The Labyrinth of Doom

Once Upon a Tim #2

by Stuart Gibbs, Stacy Curtis (Illustrator)

Knight-in-training Tim and his best friend, Belinda, embark on a quest to save Princess Grace.

Prince Ruprecht is VERY UPSET that knights-in-training, Tim and Belinda, have thwarted his plans and ruined his chances with Princess Grace. And so, to get even, he has kidnapped the princess and trapped her in the most complicated, dangerous, complex, dastardly, biggest (okay you get the point)…and scariest maze in all the world!

Now it’s up to Tim, Belinda, Ferkle, and Rover to fend off menacing beasts (like the minotaur), conquer treacherous obstacles (like chasms filled with cave sharks), find their way through the labyrinth (which is very tricky), and rescue the princess before time runs out. Oh, and also they need to remember how to get back out again…or they’ll be trapped inside the maze forever.

Genres: Middle Grade, Fantasy, Humor, Adventure, Audiobook, Fiction, Childrens

150 pages, Hardcover

First published November 1, 2022

Reviews

[Zoraida · Rating 5 out of 5]

I had a YallFest panel with Stuart and he was such a kind author, beloved by the kids. These books are hilarious and perfect for the audience.

[Jill · Rating 5 out of 5]

Silly, witty, and creative book.
I read this book outloud with my 10 and 12 year old (my 10 year old had already read it by herself because she couldn't wait for me, but then listened to it again while I read it). All three of us really enjoyed it. Like the first, it is super far-fetched (for example, the frdog... a dog that was cursed to turn into a frog but only halfway changed), but that is part of what I love about it! The creativity and playfulness are great. The heroes/good guys are unassuming kids who are silly, make some mistakes, and learn how to be better friends, while the bad guys are ridiculous and get what's coming to them in a way that every kid enjoys.
My kids and I are all looking forward to the next one in the series.

[Amanda · Rating 5 out of 5]

Once again another winner from Stuart Gibbs 👏🏻.

As a mother who reads aloud a ton of books to her four children (in varying ages from 5-12) finding a book that everyone enjoys INCLUDING myself is a challenge.

This is the second book in the series and once again we all loved it. I enjoy the writing (he doesn’t dumb down words 🙌🏻), the fun drawings and the characters.

This one talks about truth. He makes it simple and doesn’t shove it down your throat. The lesson is shown by what Tim goes through.

We laugh, we learn and the kids always say “one more, chapter…pleeeeaaaasssee”!

Highly recommend for kiddos ages 12 and under!

[Ashley · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this book to my boys and we all love this series. It is so funny and clever and brilliant. There is positive messaging (the importance of honesty) and we cannot wait for May when the next book comes out. Highly recommend. Your second grader can definitely read this on their own but it is a fun read for you as the adult, too!

[Thompson McLeod · Rating 5 out of 5]

Although this is book 2, readers are given enough information to understand what happened in book one without having it in hand. I strongly recommend reading both books for entertainment purposes.

In book 2 of the series, Tim and Belinda must rescue Princess Grace from the Labyrinth of Doom. Tim is a winsome narrator using sarcasm and wit to entertain the reader on every page. Tim explains being a knight is pretty tough, but it's better than being a peasant.

We meet the knights of Merryland: there's Sir Vyval , SirVaylance, Sir Mount, Sir Render, Sir Fass, Sir Comference, Sir Cuss and Sir Eberal (each name a pun). Tim also includes "IQ Boosters" to help the reader gain vocabulary in an entertaining way. Each IQ Booster includes the definition of the word but used in a joking fashion as in "laborious." Tim says if your parents are worried you're reading a book with illustrations, "...you can tell your parents this book is educational." He uses laborious to say, "Doing my chores this morning was really laborious, and now I'd like to relax by reading The Labyrinth of Doom."

With trusty Rover, a fr-dog at their side, the two enter the labyrinth. Their friend Ferkle, the village idiot, decides not to go inside but to search for the person who designed the labyrinth and figure out how to escape it. Belinda and Tim face cave snakes, a giant made of rubble, the scissors of doom, the harpies, the chasm of cave sharks and many other scary tests until they meet Chad, the minotaur, who's anything but scary.

