ocean and negotiations with some killer whales.
Thankfully, while the rest of Riptide Shiver is maintaining their territory, Barkley manages to tag along at times and remains a main character in this story. I liked that Barkley has really evolved into his own character after starting out as just the voice of reason or the tagalong friend to the main protagonist, and he shows that he has more confidence in himself after his own personal achievements.
Unfortunately, while this is going on, a nightmarish frilled shark named Hokuu arises from the icy depths where the prehistoric nightmares of old still live on (in this world, those giant ancient sea creatures didn't go extinct; they got sealed away in a secret underground ocean) and frees Velenka from her prison, where she becomes an integral piece to his plans. Hokuu is, to put it mildly, the stuff of nightmares. Finnivus had a childish element to him that made him seem less threatening even when he was wiping out entire colonies of sharks; Hokuu's brutality and insanity is absolutely bone-chilling; his level of crazy hits depraved levels that not even Finnivus could touch.
What happens next is this horrifying menace wiping out shark after shark while Gray is attempting to stay one step ahead from Hokuu and is also trying to figure out just what sort of secrets Kaleth and Takiza are keeping from him all at the same time. And there are a lot of colossal failures along the way with great casualties. Hokuu is not only a scary serpent monster with the ability to fry a shark with a bolt of lightning but he's also a cunning chessmaster, and seeing Gray turn into an anxiety-filled wreck who can feel his entire world crashing down around his ears in this series gave me pause.
The first book had this dumb fat shark, a mere pup, make a lot of references to his big cartilage. Now this same shark isn't sure who to trust because one of his most trusted allies may have had a hand in his father's death.
Oh, and Takiza, the betta fish who spends the first three books being the arrogant, unapproachable master of the hidden arts of shar'kata (aka shark magic) ends up losing some of that facade he built up and becomes a more vulnerable character. All the cutesy little nicknames and deux ex machinas are gone; instead we are met with a fish with a lot on his shoulders, a fish that isn't quite as powerful as we were led to believe. Takiza is actually hiding some pretty dark secrets and he fails a couple times in this book. This ended up working in his favor, oddly. The moment Takiza starts to fail, starts to falter, starts to almost get killed and doubt his abilities was also the moment that he stopped being my least favorite character. If this was intentional, bravo on the author. I'm way above the age group for this and did not see those plot developments coming.
I will also applaud the book for pulling a decent bait and switch with both the cover and the summary blurb. I walked into this book expecting Velenka to be the main bad guy, and after three books of build-up too. Instead, her role...is still kind of big, but instead of taking charge and having some form of control, she is a pathetic lackey fearful for her life that wishes she could bury her nose in the sand and be back in her prison cell. While it is a shame you don't have Velenka, the only villain so far who's carried over from all four books, as the main baddy, but Hokuu was so cool that I forgave this story choice.
All in all, if you liked the first three books, you'll definitely like this one. More of the same talking sharks in their semi-magical talking shark world basically, only this time things are looking pretty bad for our sharky heroes. It is a good deal more serious than the previous three, but I think in this case, it works to the story's favor.
And boy, does Shark Wars start to get grim in Book 4. Unlike the previous books where, even with the crazy shark armada led by the cannibalistic Finnivus who just killed other sharks on a whim, there was at least some glimmer of hope and a level of silliness to it. This novel opens with a small child watching his father get torn apart and stays in that state of mind for the rest of the novel.
For a better illustration of this phenomenon taking place, just compare the different adversaries in the Shark Wars books:
Book 1: Goblin Shiver and some bull sharks. They're bullies.
Book 2: The crazed emperor Finnivus and the Indi Shiver. He wants world domination.
Book 3: Still Finnivus and the Indi Shiver, but now there's child casualties and other shivers forced into war.
Book 4: A massive prehistoric frilled shark (think sea serpent) attempting to unleash even more sea monsters onto the world. He doesn't want world domination; he wants a complete genocide of all non-prehistoric sharks. Oh, and he can cast magic. Lethal magic including "dead zones" that suck out all life from an area.