The illustrations are PERFECT and comical. Stuart Gibbs never fails to deliver a fun adventure that readers will love. Stacy Curtis captures Tim and Belinda's personalities bringing the story to life especially for struggling and reluctant readers.

Highly, highly recommended grades 4 and up. An amazing read! The Labyrinth of Doom is the most fun you'll have reading a book!

[Cris · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is book two (book one was great!) but you don’t have to read book one to read book two. The knights in training must save Princess Grace (again!).

This is such a great series. It’s not about men saving women, one of the knights is female. It’s about team work and being honesty. Friendship is huge is the series too!

[Paul · Rating 4 out of 5]

So fun!

[Kristina Danahy · Rating 5 out of 5]

My kids got so into this audiobook they forgot to ask to watch tv.

[Kay · Rating 4 out of 5]

Tim and Belinda have to save princess grace. Again. The audio book is just as good as the first book.

[Finn · Rating 4 out of 5]

interesting

[Brandi Rae Fong]

This series is just kind of ridiculous and fun; and while it probably won't appeal to readers of Stuart Gibbs' other series, I'd give this to kids who like The Bad Guys or Notebooks of Doom type books but are ready for sometime a tad more challenging.

[Ro · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great. Really really great!

[Brian Burak · Rating 5 out of 5]

Everything Stuart Gibbs writes is fantastic. Read all the series! This is another fun installment and the illustrations are so fun.

[Jonah · Rating 5 out of 5]

eARC Provided by Edelweiss

When this series came out I though I would not enjoy it at all since it is a picture book. But when I read the first one, I enjoyed almost every bit of the book. I felt the second one was better since the book learned from the first one and already had a background to it. The book was ultimately very funny and I would recommend this to anyone who likes short and funny books.

[Marisa Maloney · Rating 4 out of 5]

2024- Leeland read aloud to me. The chapter about the rock , paper, scissors game is such a funny way to save the characters in this Labyrinth. Fun to reread with Leeland.

2023 - Book number 2 in this series and I’m super excited that there will be more. It’s full of play on words again a crazy labyrinth and the knights that will save them all. Great illustrations and engaging story. My 9 year old and 5 year old are loving it! They always beg to read just one more chapter!

I screen shot the bit about the apples tasting a bit poisony:)

[Bailey · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love the humor that is in this book. It’s creative, punny, and witty. Both me and my 5yo son laughed out loud several times. (You know it’s a cleverly written book if both adults and kids find the humor funny). I of course still love all the characters from the first book as well as the new ones! The creatures in the book cracked me up. The author turns your expectations of typical labrynth monsters upside down. I love when books surprise you! I loved the message of owning up to your mistakes as well as the hard vocabulary words explained in a memorable way. The illustrations are perfect and add to the experience of the story.

SPOILERS and book notes:
I loooooove the wit of this book. The knight trainer is named Sir Vyval. And another knight is named Sir Cuss and sir vaylance, sir mount, sir render, sir fass, sir cumference, sir EBeral. And they had a baby dragon attack Tim as part of training haha. Ferkle is still my most favorite character ever: “Ferkle was the least idiotic village idiot in the kingdom. In fact, he was quite intelligent, but he head gone into village idiocy bc it was the family business. (Also, it was a lot easier than being a peasant, which was further proof of Ferkle’s intellect.) Despite his smarts, he still had to act dumb to keep up appearances, for which reason he currently had a cucumber jammed in his ear.” Firkle gave them very good advice in the labyrinth: “if you always go left, you’ll be right!” There was a giant rock monster and you know they defeated it? With paper. The wisdom was from the ancient game of rock paper scissors. They ran into grotesque squirrels or “grotesquirells”. And a cavern of cave sharks. And then they ran into “harpies” harps that play music that make you feel happy and fall asleep. “Belinda managed to plug her ears at the last second. With relief, I saw her go from calm to freaked out.” Bahaha it was such a funny scene bc the logic was so backwards. I loved that I could talk to my son about being cranky when over worked: “at which point we instantly stopped being a great, amazing, and fantastic team. We became a lousy, angry, poorly functioning team instead.” And then they ran into a Minotaur named Chad. But instead it had a human head and a body of a bull bahaha. And then the rest of his family has different bull/human parts and we were cracking up. This author is turning mythical creatures on their heads! The difference between poison (dangerous to eat) and venomous (harm you by biting you or stinging you and injecting venom). Tim was the knight to fall asleep when the lady selling poison apples came into the kingdom. And it took him the whole book to tell the truth to his friends. Even after facing tons of monster in the labrynth, admitting the truth was still the hardest thing he had ever done. But once he told the truth, his friends weren’t even mad at all. Be brave and take the blame! Be honorable and honest! Your friends will forgive! Allow Christ’s atonement to work in your life . It allows change for the better and growth and peace. Also I love that we can always count on Firkle to save the day. Bahaha love him.

[Tonja Drecker · Rating 5 out of 5]

Shark infested waters, rock monsters, and blood-thirsty minotaurs are only a glimpse at the danger awaiting a not-so-talented knight (who still tries his best because being a simple peasant stinks).

Note: This is the second book in the series but works very well as a stand-alone.

After his first adventure as a knight (although he's only a knight-in-training), Tim is kind of settling down into the usual training, but it's rough, which is mostly not his fault. When he accidentally falls asleep during guard duty, the enemy sneaks in with evil plans of revenge. Soon, Princess Grace is in danger, again, and only Tim and his friends can save her...or supposedly, since the dangers are greater than even a trained knight could deal with.

This is an enjoyable, silly, danger-filled, and easy read. Told from Tim's point of view, every moment comes across in an honest and open manner with loads of sarcasm, self-doubt, hesitation, and yet, massive amounts of bravery. Tim speaks to the reader, not only connecting the emotions and adventures with personal flair, but 'knows' the reader's modern life and explains things along the way...in a humorous manner. In this way, Tim draws into his world, comes across as an average kid who's doing the best he can, and will have readers feeling as if they are right there with him (I'd say wanting to join him, but I'm pretty sure none want to face the dangers he does).

Illustrations are sprinkled through-out the story, breaking up the text and adding to the fun of the tale. Reluctant readers won't find it overwhelming and will also enjoy the slightly larger font and spacing to help reading ease. Still, the author does build in heavier vocabulary. Tim is more than happy to explain the meaning of the words as he battles monsters or faces the villain, and while it might break the story flow, that's exactly the point, since it melds right in with the humor and snark.

This is a fun tale with tons of humor and even heart. It teaches a bit about knighthood and the time period, builds word knowledge, holds a nice message, and all of that with non-stop humor, tense and dangerous scenes, and oodles-and-gobs of imagination. I received an ARC and enjoyed following Tim on his adventures.

[Becky B · Rating 4 out of 5]

Tim and Bull (aka Belinda in disguise) have been slugging away at knight training under Princess Grace's head knights. Well, Tim has been slugging away, Belinda is naturally brilliant at it. Tim accidentally falls asleep on sentry duty, and when he sits down to a meal with Princess Grace and Belinda they find that the apple peddler who snuck in while the gate was unguarded wasn't the best. Those apples were poisoned, and now they've all been kidnapped by Prince Rupert. He's quite miffed at how they messed up his last attempt at glory, so this time he's putting Princess Grace in the center of the hardest labyrinth in the land complete with blood thirsty minotaurs, cave sharks, and any other nasty thing the labyrinth designer could squeeze in. Tim, Belinda, Ferkle, and fr-dog have to find their way from the front door through the impossible maze, past all the things trying to kill them, save Princess Grace, AND get back out again.