Finnivus was only a warm up. The leader of the fearsome armored shark armada was just the mid-boss in this video game.
In Kingdom of the Deep, Gray is now Aquasidor for the Seazarein megalodon Kaleth and her elite finja - pause to take in those magnificent puns - and now he has the prestigious job of making sure there is peace kept amongst all the different Shivers of the ocean. Which means lots of traveling across the seven seas in order to make sure that there isn't anymore shark wars and arguing with different shiver leaders to make sure they don't kill each other over something stupid. This includes several trips to the Arctic Ocean and negotiations with some killer whales.
Thankfully, while the rest of Riptide Shiver is maintaining their territory, Barkley manages to tag along at times and remains a main character in this story. I liked that Barkley has really evolved into his own character after starting out as just the voice of reason or the tagalong friend to the main protagonist, and he shows that he has more confidence in himself after his own personal achievements.
Unfortunately, while this is going on, a nightmarish frilled shark named Hokuu arises from the icy depths where the prehistoric nightmares of old still live on (in this world, those giant ancient sea creatures didn't go extinct; they got sealed away in a secret underground ocean) and frees Velenka from her prison, where she becomes an integral piece to his plans. Hokuu is, to put it mildly, the stuff of nightmares. Finnivus had a childish element to him that made him seem less threatening even when he was wiping out entire colonies of sharks; Hokuu's brutality and insanity is absolutely bone-chilling; his level of crazy hits depraved levels that not even Finnivus could touch.
"What is it? My reward?"
Hokuu waved his tail with a flourish. "You get to watch all of this happen before you're eaten!"
"Before...I'm eaten? How-how's that a reward?"
"The reward is that you'll be eaten last! Think of it, you get to see the new watery world order become a reality! And then after a bite to the gills from Drinnok himself - what an honor - you get to bring the news to Tyro himself! I'm almost jealous of you!"
What happens next is this horrifying menace wiping out shark after shark while Gray is attempting to stay one step ahead from Hokuu and is also trying to figure out just what sort of secrets Kaleth and Takiza are keeping from him all at the same time. And there are a lot of colossal failures along the way with great casualties. Hokuu is not only a scary serpent monster with the ability to fry a shark with a bolt of lightning but he's also a cunning chessmaster, and seeing Gray turn into an anxiety-filled wreck who can feel his entire world crashing down around his ears in this series gave me pause.
The first book had this dumb fat shark, a mere pup, make a lot of references to his big cartilage. Now this same shark isn't sure who to trust because one of his most trusted allies may have had a hand in his father's death.
Oh, and Takiza, the betta fish who spends the first three books being the arrogant, unapproachable master of the hidden arts of shar'kata (aka shark magic) ends up losing some of that facade he built up and becomes a more vulnerable character. All the cutesy little nicknames and deux ex machinas are gone; instead we are met with a fish with a lot on his shoulders, a fish that isn't quite as powerful as we were led to believe. Takiza is actually hiding some pretty dark secrets and he fails a couple times in this book. This ended up working in his favor, oddly. The moment Takiza starts to fail, starts to falter, starts to almost get killed and doubt his abilities was also the moment that he stopped being my least favorite character. If this was intentional, bravo on the author. I'm way above the age group for this and did not see those plot developments coming.
I will also applaud the book for pulling a decent bait and switch with both the cover and the summary blurb. I walked into this book expecting Velenka to be the main bad guy, and after three books of build-up too. Instead, her role...is still kind of big, but instead of taking charge and having some form of control, she is a pathetic lackey fearful for her life that wishes she could bury her nose in the sand and be back in her prison cell. While it is a shame you don't have Velenka, the only villain so far who's carried over from all four books, as the main baddy, but Hokuu was so cool that I forgave this story choice.
All in all, if you liked the first three books, you'll definitely like this one. More of the same talking sharks in their semi-magical talking shark world basically, only this time things are looking pretty bad for our sharky heroes. It is a good deal more serious than the previous three, but I think in this case, it works to the story's favor.
March 1, 2018
I think this book was very good because I liked all of the battles and I am also very curious in what will happen in the next book. I think Takiza was verey cool with sha-kata (I think that's how you spell it). I think the all of the big battles against Hokku were very unnecessary because they would always lose.
April 20, 2018
Fourth entry in the series which now seems to want to promote games etc and is quite a tree and lame entry in something that should have been wrapped up after number #3.
April 10, 2020
This one felt like a novella to fill the gap of the next book. It seems to be heading back to its repetitive nature again. Yikes.
October 22, 2021
I read all the other books. I enjoyed all the fight with the different sharks. They make the story fun because of all the action.
February 4, 2026
A bit childish for me to read again (I am 15.) Very good.
Read
August 3, 2014July 12, 2014
Pages 1-19
Gray, Barkley, and Mari were meeting Kaleth and Takiza. Kaleth told Gray there was a frilled shark called Hokuu. He was from the prehistorics which means ancient times. Gray knew an ancient enemy was awakening and he had to stop it. The beginning of the book makes me think that more ancient sharks will arise.
July 14, 2014
Pages:20-35
Velenka was still locked up in a cell. She could smell the gas. Suddenly she heard a voice, it was a frilled shark. The frilled shark's name was Hokuu. He told Velenka that he was going to break her out. Velenka thanked him a lot.
July 15, 2014
Pages:39-53
Gray and Barkley were sent by Kaleth. A giant Hammerhead guard came, Gray told him he was Graynoldus. Barkley was amazed what Gray said. Meanwhile Mari was heading off to see Velenka. Suddenly an indian shiver came and asked Mari to identify her. Mari identified herself and the indian shiver headed off, Mari decided to meet up with Striiker instead.
July 16, 2014
Pages:53-65
Takiza was meeting Gray and Barkley returning from Fathomir. Kaleth had another mission for Gray and Takiza. The AuzyAuzy were repairing the reef. Hammer's argument with AuzyAuzy was in the feeding grounds. This book has amazing just like the other books.
July 17, 2014
Pages:65/84
Velenka didn't like staying in her prison. Just then the frilled shark Hokuu arrived. Hokuu broke Velenka out of prison and headed into a lava tube. Striiker and his armada saw them but Hokuu defeated all of them. Hokuu was just about to eat Mari but Velenka stopped Hokku because Mari had been very kind to Velenka.
July 20, 2014
Pages:84-101
Velenka watched as swirly mist circled Hokuu and two prehistore makos. The wind was so loud that Velenka couldn't hear Hokuu. Velenka didn't trust Hokuu yet. Velenka thought Hokuu would kill her when he wants to. My favorite character is Gray because he is the last megalodon.
July 22, 2014
Pages:101-113
Barkley heard a voice he turned around and saw Yappy. Yappy was a sea dragon who had cousins from the dark blue. Snork thought they could team up with Gray to stop Hokuu from taking over the ocean. Barkley agreed with Snork that they would go to see Kaleth. Barkley and the others started voting for who they would listen to. Yappy voted for Gray. So did everyone else, and off they went to the northern Sific.
July 25, 2014
Pages:114-129
Velenka peeked out of her hiding place as a sharkkind passed by. Hokuu told Velenka to not be such a turtle. Velenka knew Hokuu was right all time. Just then a Riptide mariner heard Velenka. Hokuu slapped his tail on the mariner's gills.
June 26, 2014
Pages:129-146
Gray was smelling blood from not one shark but two sharks. He saw the Riptide and charged right at them. He defeated all of them and then he saw Hokuu. Hokuu gave Gray a paralyzing tail slam but Gray was able to snap out of the attack. The battle was over for now. Barkley and Mari were glad to see Gray as was Striiker.
July 27, 2014
Pages:146-158
Hokuu was ripping flesh off a Riptide mariner. It was food for Velenka because she didn't eat all day. The food she had in her cell was stale. However, Velenka wasn't that hungry. She lied to Hokuu that she ate a fat mackerel.