Another fun adventure with Tim, Belinda, fr-dog, and Ferkle. (Ferkle does go off to try a backup plan while the others venture into the labyrinth the traditional way, but while he is with them, it is always memorable). Gibbs and the Curtis had fun letting their imaginations run wild with the residents of the labyrinth, from cave shares to querulous squirrels, and they definitely created the most unique minotaur I've ever come across. Tim learns an important lesson about honesty through the adventure, the humor balances out any tense moments, and there are plenty of IQ Boosters (big vocab words) introduced throughout the book to expand readers' vocabulary (there was even one word I've never seen before). Lots of questing fun. This is a great choice for long time fantasy/humor fans as well as reluctant readers.

Notes on content: No language issues. No sexual content. There are perilous moments, but only a rock monster crumbled to pieces.

[Phyllis Eide · Rating 4 out of 5]

Tim, a young knight in training and his valiant friend Belinda (also known as Bull to the world in general, as she’s concealing her identity in order to become a knight), fall into misadventures in their efforts to rescue Princess Grace from the dastardly clutches of Prince Ruprecht, who (teed off that she has scorned his advances) has imprisoned her in … wait for it…. The Labyrinth of Doom! (dum dum, dum dum <– insert theme from Jaws).

Author Gibbs has a brightly cheerful and snarky tone that will go down well with the target age group (here I include adults as well). Amusing illustrations add to the fun as Tim and friends encounter many trials and tribulations in the titular labyrinth, but surmount them with pluck, luck, and well-placed quips. The asides to the reader about IQ boosting definitions of long words such as soporific (for those who have not yet read Peter Rabbit), or laborious, are contextualized with a sly suggestion of how to use it in a sentence with the parental units. These are hilarious even while a bit overly self-aware. [Fourth wall? We don’t need no stinkin’ fourth wall here!] Gibbs also cleverly works in some painless grammar instruction and self-promotion of the very book you are reading, in the guise of clever repartee between our heroes. Snap!

[Rebecca · Rating 4 out of 5]

Oh no! Evil Prince Ruprecht has kidnapped Princess Grace and left her in the middle of the Labyrinth of Doom. He's also kidnapped the knights-in-training Tim and Belinda (disguised as a boy so she can train to be a knight), village idiot Ferkel (who is the smartest of the lot but went into the family business anyway), and Tim's frog/dog Rover, so they can all perish while trying to free Princess Grace. The labyrinth is super-scary and dangerous (I mean, minotaurs!), but if they can keep alert and have each others' backs, maybe they can succeed?

This was fun and funny--a lighthearted, ridiculous adventure that still managed to have a little more depth in that Tim knows it's kind of his fault they're in this situation, but he's afraid to admit it. I liked that Gibbs didn't just have them bash into adventure without making sure they had supplies, torches, and weapons (as much as they could), and having Ferkel have different ideas about how to solve their dilemma that didn't involve swashbuckling of any kind. And Tim's way of defeating a rubble monster was genius and hilarious! I also enjoyed the "IQ Booster" words. A fun audiobook, too young for my students, but great for elementary. Thanks to Libro.FM for a free educator copy of the audiobook.

[Varsha · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Labyrinth of Doom is the second book in the Once Upon a Tim series. While the plot was simple- knights-in-training rescuing the princess, the book was creative, playful and fun. The narration style was entertaining and humorous.

While the chapter names were delightful, What I absolutely loved was the IQ Booster arrow. It points towards a potentially big word and its meaning is mentioned there along with a fun example of the word in a sentence. It is a nice way of educating children as it provides the meaning on the go. The greatest advantage is that the kids will immediately check out the meaning and also learn how to use it. It is far more efficient than providing a glossary at the end.

The book is easy to read with fun illustrations. The illustrations in the book are perfect and enhance the story. While the book may seem silly and entertaining, the story ends with a positive message.

The book is perfect for kids aged 7 to 10 who enjoy learning as they read.

Thank you, Simon & Schuster, Stuart Gibbs and Edelweiss Plus for giving me a chance to read this ARC!

[Dana]

Thank you to LibroFM for the gifted audiobook of The Labyrinth of Doom through their educator ALC program! All opinions in this review are my own.

The Labyrinth of Doom is the second book in the Once Upon a Tim series. I have not read the first book but after listening to the second one, I definitely want to go back to it!

While the audiobook of The Labyrinth of Doom is missing the fun illustrations of the print version, I have to recommend this full cast version that also includes sound effects! I love when audiobooks have multiple narrators and use sounds or music to more fully immerse the reader in the story and The Labyrinth of Doom does not disappoint! I listened to it in just one sitting because the sense of adventure and danger coupled with humourous moments made this audiobook really fun to listen to!

[Diane · Rating 4 out of 5]

“The labyrinth is horrible! It’s full of monsters and deadly obstacles and very large gerbils with horrible attitudes.”

Tim, Belinda, Ferkle and even Rover, the fr dog, are back in another adventure. After being made knights of Merryland by Princess Grace, they now need to undergo some training. So, they are in Knight School, being trained by Sir Vyval, who doesn’t really care for Tim, which is why he keeps putting dragons in his room.

But there’s someone out there who is seeking revenge on Tim and Belinda and is waiting for someone to make just one mistake that will let them into the castle. And now Princess Grace has been taken away, trapped in the middle of the Labyrinth of Doom and Tim and Belinda must save her.

Fun voice and puns galore should make this one popular.

[Karen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Second installment in the Once Upon a Tim series was another resounding read-aloud success with my 6 year old. It is the right amount of funny, educational and questy for my kid. I don't think I liked it as much as the first one because we were already introduced to many of the quirks of "olden times" like what peasants do and instead we were just thrown into a knightly quest. The moral of the story really centers around telling the truth even if it's hard. You know a series continues to be pretty great when my kid immediately wants to start the next book without taking a break for any other books. If you've got a young kid or an early reader this series is definitely worth a shot.

[Amy · Rating 4 out of 5]

I didn’t read the first book but had this one as a free audio book. Kudos to the narrators. It was quite enjoyable. If you are looking for a silly and fun book about knights, with some great vocabulary to learn along the way, then read or listen to this book. Tim learns some important lessons and also defeats a lot of horrible creatures in the labyrinth. The description of disemboweling had me giggling. Stuart Gibbs knows how to deliver a fun book for kids. No swears, some silly violence, no romance. 3rd grade and up.

[Anne · Rating 4 out of 5]

Book 2 in series
Tim and Belinda spoiled Prince Ruprecht's plans in book 1, so he is out for revenge now. He has kidnapped Princess Grace and placed her in the middle of a super dangerous maze that no one has ever escaped before. Tim, Belinda, Rover, and Ferkle set off to rescue her.
A humorous (and educational!) book in the style of Wimpy Kid with text, pictures and highlighted vocabulary words with definitions. Action, adventure, humor, new vocab, dangerous creatures, nefarious princes... what more could one ask for?

[Anthony · Rating 4 out of 5]

After Tim and his best friend Belinda AKA Bull rescue Princess Grace, she asks them to be knights in her kingdom. Prince Rupert is upset and seeks revenge by capturing the princess and placing her in the middle of the Labyrinth of Doom, and now it's up to our knights-in-Training to rescue the princess once again. With help from Ferkle, they once again have to thwart Prince Rupert's and Nerlim the evil wizard dastardly plans.

[Ellon · Rating 4 out of 5]

4 stars (I really liked it)

This series is so fun! I love Gibbs's writing style and the tone in this series. It has fun "IQ boosters" (vocabulary words) although the way and a good message about owning up to your mistakes. Definitely will get for my school library and I'm excited to read the next in the series.

[Danielle Hammelef · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved reading this novel and laughed out loud often. The narrator breaks the fourth wall throughout and this added so much of the sarcastic sense of humor I share. Silliness and absurdities abound but the message of being an honest, loyal friend gives this illustrated chapter book a deeper meaning for readers.

[Ashley · Rating 3 out of 5]

My son really enjoyed this book and I love the witty exposure to new vocabulary words through the IQ Boosters. The audiobook was well done with a full cast of characters. There was one voice actor that is clearly in another studio and it sounds disjointed but overall the sound effects make the story come alive.