July 28, 2014
Pages:158-176
Gray was swimming with Takiza. There were no guards in sight and they didn't jump up. Gray started looking for the finja but they were not here. Gray knew Kaleth had to deal Hokuu herself. She also had well trained guardians as well.
July 31, 2014
Pages:176-199
Striiker sent out two riptide mariners to mash Velenka. Striiker thought they should send Velenka to the Sparkle blue. Gray told Striiker to let Velenka speak. Barley wasn't sure they should let Velenka talk but he did. Velenka told them She was kidnapped by Hokuu.
August 2, 2014
Pages:199-207
Striiker and the Riptide were battling the Finja. Gray smacked one of the Finja with his tail. Suddenly, Hokuu appeared and slashed at the Riptide. Striiker and the Riptide chased after Hokuu. Gray noticed it was a trap and warned them just in time. I think next time Gray and the others will stop Hokuu.
August 3, 2014
Pages:207-228
I would recommend this book to others because there are a lot of shark battles. You should read all of the books. There are about six of them. This book is as good as the others. I want to read book number five next.
Pages 1-19
Gray, Barkley, and Mari were meeting Kaleth and Takiza. Kaleth told Gray there was a frilled shark called Hokuu. He was from the prehistorics which means ancient times. Gray knew an ancient enemy was awakening and he had to stop it. The beginning of the book makes me think that more ancient sharks will arise.
July 14, 2014
Pages:20-35
Velenka was still locked up in a cell. She could smell the gas. Suddenly she heard a voice, it was a frilled shark. The frilled shark's name was Hokuu. He told Velenka that he was going to break her out. Velenka thanked him a lot.
July 15, 2014
Pages:39-53
Gray and Barkley were sent by Kaleth. A giant Hammerhead guard came, Gray told him he was Graynoldus. Barkley was amazed what Gray said. Meanwhile Mari was heading off to see Velenka. Suddenly an indian shiver came and asked Mari to identify her. Mari identified herself and the indian shiver headed off, Mari decided to meet up with Striiker instead.
July 16, 2014
Pages:53-65
Takiza was meeting Gray and Barkley returning from Fathomir. Kaleth had another mission for Gray and Takiza. The AuzyAuzy were repairing the reef. Hammer's argument with AuzyAuzy was in the feeding grounds. This book has amazing just like the other books.
July 17, 2014
Pages:65/84
Velenka didn't like staying in her prison. Just then the frilled shark Hokuu arrived. Hokuu broke Velenka out of prison and headed into a lava tube. Striiker and his armada saw them but Hokuu defeated all of them. Hokuu was just about to eat Mari but Velenka stopped Hokku because Mari had been very kind to Velenka.
July 20, 2014
Pages:84-101
Velenka watched as swirly mist circled Hokuu and two prehistore makos. The wind was so loud that Velenka couldn't hear Hokuu. Velenka didn't trust Hokuu yet. Velenka thought Hokuu would kill her when he wants to. My favorite character is Gray because he is the last megalodon.
July 22, 2014
Pages:101-113
Barkley heard a voice he turned around and saw Yappy. Yappy was a sea dragon who had cousins from the dark blue. Snork thought they could team up with Gray to stop Hokuu from taking over the ocean. Barkley agreed with Snork that they would go to see Kaleth. Barkley and the others started voting for who they would listen to. Yappy voted for Gray. So did everyone else, and off they went to the northern Sific.
July 25, 2014
Pages:114-129
Velenka peeked out of her hiding place as a sharkkind passed by. Hokuu told Velenka to not be such a turtle. Velenka knew Hokuu was right all time. Just then a Riptide mariner heard Velenka. Hokuu slapped his tail on the mariner's gills.
June 26, 2014
Pages:129-146
Gray was smelling blood from not one shark but two sharks. He saw the Riptide and charged right at them. He defeated all of them and then he saw Hokuu. Hokuu gave Gray a paralyzing tail slam but Gray was able to snap out of the attack. The battle was over for now. Barkley and Mari were glad to see Gray as was Striiker.
July 27, 2014
Pages:146-158
Hokuu was ripping flesh off a Riptide mariner. It was food for Velenka because she didn't eat all day. The food she had in her cell was stale. However, Velenka wasn't that hungry. She lied to Hokuu that she ate a fat mackerel.
July 28, 2014
Pages:158-176
Gray was swimming with Takiza. There were no guards in sight and they didn't jump up. Gray started looking for the finja but they were not here. Gray knew Kaleth had to deal Hokuu herself. She also had well trained guardians as well.
July 31, 2014
Pages:176-199
Striiker sent out two riptide mariners to mash Velenka. Striiker thought they should send Velenka to the Sparkle blue. Gray told Striiker to let Velenka speak. Barley wasn't sure they should let Velenka talk but he did. Velenka told them She was kidnapped by Hokuu.
August 2, 2014
Pages:199-207
Striiker and the Riptide were battling the Finja. Gray smacked one of the Finja with his tail. Suddenly, Hokuu appeared and slashed at the Riptide. Striiker and the Riptide chased after Hokuu. Gray noticed it was a trap and warned them just in time. I think next time Gray and the others will stop Hokuu.
August 3, 2014
Pages:207-228
I would recommend this book to others because there are a lot of shark battles. You should read all of the books. There are about six of them. This book is as good as the others. I want to read book number five next.
December 15, 2019
This book wasn't quite as strong as some of the others in this series. Whilst I definitely enjoyed it, it was noticeably slower paced than most of its predecessors, and after a while, it starts to drag a little. Additionally, the climax was a bit underwhelming compared to that of the third book.
That being said, the characters in this book are awesome. Our lead characters get some much needed development, and most of the new characters introduced are full three dimensional characters right off the bat.
The story, while slow, is suspenseful and intriguing, fueled by one of the most entertaining villains I've seen in any book ever. Hokku the frilled shark is a humorous yet terrifying antagonist, and a welcome change from the whiny, spoiled Finnivus, the villain of the last two books.
This book is worth a read if you've read and enjoyed the other books in the series. It's not as strong as the first three, but still a good book nonetheless.
That being said, the characters in this book are awesome. Our lead characters get some much needed development, and most of the new characters introduced are full three dimensional characters right off the bat.
The story, while slow, is suspenseful and intriguing, fueled by one of the most entertaining villains I've seen in any book ever. Hokku the frilled shark is a humorous yet terrifying antagonist, and a welcome change from the whiny, spoiled Finnivus, the villain of the last two books.
This book is worth a read if you've read and enjoyed the other books in the series. It's not as strong as the first three, but still a good book nonetheless.
April 14, 2013
I believe that this book was a really good book so far. The way that the really described the deep ocean floor and that really did amaze me. The fact they included fighting fish in the book such as the Siamese fighting fish. I really would recommend this book to an body that i know.
Plot Summary: In the plot the squad of fighting fish are exploring the deep blue nd trying to form a new kingdom so they can have a home.
Plot Summary: In the plot the squad of fighting fish are exploring the deep blue nd trying to form a new kingdom so they can have a home.
January 31, 2016
Now that Gray has become the Seazarein's (ruler of all the ocean) Aquasidor (ambassador & peace keeper), he's busier than ever & cannot return to Riptide Shiver. While Gray is out keeping the peace, an ancient evil, Hokuu, is out attacking his shiver. Kaleth, the Seazarein & ancient prehistore (really old shark), is determined to locate & kill Hokuu. Another excellent book in this series.
October 12, 2017
This book was about when Finnivus the shark king of the indi ocean fought back a second time with many nasty tactics. Grey has to become king and defeat them before they kill everyone in the big blue.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
January 20, 2015
this book was very good and entertaining it also has lots of suprises and scares.
January 20, 2016
Cool book
July 6, 2014
More of the same.
Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews